January 2010
Artisan Hands
Our January Exhibit features the exquisite hand built porcelain pottery of Carole Hayne and the richly textured hand woven natural fiber and Alpaca rugs by Shahoma McAlister. The gallery will be closed on First Friday, January 1st, but please join us for an Artists’ Reception on January 8th, from 5 -8 pm. Ring in the New Year with us at this special exhibit showcasing the work of truly talented Artisan Hands!
Carole Hayne Vessel
Carole Hayne’s work consists of one of a kind hand built pieces. “I find it very difficult to make the same type of piece more than a year or two, so often my pieces are truly unique. When the spontaneity wears off, it is time to make something else.Asymmetrical, simple pieces with soft glazes that are a little matte, and crystalline glazes are my favorites.”
Carole Hayne was born in Grants Pass and grew up in Merlin. She graduated from Grants Pass High School in 1960. Her husband to be, Ron Cunningham, introduced her to pottery after they became reacquainted at their 30th year high school reunion. While making her first piece, Carole knew clay was for her. Ron tutored her through the first years. For a while she was happy making hand built pieces. Then she became intrigued with glaze formulation and started focusing on formulating new glazes. Ron made the pieces. They started showing at “Clayfolk” in the late 90's, followed a couple of years later by a Showcase in Portland. This led to Carole’s involvement in a glaze study group.
“First I made Raku glazes. Then, Crater glazes, break through glazes, crystalline and crackle glazes. I experimented with them all. My degree in physics gives me a small advantage in that I am not afraid of tackling the math or the concepts needed to formulate glazes.”
Shahoma McAlister rug
Shahoma McAlister hand-weaves beautiful and unique natural fiber rugs in view of the wild and scenic Illinois River, in Southern Oregon. Colors of nature and the textural richness of mountain wilds inspire and influence her creative weavings. The luxurious alpaca yarn, specially thick-spun, comes from the seasonal shearing of the neighboring herd, which she helps clip. Using mainly the leg hair from Suri Alpacas, she also adds other local fibers: llama, mohair or wool. Shahoma's unique approach of interweaving incorporates tufts of fleece straight from the alpacas, revealing their individual traits and natural colors. She hand weaves these warm and functional rugs in her studio on a large production loom producing dense, long-lasting heirloom rugs. Each rug is unique with a sheen and quality of easy cleaning attributable to the hypo-allergenic alpaca fiber.
“Weaving has easily become a manifestation of how I view Life: inter-connected, interwoven with Spirit, beauty and joy. Knowing all that appears is a gift of Life, I was in awe of the gift of Suri Alpacas arriving in the fields of a neighboring farm. Being a ‘hands-on’ person, I enthusiastically joined the shearing crew, allowing me to touch and get to know their amazing luxurious fleece and discover a creative outlet suitable for the fleece and my own preferences. Serendipitously, I found a custom spinner adapted to large thick rug yarn that would spin our fleece as requested. Then I purchased a quality AVL production loom to make the weaving process dense, tight and consistent for truly durable rugs, plus it allows the spontaneous creativity of laying-in colorful, textural pieces or tufts, inviting the spirit of the amazing alpaca to be shown and touched. I am so happy to share the gift of beauty and energy in the form of these rugs as functional art.”