Late last month, the husband-and-wife artists Peter and Sally Saul were busy at work in their shared studio building in upstate New York. Sally was preparing for a retrospective of her inimitable figurative ceramics to open May 10 at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, and Peter was occupied with preparations for show of his irreverent paintings at Nanzuka Gallery in Tokyo in June.
The Sauls usually start their day by drinking coffee and reading the New York Times together before heading to their two-story studio—Sally on the first floor, Peter on the second—around 12 noon. Peter often listens to classical music or country while painting, and Sally sometimes lends half an ear to public radio.
They don’t communicate too often while working, but Sally said, “Peter is always good about coming down if I want him to look at something. It’s an easy communication—neither of us mind being interrupted from time to time.” Typically their work day ends around 7 p.m. “If we go too much longer we interfere with dinner,” Peter said.
For “Habitat,” ARTnews took a look around their shared space over the course of a day.
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"I've been doing vultures because I thought the times called for some vultures," Sally Saul said of this recent sculpture.
Testing out color combinations and finishes in Sally's studio.
One of Sally's experimentations with bricks and yarn.
Sally's sculptures Effigy with Feathers, 1999, and Effigy with Skirt, 1998, both made with ceramic and glaze.
The beginnings of a piece called Mixed Up, 2019.
Graduation, 1997, one from a bust series that also includes Rachel Carson, Angela Davis, and Eisenhower, all of which are hollow. "I just build them going up," Sally said.
Growl, 2010. To achieve the smooth cream-like opaque quality on the owl in this piece, Sally used a glaze called majolica. "It's been around for centuries and is not difficult to make," she said.
Looking inside Sally's kiln. "I put the clay in for its first firing, then you glaze it, then it depends, but you can fire three or more times depending on how much glazing you want to do. I put it on low with the kiln cracked, go to bed, come in in the morning and leave it in for 24 hours, though it depends on how large the piece is."
One of Sally's pieces titled Off the Ranch, 2019, that sadly cracked in the kiln from over-firing.
A vase that Sally made for Peter when they lived in Austin. He used to use it as a paintbrush holder. "I love this one!" said Peter.
A view of Peter's studio.
Paintbrushes currently in use in Peter's studio.
A sketch for one of Peter's in-progress paintings.
A painting in its early stages in Peter's studio.
Peter's new paintbrush vestibule made by Sally.
Two paintings in Peter's studio titled Art Appreciation, 2016, and Thinker Thinks, 2018.
Peter and Sally in their living room.