AVANT GUARDIANS By Leticia Gonzales
Dream WEAVER C
Caitlin Heyer began in ceramics, now considers herself a weaver
aitlin Heyer, a 30-year-old art teacher and kiln tech, always has gravitated toward the
arts. “I spent a lot of time drawing and coloring and playing with clay and beads as a little girl,” Heyer said. “I started weaving in high school when a friend gave me a set of cards for tablet weaving. I loved it, but cards are kind of limiting because they’re mostly for making narrow bands.” Heyer said she fell in love with ceramics while studying studio art at Bethany Lutheran College, where she ultimately earned her degree. “I started as a painter in college and worked mostly with oils but found I was drawn to the surface
work I could do in ceramics.” After graduation, her husband encouraged her to find a studio at the Arts Center of Saint Peter. Although she had been a potter, Heyer said that her pregnancy in 2018 prevented her from bending over the pottery wheel. She also had to limit her glazing because of the toxic chemicals. “So I started incorporating fiber to my work as a way to add color, and I had so much fun exploring that relationship between the softness of the fabric and the hardness of the ceramic,” she said. “Both materials are so strong in their own ways.” In addition to being a stay-athome mom, Heyer works part time at Artifact, firing the kiln and as a
Caitlin Heyer studied studio art at Bethany Lutheran College. The artist works with ceramics and fiber. | Submitted photo
fiber technician at the Arts Center of Saint Peter, caring for the looms and teaching weaving. She still manages to find about 10 hours a week to work on her own art. In her show last year, Heyer said she found herself including more fiber in each piece. “I ended up using a floor loom for one project and loved it so much that it was kind of a natural transition into weaving.” While she still includes ceramic elements in her woven work, she considers herself a weaver now. “My most recent and biggest exhibition was last October,” Heyer said. “It was called ‘Holding Space,’ and I was really fortunate to be able to join my fellow potters Jan Waller and Stephanie Bové to explore how people deal with and approach death. Recently, I started dying my own yarn and rags for rugs. I have two hand-dyed rugs on my loom that I’m working on right now.” Finding inspiration for projects has been a challenge due to the ongoing pandemic. “COVID has really thrown a wrench in my flow, though, and I took a three-month hiatus to sew masks,” she said. “Now a lot of my work has to do with protection and protective barriers. I tend to work in blues when I weave and with neutrals for my ceramic elements. I love the interplay between the rigid permanence of the clay body and the softness and fluidity of the fibers.” She isn’t letting any materials go to waste either, as she is also making ceramic beads to add to a warp for a round rug made out of mask scraps. “I find lots of things inspiring, and something that seems unrelated can really make a connection. Making masks has made me think a lot about the ways we protect ourselves both physically and emotionally.”
MANKATO MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2020 • 9
