Animal Hair Adds Life To Ceramics

Animal Hair Adds Life To Ceramics FARM HOME Miscellaneous A pair of ceramic artists in Millarville Alta have come up with a new way to memorialize a favorite horse or other pet When Judy LeBlanc pulls a ceramic piece out of her kiln at 950 degrees her daughter Angie Faltus does what she calls “the laying on of the hair” Basically she lays strands of horse hair across the piece that sizzle and burn where they lay She works quickly as she only has about 3 min The meandering lines left are carbon trails that become part of the piece Horse hair pottery has been around for thousands of years It’s very popular with Native Americans in the Southwest U S for example A Colorado artist taught LeBlanc and Faltus how to do it in 2008 and they have incorporated it ever since into their designs at Two Springs Ceramics The type of hair affects the design “Palomino blonde hair is so thick it looks like the thickness of spaghetti Arabian hair is fine – almost like dog hair ” LeBlanc says The artists have worked with all kinds of animal hair from pets to wildlife such as deer elk moose and buffalo Feathers also work They use their own supplies of animal hair for pieces they sell at a local farmers market For custom orders they tell clients to brush their animals to get hair The long hairs from a horse’s tail or mane work best Hair can be mailed to them in sealed plastic bags A new website includes photos of the shapes and pieces the artists offer from jewelry to containers to free form shapes Some include sketched silhouettes Costs range from $15 to $250 depending on the complexity of the piece Currently they only sell in Canada That may change in the future LeBlanc notes Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Two Springs Ceramics Box 73 Millarville Alta Canada T0L 1K0 ph 403 816-0323

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