Sonja studied Art Education and 3D Art in Stuttgart Germany.  In 1999 she moved to San Francisco for a Masters Degree in New Genres Art. She specialized mostly in video and created immersive installations. Her art practice also includes photography, and she has conducted participatory art events with communities all over the US and Europe. In her large-scale project “Snow Drawings” she merges collaborative art-making with sublime nature experience.

 

A core interest in all of her artwork are environmental concerns and human relationships with nature – in the present and historically. Her work includes research into various sciences. A project that investigates wild-growing plants as an alternative food source resulted in a need for customized serving dishes for her food tasting events. So, in 2014 she began taking ceramics classes at an Oakland community college – and got completely mesmerized – and hooked! She has since taken many workshops and classes to hone her skills in throwing, hand-building, glazing and firing techniques. She has done internships as a studio tech, as well as ceramics artist residencies. She spent the fall 2024 semester at the University of Nebraska where she studied with acclaimed ceramicists Pete Pinnell and Margaret Bohls.

 

Sonja has been teaching ceramics for several years. She currently teaches at Studio One in Oakland. She enjoys helping her students achieve their creative imaginations and introducing them to new and exciting skills in all things clay.