We were saddened to recently lose a former member to ovarian cancer. In honor of her memory, and her contributions to Collective, her husband has lovingly collaborated with us to put together an exhibition of her work.

If you have a moment while in town, please stop in and enjoy her work.

It is a tribute to her life, creativity, and love for her craft. You’ll find her collection in the front window of Collective until the end of June. All work is for sale. Proceeds support her family, allowing you to live with and continue her legacy through purchase.

Andrea Brehmer de Trzaskos (1971-2025)

Andrea’s ceramics first appeared at Collective in 2014 as part of the Guest Artist program.  She joined as a full time member in March of 2019 and she then contributed her organizational skills to the management team the next year.  Collective’s tribute showing of Andrea’s work celebrates the creative force that she was and her commitment to the gallery’s cooperative model.

Andrea began her work as a hobbyist in 2009 and was encouraged into her first showing in 2011. Inspired by the beauty of the natural world, she had great reverence for the many indigenous art forms that helped guide her observations and manifest the spirit of her work. Always curious, always growing, and always producing something new. She loved Vermont’s four seasons as well as the flora and fauna she shared them with.

Shortly before her ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2022 she wrote: “My first decade in ceramics has passed in a flash, and I continue to find working in clay to be endlessly challenging…fascinating…frustrating…fun….
I’m fortunate to have visited and lived in a variety of natural environments, and in my work, I am able to draw from it all. Tropical forests…desert skies…oceans…mountain…wildlife…wind…water…snow…clouds…birds…I spend time outdoors as much as I can, and the inspirations are endless.”