Striking sparks for creativity: Icelanders at Haystack

Scandinavian Review, Spring 1998 by Kyle, Roberta Olsen

Kogga, as she is called, works mostly in procelain and stoneware creating bold shapes in primary colors. Her personality is as vibrant as her work. In her studio-cum-shop she moves with graceful assurance, talking as she goes, her hands busy at a potter-like task:

Haystack was good for me; new blood in my veins loosened me up. Even the food was good. Working there I saw for the first time how Americans do things together and give each other emotional support. Showing their feelings is easier for them. Sometimes Americans don't grasp my work, and they are very quick to judge.

What impressed her the most about Haystack and left a lasting impression on her work? Like the others, Kogga mentioned the interaction among artists from all over the world. She alone raised the important point that Haystack was not comprised solely of skilled professionals but included people at all stages and levels of artistic development, as well as from different national and cultural traditions. She also mentioned the contact between career craftspeople and accomplished amateurs as being useful.

If there is a theme that runs through the Haystack experience for these Icelandic craft artists, it is that of artistic and cultural excitement. Such a reawakening of creative zeal is especially needed in the craft world, where art and daily life meet in a very pragmatic way. By enabling them to see other artisans at work, to explore new techniques and materials, and to view their disciplines through the eyes of others, Haystack offered these Icelanders stimulation as well as camaraderie.

In a tiny world-within-a-world off the coast of Maine, the sparks that Adalsteinn Ingolfsson hoped would be struck have clearly caught on and created a cheery trans-Atlantic blaze of creativity and friendship.

Roberta Olsen Kyle, a freelance writer, publishes Eye on Iceland, a newsletter for North American travelers and friends of Iceland.