Abby Brill is creating a life she loves within a community she is passionate about.
By Breeanya Hinkel • Photos by Trisha Shaffer
A transplant from New York, Abby Brill moved to Prescott in 2010 to initially help care for her mother, who had moved to the area in the 1990s. A decade later Abby has embedded herself within the Prescott arts community and uses her various skills to support the talents of other local creatives.
Abby’s artistic and linguistic endeavors started in high school when she studied languages in Holland. After that, she moved to Germany for school and met her husband, David. She turned her love of learning toward the art of ceramics after becoming a part of a vibrant ceramic community at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
During her studies at Skidmore College, Abby found she was shy about being critiqued during the class, so she found a way to pursue her studies in her own time after volunteering as a studio tech. The position allowed her access to the large studio that had a glaze room, dozens of wheels, and loads of classes she could listen in on. It was an amazing deal for Abby. She could walk from home to the 24/7 studio, and she would go in at 4:00 a.m. and work quietly on a wheel while overhearing classes. She “learned a ton very shyly.”
Abby has been into ceramics on and off since high school but has concentrated on it seriously for the past twenty years. She is a participating member of the Arts Prescott Co-op Gallery on Whiskey Row and focuses on functional work, such as mugs, dining pieces, pitchers, vases, and more.
“I make things people use every day and not things that sit on a shelf and collect dust,” Abby said.
You can view her work at the gallery, the Artist’s Studio Tour, and four times a year at the Prescott Farmer’s Market.
“I have been passionate about clay for over 40 years. I still sometimes feel that flutter in my chest when I know I have a good chunk of time to be in the studio like my heart has wings and I rush to meet my lover. No, seriously, I do,” Abby says on the Arts Prescott Co-Op Gallery website.
When Abby isn’t creating ceramics in her studio you can find her writing for the local publication, 5enses magazine. She has written for the arts, science, and culture magazine for the past couple of years, focusing on topics that interest her like local artists, politics, and topics to build a positive, diverse community. She enjoys the brainstorming sessions with the team at 5esnes and the availability to cover stories that interest her.
You can read more online at www.5ensesmag.com