Sharon Upp

Over the years, she traveled widely throughout Latin America and Europe and visited the ruins of earlier civilizations to study their art forms first hand.  Mexico has had a profound influence on her life and inspired her to author a book about the life of Angeline Beloff, the artist who was Diego Rivera’s first wife.  The book is entitled, “House on the Bridge:  Ten Turbulent Years with Diego Rivera.”

She has studied ceramics in Southern California, Portland, Oregon and Sedona, Arizona before co-creating Earth and Fire Design Studio.  Her earlier work and study in Latin America and Europe has had a major impact on her creativity and approach to working in clay.  She is inspired by the beauty of the nature that surrounds her and strives to incorporate these influences into the free-flowing forms she produces.

Mike Upp

He studied ceramics at Arizona State in the 1970’s.  After graduation, he developed his first studio in an old tobacco barn in an artist community on 300 acres in the hills of northern Tennessee.  He was a dedicated student of the art form and produced functional pottery for a wide variety of markets for over 8 years.

He left the art world and joined corporate America, where he spent most of his career in the software and alternative energy businesses in senior marketing and sales positions for 25⁺ years.  In 2012, he jumped back in to ceramics with both feet, starting the Earth and Fire Ceramic Design Studio.  He is also the President of the Sedona Visual Artists’ Coalition, who present the Sedona Open Studio Tours the last weekend of April as well as a member of the board of the Sedona Arts Festival.