Clay art of St. Paul's Glaze Haze aims to challenge perceptions of disability
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- There's some impressive and affordable clay art for sale in St. Paul, as talented artists are sculpting a whole new way for us all to look at art.
The pieces at Glaze Haze are intricate, and the artists are inspired.
"The Iron Man mask, the Batman mask, the Spider-Man mask," artist Koko Dehn said, explaining his superhero-inspired art, a line of colorful glazed clay creations. "Tony and Iron Man in the movie are technically one person, and I thought it would be interesting to put Tony's features on the outside of the Iron Man mask."
Dehn's friend Kramer Hegenbarth's art is literal, yet whimsical. His "Frost Bite" creation has fangs and a mouth full of snowballs.
"My artwork has like a 'Little Shop of Horrors' look to it," he said.
The St. Paul clay art expo is on display for the next two weeks. It's a project by Interact Gallery, a group whose mission is to challenge perceptions of disability.
"Every day artists come in and direct their own creative process. And our goal is to get behind them and support the creative work they want to make, and find opportunities for them and be recognized in the art world both locally and nationally," gallery director Brittany Kieler said.
Her hope for the artists is "that they realize that artists with disabilities are underrepresented and that we can all do a better job at paying attention to this work cause it's really strong and really exciting."
Hegenbarth says he wants people to realize something about artists who happen to have disabilities.
"We aren't just like making little squares and coloring picture books, we are actually making artwork that is able to sell," he said.
It's a sale created to give credit where credit's due.
The Glaze Haze art is on display and for sale by appointment. Pieces range from $20 to $100.
