Nancy Hayes
Artist Statement:
I am drawn to places where seemingly different facets of life come together and interact. Consider the seashore where terrain is shaped by the merger of land and ocean. Similarly my sculptures are created by the linking of strong visual components: dynamic organic shape and repetitious or linear pattern.
When different visual elements work collectively to define the same form, a balance can be achieved. New growth emerges, communicating with one strong voice.
Education:
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, (Program in Artisanry) Dartmouth, MA. MFA 1990
Philadelphia College of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA. (Special Student ceramic sculpture) 1987
Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA. BFA 1982
Tyler School of Art, Rome, Italy campus. Full year 1981, second semester 1982
Grants and Awards:
The 2002 Society of Arts and Crafts Artist Award.
Massachusetts Cultural Council FY99 Artist Grant, Award recipient in Crafts.
New Bedford Cultural Council Grant FY98.Best of Show, Craft Forms, Wayne Art Center.
First Place sculpture, The State of Clay, Lexington Guild of the Arts and Crafts Society.
Free studio space, Artworks Pilot Project Competition, New Bedford, MA.
Collection:
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA.
Exhibitions:Exhibiting Artist, Isolte Gallery, Provincetown, MA.
Swain Alumni, juried competition, U-Mass Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA.
The 2002 Society of Arts and Crafts Awards Exhibition, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA.
Mass. Cultural Council Crafts Grant Recipients, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA.
Worchester Center for Crafts, Worchester, MA.
The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA.
Making the Green, juried competition, Woodstock, VT.
Ceramics 2001, juried competition, Guilford Handcraft Center, Guilford, CT.
In Residence, Artworks at Dover St., New Bedford, MA.The 2000 DeCordova Annual Exhibition, DeCordova museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA.
Sculptural Works, Two person show, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA.
Craft Forms 99, juried competition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA.
The State of Clay 99, juried competition, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA.
Ceramics ’99, juried competition, The Guilford Handcraft Center, Guilford, CT.
Form and Figure, Artworks at Dover St., New Bedford, MA.
Solo Exhibition, Bromfield Art Gallery, Boston, MA.Craft Forms 98, juried competition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA.
Craft Forms 97, juried competition, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA.
The View from Here, The Dartmouth Gallery, Dartmouth, MA.
Gallery selected show, Deblois Gallery, Newport, RI.
A celebration of Regional Artist, Rotch-Jones-Duff House, New Bedford, MA.
The State of Clay 97, juried competition, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA.
Annual Winter Show, juried competition, Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA.
Notes on Process:
Q. What are Hayes’s sculptures made of and how are they made?
A. The material I choose to sculpt with is terra cotta clay. Terra cotta is a low fire clay, fired to cone 04 or 2200 degrees. My comfort with this clay goes back over twenty years. It is the clay body that I primarily worked in when I started to explore the sculptural potential of clay. Over the years, having conducted numerous experiments, I have formulated many glazes that work on this clay type and within its firing range.
Every sculpture starts as a slab of clay. Many slabs are rolled out and left to harden just enough so that they are still bendable yet strong enough to work with. If the clay is too wet it will just slump when trying to build, and if it is to hard, it will not have the flexibility needed to form three dimensional shapes that can stand on their own. The slabs are cut to create either tubes or shapes depending on the sculpture. From this point the pieces are literally built by the addition of shapes that are cut to extend or build upon the started form. As a result the sculptures are hollow appearing to be heavier then they are.
After the sculpture is formed and its surface has been defined, it is left to dry. Once thoroughly dry, this can take weeks, it will be fired. To save energy I do not fire one piece at a time but prefer to make enough work to fill my kiln and then fire several pieces at once. When a group of work is fired for the first time I then move into the glazing faze. This will take just as long as the forming of the piece. Each sculpture is glazed and drawn on with much detail. Once glazed the sculptures go back into the kiln for a second firing. Sometimes, when I open the kiln at this point I am delighted, and other times it’s back to the drawing board. I can re-glaze, or add glaze after they are fired and fire again. Often a piece will have been fired a few times. I am frequently asked how long does it it take to make a piece. This is a difficult question to answer because of they way I work. It is safe to say that each piece takes a long time. From start to finish the process is guided by my knowledge of the physical possibilities of the clay as well as my need to continually invent new relationships between the various aspects within each form. Each new piece is a new opportunity so it never gets old.
Past Exhibit:
October 1 - December 31, 2008
Artist Reception:
Thursday, December 4th, 5:30-8:30PM
271 Main Street, Wakefield, RI 02879
Ph: 401-783-0770
Email: crokerandgriffin@msn.com
A R T + D E S I G N
