Jay Hatfield

My BFA show at SIUC was titled, “Noted in Anthropomorphis” in 2000.

My first ‘legged musical character” came out of an exercise at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg IL. around 1995.  This was my first 2-D college art class.  The exercise was to continually draw a line within a sheet of paper until the instructor said stop.  Then find something with-in that mess of lines.  I found something that I have been working on for over 20 years.  I brought these drawing and paintings to sculptural forms using clay at SIUC with the help of Harris Deller during an intense summer session.  I look forward to continuing to develop this idea.

Here are a few ceramic sculptures with this theme created in 2019. Towards the end you will find some old paintings. I hope you enjoy.

When I thought of the word “Gathering” I thought of the reasons we gather. Because we are in the times of Covid I also considered the gatherings we missed and or took for granted before Covid. This installation reflects some of the reasons we gather. Fourteen of these platters reflect the question, “What do we gather for?”; and two platters “What do we gather to do?”.

My answers to those two questions are on these 16 platters. These replies are supported with a word, imagery, text, and surface treatments to suggest mood, ambience, and message. The messages are a mixture of sadness, sarcasm, anger, uncertainty, faith, mystery, joy, beauty, triumphs, and love. The surface treatments consist of incising, inlaying, stamping, slips, glazing, and decaling.

I am curious about the form of a teapot as a sculpture. I try to engage the viewer and evoke curiosity by giving my teapots a gesture or suggest a mood. I do this by nontraditional placement and manipulation of the elements of the teapot: body, spout, handle, lid and foot. Some teapots have iconography, many being of the cityscape. The cityscape has always reminded me of a sonogram, buildings shooting skyward measuring the beat and rhythm of a city. The controlled chaos of a city is bewildering yet exciting. I take great pride in my finishes. I make all my own slips and glazes. That ability to make my own slips gives me a vast range of color opportunities. The color and application helps create the mood and ambience of the teapot. Most of my teapots are finished with a satin or matte glaze and fired 3-5 times.

Here are some from 2018 and 2019.

I created about fifteen of theses vases for Arti Gras 2020. Great for bouquet of flowers. Great for our Birds of Paradise. Here is what is left. And by-the-way I was the winner of the Emerging Artist Competition, Arti Gras 2020 Jupiter, FL

These platter a designed to be hung on a wall or displayed on a table. I usually make a group of platters togeather or in a series several times a year. My platters are food safe.

I like the challenge of utilitarian ware. The challenge is a balance of form and function and within that respecting tradition. Yet, sometimes I like pushing the bounders. I like making multiples or sets; this builds my skill level. Making something that will work well, last long, and hopefully enjoyed or even cherished in some way is my goal in making functional pottery.

The media is acrylic on canvas with woodblock ink overlay.   It's a process that I started early 2014.