Artist's Statement
As a medium, clay has left the deepest mark on my life. It has stimulated a subconscious drive to create with its ability to ascend from the damp ground to the pristine pedestal. I am drawn to the tangible plasticity of minerals once crushed by erosion then collected from riverbeds. My fascination with the pure chemistry of ceramics is rejuvenated with every firing cycle. When sculpting I often juxtapose clay and steel, sometimes for sheer structure and other times as commentary on the tension between the organic and the industrial. I am intrigued by metal’s paradoxical aesthetics: its dense strength yet forged malleability, its enticing composition of layered color yet its connection to the transportation system that spews toxic waste across our landscape.
I am interested in calling attention to the beauty of the natural world and elevating its status and permanence to that which is adorned. I abstract natural subjects to emulate what I perceive to be their salient qualities. With close observation and on-going experimentation I aspire to create fine art that mimics the texture and striking balance of nature: the sun-scorched bark and wind-gnarled trunk of a bristlecone pine, the precarious support of a colossal boulder by a slowly receding pillar.
My latest series is inspired by aspen groves found in high alpine fields. Their stoic eyes, horizontal markings and stretched-porcelain skin that gestures upward has captured my attention. I am also in awe of their grand interconnecting root system, one that seconds as a metaphor for the idyllic life where harmony exists in shared spaces.
Although I am humbled by the history that precedes me and influenced by the diverse minds that create around me, I remain unrestricted by the “acceptable” limits of any material. By coupling creative engineering with a focused intent to magnify nature’s uncanny beauty, I aspire to motivate an appreciation for myriad ecosystems and to initiate conversation about their past misuse. I have been moved by the wind rushing the canyon as I have marveled at the slurry that collects downstream. There is something so splendid about the physical and visual properties of the natural world that as an artist I feel a responsibility to note the merit of their preservation.
-Jamie E. Hatch, 2009 |
