Linda Hayden Clay
My working career began with the design, and later the construction, of architectural structures. This love of form in buildings has evolved into a respect for structure and form in all materials, and today is the basis for my relationship with clay.
In creating my pieces, I handbuild using coils for both my functional work and my art pieces. The surfaces of micaceous pots are finished with a mica slip that is then polished with a smooth stone. After bisque firing, these pieces are often put into a pit or a reduction firing, creating a final surface with dramatic smoke clouds or a deep black finish.
My craft has evolved from creating forms from multiple types of clay, using the pit firing as the constant. Over time I have found that the process of connecting with our Mother Earth with the digging and processing of the micaceous clay in my current work has given me the greatest satisfaction as a clay artist.