My work is for, and, from the appreciation of life.
H. H. Lyman, Jr.
| HENRY H. LYMAN, JR. | |
| In describing the art of our time we often refer to movements, trends and fashions; we try to contextualize artistic production historically, interpreting the intentions of an artist in relation to the work of his peers and precedents. Rarely do we find a person whose artistic output stands outside of his social milieu, seemingly apart from history. In the work of Henry H. Lyman, Jr., we find a body of artwork that can best be described as "elemental". It is so closely tied to the artist's intentions and motives, so closely aligned with the artist's creative spirit, and so entertwined with the natural generative impulse which it's iconography so often mirrors, that we find ourselves unable to reduce it to a set of theories or map its historical trajectories. Like the forces of nature that is its principal metaphor, it simply is. | |
| Henry H. "Skip" Lyman, Jr., received his training in the 1960s, majoring in Ceramics and minoring in Sculpture and Photography at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts. While at Alfred he studied under Val Cushing and Nan Mckinnell. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Montana, in Missoula, studying under Rudy Autio. This education included six years of art history, with a special emphasis on Italian Rennaissance, Modern Art and Far Eastern Art. This period in the life of the United States was one of innovation, radical introspection, and in some cases excess. | |
| The somewhat academic controversies surrounding the place of traditional crafts within the nation's cultural fabric influenced some ceramic artist's to explore the medium's possibilities for monumental sculpture. Others subverted its traditional syntax in favor of ironical and overtly "artistic" statements. A few looked to the medium and its traditions as a source of radical self-transformation. | |
| In the first few years of the 1970s Henry Lyman worked as an Instructor and Resident Potter at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Aside from establishing a self-sufficient personal studio, setting up a gallery and performing the other duties incumbent on his position, he instructed student's in all aspects of handbuilding, wheel work, and glaze and clay technology. His own work was at the forefront of a handbuilding renaissance in ceramics, and he influenced many students in that direction. | |
| In 1972 he was hired by Fort Wright College of the Holy Names, in Spokane, Washington, as an Assistant Professor of Art. During the sixties and early seventies Fort Wright had one of the most vital and dynamic art departments in the Pacific Northwest, largely because of the personal commitment and professionalism of its instructors. While at Fort Wright Mr. Lyman designed and developed the Ceramics Department and Program, training its staff, and performing faculty duties. He also wrote and received NEA grants for the Visiting Artist Program, establishing workshops with nationally known artists in the field, including Rudy Autio, Val Cushing, Wayne Higby, Marisol Escobar and others. | |
| Fort Wright was followed by Whitworth College, also in Spokane, where Henry H. Lyman, Jr., taught all aspects of ceramic art. In 1985 he formed Half Moon Studios, where the evolution of his artistic production continues. Founded in Spokane, Half Moon Studios has since moved to Olalla, on the Kitsap Peninsula, where Skip lives with his wife, designer Nina Lyman, in a rural area near Banner Forest. In recent years he has added a Macintosh G4 to his arsenal of art making tools. Using the alchemy of art, he channels the inspiration he finds in the fields and meadows of Olalla, and in the shadows of Banner Forest, through the organic technologies of ceramics and the electronic pulse of the computer, to make an art of a very high order. | |
| William E. Elston, 2005 | |
| PUBLICATIONS | |
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Ceramics: Mastering the Craft by Richard Zakin
The Studio Potter by Peter Lane The Craftsmen In America by the Nalional Geographic Society Getting into Pots, by George and Nancy Wettlaufer Electric Kiln Ceramics by Richard Zakin Pottery Decoration by Thomas Shafer Studio Potter Magazine, Dec 1986 |
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| SELECTED EXHIBITIONS | ||
| 2004 | The Bray in Spokane, Red Sky Gallery, Spokane, WA | |
