Erik Haagensen
Erik Haagensen creates sturdy functional pottery that combines traditional firing methods and materials with odd little illustrations inspired by science fiction and fantasy. His stoneware pottery including classic, traditional shino glazes provide a delightful canvas for fine line drawings of happy, confused, drunken and lovesick monsters and aliens.
Artwork Preview
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Available Pieces
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
No Longer Available
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Erik Haagensen at MudFire
Erik Haagensen is always at MudFire!
Erik Haagensen Artist Bio
Through all of my adult life, I have been experimenting in the arts. My work has included books of poetry, small-scale metal sculpture, photocopy art, outdoor sculptural installations, radio broadcast performances, handmade books, collage, digital art, and photography. Much of this has been rather silly and absurd, or Dada as they would have taught me to say in grad school.
I graduated from a liberal arts university where I studied theology, philosophy, psychology and business. It was a course of study that was perfect training for a young tel-Evangelist, although this was not my intent. I also took some art history and studio art and enjoyed the many fine art museums of Washington DC. Then, for most of the 90's, I had an exhilarating day job in the fascinating world of enterprise software applications. When done waiting on the senior executives (not tables) all day, I would go home and make art. Sadly my oodles of stock options were never worth anything.
In 2001 my principal focus shifted to clay, as my sweetie and I began to chase the dream of creating a large community art studio dedicated to clay. We now share space at MudFire Clayworks with 150 artists and students, teach every day, produce monthly gallery exhibits, and host artists from around the world for workshops. This large public studio environment provides a constant stream of new influences and an incredibly wide range of equipment, clay, and firings to experiment with. My clay work reflects the diversity of this environment. I currently make functional ware, abstract and figurative sculpture, and paintings on clay, while continuing to explore other media.
Erik Haagensen Artist Statement
Clay is an amazing media with unmatched potential for varied form, texture, surface, and artistic intent. It is timeless, enduring, archetypal, seductive and mysterious to work with. With clay, there is more than a lifetime's worth to experiment with.
My art work is guided by interests in human evolution and history, the force of faith and ideas in shaping our reality, and our collective future. The unbroken chain of our species as it plays out over time, and how the aliens view us millions of years from now. Right now, I think it is very important to both be playful and to produce finely crafted objects.
In America, we work too hard and don't value play enough . . . to the point of being uncivilized, to the detriment of our families and our own psychological health. We need to retreat from the sound-byte infotainment of our plastic McCulture. We need to slow down, sacrifice for the future, and make difficult choices in this culture of convenience.
To make things by hand from clay is an act of rebellion, of intentional inefficiency, of retro and reflection, of refusing to cede it all to the machines. I want to make things that make people laugh or be amused or playfully confused or quietly delighted. I want to make things that make people slow down and appreciate the everyday, to reflect on their surroundings, and to think about where we are heading.
