Artist Clayton Bailey

The other day, I received an email from some clay friends of mine that artist Clayton Bailey would be giving a lecture on his work at a nearby college. While I hadn't heard of Mr. Bailey, I was up for hearing anyone discuss ceramics and their techniques. My friends and I went to the lecture last night.

I don't know if any of you are familiar with his work or his style, but to call this a "lecture" would be putting the visit we all had with Bailey into the wrong perspective. While he discussed his inspirations and touched on his techniques and history, his style of discussion leaned more towards chatting with friends and sharing some of his favorite jokes while he was at it. We had a blast!

Bailey is a whimsical guy. Some of his work is kinetic and some is wired so it can be lit from within, and some of those techniques can certainly be seen in some Haunters' yards. I asked him where he got the "tinkerer" gene, and he said from his dad, who restored cars while Bailey was growing up.

He has a bit of a dark side, though he expresses it in a more comic than sinister manner. For instance, his piece, "The Revival of Uranium Man," shows an orange critter on the laboratory table, awaiting a jolt of electricity from the electrodes attached to his head.

As Haunters, the Mad Doctors' Laboratory has a certain pull.

Bailey told us this was a self-portrait of himself and collaborative artist Peter Saul. Everything you see is ceramic.

The Murder Victim is another dark project.

Bailey is quite well known for both his fully functional pop guns which he glazes with luster glaze.

Haunters can appreciate his robot series, which came to life through numerous trips to local junkyards.

There's a bunch more stuff about Clayton Bailey to see, as he's been making art for 50 years. (The Bigfoot Skeleton is da bomb, and be sure to visit the Wonders of the World Museum!) I really wish he were still teaching, as a teacher like that would be fantastic to learn from...

Roadtrip America article here. Clayton Bailey's website here.