Every artist finds inspiration in a different place. Superior potter Sara Haugen finds it in cold gravy and her morning pancakes.
Whenever her family got together for Christmas, they complained about cold gravy until Haugen made several gravy pitchers designed to keep the sauce hot, Haugen said.
For herself, she designed batter bowls for ease in pouring pancakes.
"A lot of stuff I make comes out of necessity," she said. "I like using the things I make."
Haugen, one of Superior's master potters, shows her work only once a year during the Northwestern Wisconsin Pottery Tour each summer. In a rare display outside her Point of Rocks Road studio, an exhibit of Haugen's work opens Monday at North Shore Bank of Commerce Lakeside, 4801 E. Superior St., Duluth. The exhibit is part of North Shore Bank's "Viewing from the Vault" art series, which is displaying work by 12 professional, local artists at four North Shore Bank locations.
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"There are so many good potter's in this area that it's kind of humbling," Haugen said of being chosen for the exhibit.
The artists featured work in several different medium. One other potter is featured in the series, which runs through 2007.
"Viewing from the Vault" is designed to give area artists more recognition and to allow bank customers to see artwork in their daily lives, said exhibit curator John Steffl.
Steffl said customers are already exclaiming about Haugen's work as he put the exhibit up this week.
"She produces some of the highest quality pottery in our region, and not enough people know about her work," Steffl said. "North Shore Bank wants to broadcast her presence."
Besides cooking, Haugen gets her inspiration from gardening, Japanese pottery, English and German folk pottery and antiques.
Haugen began on the road to her pottery career in junior high school. She went on to the University of Wisconsin-Stout where she concentrated her studies in art teaching.
She continues learning her craft to this day. Haugen attends workshops to learn new techniques. She also shares her knowledge with workshops of her own.
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Haugen is a part-time potter and a full-time mom. Her roomy workshop shows signs of her 12-year-old son in the shape of clay snowmen he's made, and Haugen is thrilled by his friend's comments.
They think it's cool she made the plates and bowls they eat off, she said.
Haugen's work looks unique because she uses wood and salt firing methods.
The way ash from the wood firing hits the pottery determine how it looks. No two pieces look the same, she said.
Haugen fell in love with the wood firing method years ago. The hill outside her studio is dominated by the 23-foot chimneys of her two kilns.
Even though Haugen loves wood firing, she admits it's difficult.
The kiln has to be heated to 2,380 degrees. That temperature must be arrived at slowly, so the wood has to be added in a certain way. At first it's like a campfire, but by the end it's a group effort with three people putting wood in at one time, Haugen said.
Firing the kiln also takes time.
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It takes half a day to load, two days to fire, three days to cool and another half a day to unload, she said.
The love comes in when she opens the kiln after all her hard work.
"You never know what you're going to get; it's like Christmas," she said.
Haugen fired the items for her North Shore Bank exhibit in late November. The show includes a variety of her work in 31 different pieces.
The exhibit will be fully arranged for viewing Monday and is on display through Jan. 26.
Anna Kurth covers education. Call her at (715) 394-4411, ext. 138 or e-mail akurth@superiortelegram.com .
