Today we’d like to introduce you to Joan Libby Hawk.
Hi Joan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Every morning, almost without fail, I walk over to my studio, do my “art making thing” until it’s time to re- surface into the world as we mostly know it. This mundane journey obscures the wonder of it all. My artistic and professional journey intertwines commitment to art and advocacy. It’s taken decades to make this walk.
From working class roots, I grew up in Revere, MA: just north of Boston, primarily known in those days for gambling – horse track, dog track – petty level of organized crime and a beautiful crescent-shaped Atlantic Ocean beach complete with rides and purported “games of chance.” Thanks to parents who insisted, I hitched my wagon to education, gaining a scholarship to Mount Holyoke College, earning a degree in English. Turbulent times and conscience drew me to the anti-Vietnam War movement and human rights activism. My husband and I jumped ship from the US to study at Oxford, where I attended the Ruskin School of Art and learned ceramics at the Oxford Polytechnic.
Back in the US, I talked my way New York’s City University to study studio art and ceramics and earn my MFA. What could be more fun? I exhibited vessels and sculpture in NYC galleries, participated in highly selective art fairs and was named a “New York State New Clay Talent” with a group show as reward. Teaching at the prominent Riverside Church Arts & Crafts Program enabled exploration of porcelain and provided coveted studio space, equipment and a magnificent 360-degree Manhattan view from the 14th floor iconic tower.
In 1980, my art practice changed dramatically when my family, including a three-year-old son, moved to Bangkok, Thailand. A UN-affiliated organization sought my husband to manage part of a relief effort to assist starving and desperate Cambodian refugees streaming in the hundreds of thousands to the Thai-Cambodia border. This experience opened a long-term exposure to Southeast Asia and Asian art, which later continued with stints in Cambodia, trips to Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.
Returning to New York, I hung up my potter’s apron to help support the family (eventually two boys, two dogs) and built a career shaping communications and programs in nonprofits and government to advance human rights and women’s empowerment. Like many people – particularly women – responding to urgent family-centered priorities presents detours. The journey changes.
Fast forward: From 2001 to 2016, I worked at UN Women headquarters in New York to design and implement innovative initiatives to reduce violence against women globally and strengthen women’s rights and economic empowerment. In hindsight, my career working in human rights and women’s organizations around the world provided substance and a world view without which my art would not be my art.
In 2016, I stepped down from my consulting practice to again fully concentrate on making art opening a studio, my professional center, in Sarasota, FL in 2017. A new phase began.
Currently, I teach ceramics at Suncoast Technical College, exhibit at Sarasota’s Art Uptown gallery and Mara Art Studio & Gallery and am a member of Women Contemporary Artists (WCA). In 2022, the Gainesville Fine Arts Association (GFAA) exhibited Whose Story?, an evocative porcelain paper-clay sculpture, as part of their National Biennial, Things Unseen. In November /December 2022 another show entitled ON & OFF THE WALL at Art Uptown, Sarasota featured recent vessels and sculptures. The Halo Art Project in 2021 awarded me with Halo Fellowship and in October 2019, 10 x 10 cultural event highlighting ‘thought leaders’ sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) included me as a featured speaker. My work, both ceramics and paintings, have been accepted in national, statewide and regional juried shows.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s no easy road to achievement, let’s start with that. External factors count for a lot. Growing up and facing barriers to opportunity because women weren’t allowed: for example, at a news magazine job interview, I learned the company limited women to fact checking and editing, no by-line reporting allowed. Barricaded doors propelled my efforts to expand rights, whether in this country or internationally. Amplifying unheard voices served as a decades-long calling to chip away barriers.
As an artist however, I confront challenges first as an individual. Often, the obstacles stem from inexperience, lack of knowledge or incomplete vision. In the studio, I set the standards. Outside the studio another set of challenges exists: achieving visibility, cracking the gallery doors, connecting with viewers and collectors.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
There’s no easy road to achievement, let’s start with that. External factors count for a lot. Growing up and facing barriers to opportunity because women weren’t allowed: for example, at a news magazine job interview, I learned the company limited women to fact checking and editing, no by-line reporting allowed. Barricaded doors propelled my efforts to expand rights, whether in this country or internationally. Amplifying unheard voices served as a decades-long calling to chip away barriers.
As an artist however, I confront challenges first as an individual. Often, the obstacles stem from inexperience, lack of knowledge or incomplete vision. In the studio, I set the standards. Outside the studio another set of challenges exists: achieving visibility, cracking the gallery doors, connecting with viewers and collectors.
As an art maker I seek to visualize the not-yet-seen through whatever means necessary. What makes the art making go? Ruminations on ancient artworks, the questions left unanswered, the tumultuous exchange of visual and intellectual ideas, the clamor for rights and equality, the experience of revealing inward expression through outward means—joyful, sobering, challenging. The natural world provides constantly evolving complex structures, colors, emotional resonance, and existential drama. Representing women’s stolen voices emerges as a consistent theme. The making conversation reveals new areas to map. For example, interpreting the vessel, exploring the tension between interior and exterior space, continues to generate ideas about containment and secrets. Each piece embodies character. Each is individual and named. Some forms are intrinsically funny. I fashion contemporary artifacts that invite viewers to take a close look, remember the long artistic journey traveled.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
At the risk of sounding oh so parental…study, study and study some more. Show up every day. Keep notes so you can evaluate how you use time and be able to look back a month, a year or more. Don’t settle for the pretty result. Dig deep and don’t be afraid of mistakes…make lots of them.
Contact Info:
- Email: l[email protected]
- Website: www.libbyhawkartmaker.com
- Instagram: @libby_hawk_studio_potter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010272463281
Image Credits
Joan Libby Hawk
