ARTIST STATEMENTS

JAMES HAGGERTY

I have been working in clay now, for 47 years, and even though it has been my lifelong journey, I am just as excited by this incredibly diverse medium as I was on day one. Early on I fell in love with the potter's wheel and pottery making, and my practice for most of my career, has been focused on the vessel form, allowing it to be a canvas for the vast palette of glazes I formulate. In recent years, I have broadened my body of work to include wall and freestanding sculptures.

However, my primary passion within the ceramic spectrum has been conducting research and exploring ceramic chemistry, an area that has been profoundly stimulating, challenging, and gratifying to me since I was 14.  I currently use over 600 materials, and over the years, I have worked professionally as a glaze consultant for both industry and for other artists. I am continuously fascinated with the endless possibilities of this medium, and each discovery I make fuels my curiosity and insatiable desire to learn more.

For most of my career I have been a vessel artist, and where I adore the meditative process of working on the wheel, it requires a rigid sequence of steps to achieve a successful outcome. In contrast, the spontaneity and freedom of creating sculptural forms, I find fun, liberating, and it provides me and my body of work with a completely different method of self-expression, and a stimulating new genre for expanding my growth as a ceramicist.

With my artwork, whether it is a vessel or a sculpture, my objective is to develop a variety of textures and colors that enhance and celebrate that particular form. My art has an organic component, influenced by my love of nature. Discovering a plant, rock, or shell, with interesting colors or textures captivates me and makes me want to examine it closer and discover more about it. It is that feeling of wonder that I hope will engage my audience in the same way.

 LINDA HAGGERTY

 My lifelong passion for painting and drawing, combined with my love for everything that's ceramic, has been the foundation for my journey as a ceramic artist for the past 25 years. The collaborative vessel work that I create with James, and the exploration of different ceramic techniques, the formulation of different glazes, and the juxtaposition of textures and colors with reduction fired lusters, has allowed me to express ideas that are diverse and wide ranging in my work, from abstract random patterns to the natural realism of botanicals.

My individual work reflects the love I have of biomorphic sculptural forms, and the intriguing elements that I find endlessly fascinating, that are often found in nature, and are common to both plants and animals. In my practice, I try to create that sense of discovery, mystery and wonder that I find so captivating when I'm exploring nature, especially the phenomenal beauty I find in the many plants and animals in the ocean and on the beach by my home. I strive to convey in my art, that wonderful moment, and feeling of awe that fills my soul with joy.