Margaret Haydon

Artist Statement

I have worked specifically with sturgeon imagery for the past nine years, depicting the animal in contexts that reference their habitat, history and endangered status. Through this investigation, I have grown increasingly interested in the broader environmental situation. While currently the sturgeon is central in my work, other species are beginning to appear. I work with imagery from the natural world, using predominantly ceramic processes such as hand building, wheel throwing and slip casting. I am fascinated by current environmental shifts, and the resulting impact on habitat and species populations.

We are all witnesses to the transformations taking place in our natural world. Species arise and disappear at an incredible rate. Each day brings a new article highlighting the changes, from sturgeon and shark, to bee, brown bat and golden frog. We live in the company of animals, often unaware of our impact on their populations. I strive to depict both the beauty and the vulnerability of the natural world through visceral, complex compositions.

Bio

Margaret Haydon earned her MFA in ceramics in 1989 from San Francisco State University. She is currently Professor of Ceramics at the University of Wyoming, where she has taught since 2001. Her work is exhibited frequently around the country and internationally.

Working with images from the natural world, Haydon focuses on the idea of ongoing changes in habitat and species demographics. Haydon combines her aesthetic work with field-work, seeking opportunities to connect with naturalists. She has worked with fish biologists in the United Stated, Canada and Hungary. In July 2013, Haydon gave a paper at the 7th International Symposium on Sturgeon held in Nanaimo, BC, Canada. Her work was also featured in Ancients Among Us, an exhibition installed in conjunction with the symposium. Haydon organized and curated an intimate group exhibition, “In the Company of Animals”, which was installed in Kansas City at the Leopold Gallery, in conjunction with the 2016 NCECA conference. Most recently, January – April 2017, her work was installed at the Loveland Art Museum in Loveland, Colorado in an exhibition titled Circling.