What kind of art do you make? Wood fired pottery
When did you start creating art? Nate-in high school, Hallie-in college
How did you get started? Apprenticeship from 1997-99 with Mark Hewitt in Pittsboro, NC
What inspires you? Traditional pots from around the world, living in a beautiful spot
How did you develop your style? Our style has evolved over years of making pots, looking at and using other pots every day.
How did you learn? Classes in high school, Luther College and our apprenticeship
How do you work best? Doing different things each day; spending some time in the shop with the pots, some time outside doing the more physical work, like moving wood, cleaning kiln shelves, etc.
How do you approach a new piece? It's always fun to make a new shape. Often we start something new, but don't get what we are thinking of for a few cycles of making that particular shape
What have you learned? Even though it can be incredibly hard to make a living as an artist, there is nothing else we'd like to do
How do you fit art into your personal/family life? It is linked to family in every way-we both work together, our son plays around in the shop while we work.
Where do you work? Our workshop in NE Iowa
What is your favorite thing about creating? It's rewarding to see something functional coming from a simple material like clay.
Why do you enjoy the art tour? It brings people to our shop/kiln/home that wouldn't otherwise be able to find us, at the end of a dead end road. We love to be able to share how and where we work with people, and seeing our kiln really helps to get a connection to the pots--why they look the way they do, and where they come from. We fire our kiln over the tour weekend, so that's always an exciting thing for people to see.
Location- 2856 Blair Rd, New Albin, IA 52160
From Hwy 76, 2 miles south of Eitzen, MN, turn Left onto Church Rd. Go about 2 miles, Left on Golden Ridge. About 2 miles, Left on Sleepy Hollow. Go about 1 mile, Left on Blair Rd. 1/2 mile down Blair, left over cement culverts, then an immediate right onto private driveway. We are about 20 miles from Lansing, IA; Waukon, IA; Spring Grove, MN; Caledonia, MN.
Anybody who loves pottery and hasn't seen a wood fired kiln in action, should be sure to pay a visit to Hallie & Nate's during the art tour to see their kiln firing. It's amazing to watch.
ReplyDelete