by Arlene Wright-Correll

This weekís Kentucky artist is Rosie Hays

Off the beaten track, back in the wooded area of Bonnieville, lives Rosie Hays, potter, artist, organic gardener and a “mother earther” who truly believes in “Voluntary Simplicity”. This multi-talented gal who is a native of Germany shares her life with her husband, Sam, who is a native of Eastern KY. Sam worked for our government in Germany for many years and she and Sam found their homestead property in 1994. Between that time and about 18 months ago when Sam retired and they were able to move back to the USA, they would vacation here off and on and started building their buildings.

Rosie is a potter and had a studio and school for teaching pottery in Germany and soon hopes to have something similar going her when she and Sam finish building her studio.

This writer, having traveled to many places in Germany and Austria, was delighted to meet these charming, hardworking people. She and Sam have built their home out of straw bales and it is a delightful, warm, charming European style home. They are currently building a larger building the same way.

Rosie has filled their home with her pots and dishes, plus the handmade tiles she has created for the back walls of her kitchen. She also has the walls decorated with many of her paintings which are painted on the back of glass.

Rosieís family was professional woodcarvers and furniture makers and her home reflects some of their work. She also has many “Shrunks” that she has hand decorated.

Rosieís talent lies in many directions and I was delighted to see the hand painted candles and eggs she has created.

Rosie said because her family was involved in woodcarving and her father was a master wood carver that she decided to take up that art also. However, after the first time she cut herself she decided she would try another artistic medium and that turned out to be clay and the potterís wheel. Completely self taught, Rosie loves the art of pottery and has been doing it for over 15 years. She says “clay has so many possibilities and clay is so forgiving. When one does not get it right, one can just mush it all together and start all over again.” She often uses the under glaze method of painting her pottery and then firing it. Some times she uses the Majolica method of painting onto the glaze.

There is a lot of history to this method and merchants based on the island Majorca shipped so much of this pottery from Spain to Italy that it became forever associated with the island. After the Moors were thrown out of Spain, majolica potters set up small factories in Italy near the mineral rich banks of the river Metauro in the towns of Deruta, Gubbio, and Faenza where the finest clay deposits and minerals for the glazes were to be found in abundance. In the 16th century luster glazes similar to those used in Valencia and Talavera, Spain were developed in Umbria as well as metallic gold and ruby red iridescent glazes.

Eventually Majolica crafters settled in many other parts of the world where the craft developed into new and distinctive styles. In Holland it became delicate blue and white Delftware, in Germany it became dainty Dresden porcelains. The French name reflected its Italian origin, faience after the city of Faenza, and in the New World it was called Talavera after the potters who immigrated to Puebla, Mexico from Talavera de la Reina, Spain between 1550 and 1570.

Majolica or Maiolica as it is known in Italian is the quintessential expression of the Renaissance potter’s art. Everyday objects like plates, jars, and pitchers were hand painted with robust classical borders, portraits, historic scenes and geometric designs similar to those found in illumination and tapestries. The colors used for the decoration on a white base glaze made of tin or lead oxide were limited to deep blue, brownish purple, copper green, warm yellow, and rusty orange yet they were used in bold combinations to evoke a much wider range of tones and hues. By the end of the 16th century black, scarlet red, bright purple, and grass green were available as well. Though painted pottery was made in many lands, Spanish Majolica was well known for its final lustrous coat of iridescent clear glaze. This took a secret process and required great skill to produce. Until the 16th century, Italians could not achieve the same lustrous finish so their painters concentrated on the beauty of the painting and clarity of the colors. Thus Italian Majolica came to be highly prized and imitated throughout the world. Wealthy patrons began to demand even more elaborate and artfully painted platters for display. These elaborate pieces were called Piatto de Pompa. Majolica with scenes from history, the Bible or Classical literature were called Istoriato and often included heraldic display of flags, armorial crests, and mottos.

Thus Rosieís pieces are the result of all this history and her pieces are historically correct and quite beautiful and each one a truly functional work of art that can be used daily in oneís life, from pitchers to colanders to canisters to dishes and bowls.

In Rosieís busy artistic life she and Sam manage to work on building their other straw bale building, take care of goats, chickens, ducks and maintain two large organic gardens and live in harmony with their surroundings and contribute a lot to putting back as much as they take out of this planet.

To view all upcoming arts and crafts workshops in your area of KY please go to http://www.learn-america.com/?page_id=1740

(Contact Arlene Wright-Correll at 270 524 9567 or email her at askarlene@scrtc.com  if you want to be next weekís column of Whoís Who in KY Artís and Crafts©)