| 2001 | 2001: Clay Odyssey, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT | |
| 1991 | Looking Both Ways (two person show), Spokane Art School, Spokane, WA | |
| 1990 | Teapot Invitational, Ariana Gallery, Birmingham, Ml | |
| 22nd Annual Celebration of American Crafts, Creative Arts Workshop, Haven, CN | ||
| Washington Potters Association Group Show, Northwest Craft Center, Seattle, WA | ||
| Carnegie Art Center Invitational Sculpture Show, Walla Walla, WA | ||
| Art On The Green (Jury Award), Coeur dAlene, ID | ||
| Bumbershoot Invitational, Northwest Craft Center Gallery, Seattle, WA | ||
| 1989 | The Rest of the Kingdom, Chase Gallery, Spokane, WA | |
| Best of the Northwest, Seattle, WA | ||
| 1988 | One Person Show, Chase Gallery, Spokane, WA | |
| Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Fair, The Bellevue Fair, Bellevue, WA | ||
| 1987 | Invitational Teapot Show, Lee Sclar Gallery, Morristown, NJ | |
| Invitational Group Show, North Idaho College, Couer dAlene, ID | ||
| Yuletide, Spokane Art School, Spokane, WA | ||
| 1986 | Art for Eating, Group Show, Fireworks Gallery, Seattle, WA | |
| Northwest Invitational Ceramics Exhibition, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA | ||
| 1985 | One Man Show, Spokane Art School, Spokane, WA | |
| Art on the Green (Jury Award), Couer dAlene, ID | ||
| 1982 | Art on the Green (Jury Award), Coeur dAlene, Idaho | |
| Spokane Sampler, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | ||
| 1981 | Dave Shaner Teabowl Invitational, Sea Star Gallery, Bigfork, MT | |
| Adirondak Regional Invitational, Arts Guild Center, Old Forge, NY | ||
| National Cone Box Show, Purdue University, West Lafeyette, IN | ||
| 20 Years of Archie Bray Ceramics, Montana Historical Society, Helena, MT | ||
| 1980 | Governors Invitational, Washington State Capitol Museum, Olympia, WA | |
| Crafts 1980 (1st Place Jury Award), Carnegie Art Center, Walla Walla, WA | ||
| Dave Shaner – H. H. Lyman, Two Man Show, Sea Star Gallery, Bigfork, MT | ||
| Celebration 80, Juried Show, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | ||
|
American Poreclain: New Expression in an Ancient Art: The Renwick Gallery,
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC |
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| 1977 | Two Man Show, Northwest Craft Gallery, Seattle, WA | |
| "Let's Drink To It" Show, The Elements, Greenwhich, CN | ||
| Opening Show, The Elements, New York, NY | ||
| Porcelain Show, Crafts Gallery Limited, Stevensville, MD | ||
| Two Man Show, The Juniper Tree Gallery, Spokane, WA | ||
| Ceramic Wearables, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheyboygan, WI | ||
| 1976 | Teapot Show, The Elements, New York, NY | |
| Three Man Show, Northwest Craft Gallery, Seattle Center, Seattle, WA | ||
| 1974 | Baroque '74, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York, NY | |
| Two Man Show, American Hand, Georgetown, DC | ||
| Art For Eating, The Elements, Greenwich, CN | ||
| Surfaces in Ceramic Art, Fairtree Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| Two Man Show, Richard Nash Gallery, Seattle, WA | ||
| Group Show, Fairtree Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 1973 | Porcelain and Stoneware, One Man Show, Northwest Crafts Gallery, Seattle WA | |
| Crafts Invitational, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | ||
| Porcelain Invitational, Allied Arts, Philadelphia, PA | ||
| 1972 | Media 72, Civic Art Center, Walnut Creek, CA | |
| Group Show, Fairtree Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| Two Man Show, Richard Nash Gallery, Seattle, WA | ||
| Archie Bray Group Show, Juniper Tree Gallery, Spokane, WA | ||
| 1971 | Group Show, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | |
| Archie Bray Group Show, University of Idaho, Pocatello, ID | ||
| "Own Your Own" Show, Jurors Choice, Boulder, CO | ||
| 1970 | One Man Show, Cartwheel Gallery, Missoula, MT | |
| Bellevue Arts Fair (Jury Award), Bellevue, WA | ||
| Invitational Craft Show, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | ||
| Three Man Show, Whirligig Gallery, Kirkland, WA | ||
| Ceramics Northwest (Purchase Award), C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, MT | ||
| 1968 | Northwest Craft Show, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA | |
| Syracuse National Ceramic Show, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY | ||
| 1967 | Northwest Craft Show, Henry Gallery, Seattle, WA | |
