Blooop-Alina Hayes Virtual Feature

Blooop

noun 

a clumsy mistake.
 

In my studio practice, the work moves between form and function as I think about fluidity of materials, process and time. Drawing on parallels between the unpredictability of the ceramic process and the shortcomings I often feel as an immigrant, woman, wife, mother and educator.

Obsessed with succeeding, becoming something of value and the connectedness as I sit and shape intricate clay objects. 

Refining fragile forms, resilient to time and change in hopes that the biomorphic exterior will forge a relationship with the viewer and prevent them from being discarded as remnants of their maker.

Keeping these thoughts in check, I walk into the studio and make. Pushing my work in many directions, using and exploring materials I wouldn’t have otherwise. The Blooop series emerged as I regained control by making joyful objects full of childlike wonder. With feeling of play, without judgment, the work is loud, unapologetic; mine.”

Born into a family of various trades, Alina Hayes embraces her family’s ancestry with her work in clay. The daughter of a jeweler and musician; granddaughter of a potter and surgeon, hands were an important and essential part of her family’s everyday lives in connection to others. In much of the same way, they have come to shape her perception of the world and her love for the handmade.

Alina is a Los Angeles based artist. Born in Ukraine, Alina grew up in New York and began her education at School of Visual Arts where she studied illustration and painting. Upon relocating to Los Angeles in 2005, Alina continued her education at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and a Master of Arts degree in Art with an emphasis in Ceramics. Presently Alina is an Adjunct Professor at Ventura Community College.