Sylvia Arakas-Gutierrez

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In October 2018, I was diagnosed with breast cancer—an experience that shattered my sense of normalcy and reshaped my life in ways I could never have anticipated. I approached surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and long-term treatments with grit and determination. But what caught me off guard was the emotional toll: the anxiety, the dread, the depression. That’s when I realized that healing my mind would be just as essential as healing my body.

Somehow—almost by chance—I found myself in a ceramics class at the Pelham Art Center. I don’t remember exactly how I got there, but the moment I sank my hands into clay, something shifted. My mind, once clouded with fear, began to clear. The studio became a refuge: a place where I could be fully present, where pain and pressure gave way to peace and purpose.

As my skills grew, so did my vision. The positive energy I received from the ceramic community encouraged me to invest in my education, eventually leading me to the Clay Art Center. There, my work began to evolve. I started incorporating symbols like chains, thorns, locks, and keys—visual metaphors for resilience and vulnerability. These adornments transformed ordinary vessels into protectors of something fragile and beautiful inside. They became reflections of how I now view myself and those I love.

Ceramics, much like life, is never perfect. It cracks. It surprises you. It rarely turns out exactly as planned. But within that unpredictability lies its greatest beauty. That belief inspired the creation of my ceramic line, Beholder—a name that honors the idea that true beauty lives in the imperfections, in the journey, in the unknown.

Since starting - Beholder, I’ve had the honor of selling to interior designers, collectors, and at art fairs. I continue to share my pieces and process on Instagram, with the ongoing goal of challenging myself artistically, connecting with others, and staying grounded in the joy and healing that creating brings.

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Sylvia Arakas-Gutierrez is a ceramic artist based in Westchester, New York. Her work incorporates symbolic elements such as chains, thorns, locks, and keys—visual metaphors for resilience, vulnerability, and protection. These adornments transform ordinary vessels into guardians of something fragile and beautiful, reflecting her personal experience and her view of those she loves following her 2018 breast cancer diagnosis.
Arakas-Gutierrez holds a Bachelor of Science from John Jay College, where she studied deviant behavior and social control—an academic background that informs her exploration of strength, survival, and the human condition. She is the owner of Beholder NYC Ceramics, teaches at the Pelham Art Center, and helps run her family’s businesses alongside her husband.
Her ceramic work has been acquired by interior designers, collectors, and art centers, and continues to explore the balance between fragility and endurance through richly symbolic, sculptural forms.