Harriet Hason at work in her studio
Jenni Long
Mark your calendars for The SaddleBrooke Fine Arts Guild Fall Art Show coming to The MountainView Clubhouse on MountainView Boulevard in SaddleBrooke on Saturday, October 29, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 30, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Incredible artwork will be for sale by our talented SaddleBrooke residents. You will be able to choose from all forms of art including oil and acrylic painting, watercolor, collage, photography and sculpture.
One of the talented artists that will be showing her work is Harriet Hason who has a passion for the visual arts and loves to share her excitement through teaching and her own artwork. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in art from the Pratt Institute in New York, she spent her career teaching at all age levels and finally coordinating an arts program in the Nyack New York school system.
After moving to Tucson, she began to create her own art, inspired by the beauty and spirituality of the desert. Harriet started painting and drawing, exploring many mediums to express herself. Eventually she transitioned to ceramic clay and three dimensional art. Harriet was introduced to the pottery studio in SaddleBrooke by a friend where she felt instantly connected. Forming her first piece, she felt a rush that she still feels with each piece. The plasticity of the clay gives her what she needs for immediate gratification as she allows each piece to take it where it wants to go. These pieces give her a surface for drawing and painting as she decorates each one.
Inspired not only by the desert, Harriet travels extensively and absorbs the art and culture of the world. Her artwork incorporates Asian and African influences as well as Native American culture showing that the world is connected through art. Looking at her spiritual figures, you see a combination of those influences but the common theme is singing through their open mouths. Each figure really speaks to you. The juxtaposition of pattern, textures and shapes give the figures life and meaning. Each new piece has elements of the last one but is an exploration for new ideas.
Harriet’s work is always growing and changing. After a trip to Italy, she started a series of relief pieces that evoke an emotion of the art seen in European churches. Her current works are vessels that incorporate all that she has discovered along her journey, while exploring new ways to express herself.
For Harriet her artwork is an avenue for peace and with her passage to each new level she learns more about herself.