We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Bates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
While at Columbus College of Art & Design, I took an Intro to Glass class and quickly became enamored with the material. I was drawn both to its physical properties and its labor-intensive processes. Glass demands patience, persistence, and problem-solving. These skills have been invaluable to me as an artist. It was through glass that I began learning how to work with metal, wood, and other sculptural mediums.
While in grad school, I expanded my knowledge of glassworking to kiln casting. The skills I gained from casting glass have transferred to my current explorations into metal casting. There are so many crossovers between material processes, behaviors, tools, and techniques. The more knowledge I gain in different mediums, the more well-rounded my perspective is on how to work with them.
I am my own biggest obstacle. When starting a project that requires a new skill, I can have self-doubt about my ability to adapt and learn. As I face more challenges, I become more confident in my skills as a maker. When I feel empowered, I am open to learning anything.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am an artist working in sculpture based in Cleveland, OH. My work in glass, wood, and metal explores the fluid boundaries between the body, raw materials, and the natural world. I received a BFA in Fine Arts at Columbus College of Art and Design where I focused in hot glass and metalworking. I continued my studies at Virginia Commonwealth University where I earned an MFA in Craft/Material Studies. While in grad school, I learned mold-making, lost wax and glass kiln-casting. The transformative process of casting is an important part of my practice. In my work, I collect ephemeral objects and transform them into metal, glass, cement, and plaster.
After graduating from VCU, I attended ACRE, chaNorth, and Sculpture Space residencies. These residencies allowed me to develop my process of exploring diverse landscapes and making work reflecting on my physical relationship to place. I forage objects such as plant matter, wild fungi, and weathered debris and create sculptures integrating these organic forms with human-made materials. I have returned to ACRE Residency in Wisconsin as a volunteer staff, and it has become an important art-making community for me. In the Summer of 2021 at ACRE, I learned how the process of sand-casting metal. I subsequently received the Sattelite Fund from SPACES in Cleveland and acquired the equipment to cast metal in my own studio. The work created using the Sattelite Fund culminated in a solo show at Waterloo Arts in 2022.
I am a founder and studio manager of Vessel City, an artist-run studio and gallery in Cleveland. Vessel City is a place to cultivate a creative community, a platform for skill sharing, and a space to exhibit artwork. Recently, I have been hosting aluminum casting workshops at the studio. You can find me this summer participating in local pop-ups, selling glass and metal objects that bring forms, colors, and textures from nature to the body and home.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the community around art making. Throughout my career, I have met so many incredible artists. My grad school cohort, the people I’ve met at residencies, and my community in Cleveland all are part of my network of friends and fellow creatives. I find it important to be surrounded by active artists, for they are a constant source of inspiration, advice, and encouragement. It is easy to become absorbed in my own world while working alone in the studio. After pouring myself into a project, it is fulfilling to share and discuss the work with others, just as it is to experience another artist’s work. I am grateful for my fellow artists, and I look forward to continuing to nourish these communities through spaces like Vessel City.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My art practice is driven by curiosity, experimentation, and learning. I am constantly curious about new processes, techniques, and ideas. By staying open to experiences my art practice is continually evolving and developing. I love when my perception of the world expands because I learned how to use a tool, how to work with a material or a different method of making. My persistent curiosity leads to lots of experimentation and inevitable failure. When I encounter an issue in a project, it is important to stay positive and motivated. The disappointment of failure transforms into a learning opportunity when I persevere and problem-solve. With these goals in mind, I aspire to always be creating new and exciting work. 
Contact Info:
- Website: hbates.org
- Instagram: @hbatez
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075920138298
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/hannah-bates-545106262
Image Credits
Zoe Heller