GALLERY: The Garden of Holden

Bemidji resident, Butch Holden, compares the process of creating pottery to that of gardening. Butch Holden’s pottery is rich with color, texture, and movement. “When I’m able to combine a variety of design elements so that each is evident, yet fluid with the others, I’ve created an aesthetic tickle which I find incredibly satisfying.”

“When I garden, I am manipulating all sorts of variables—location, soil, water—all in hopes of a thriving plant,” says Holden. “I monitor the plants, tweaking elements each year. Gardening is an incredibly optimistic activity and for me, pottery is the same. I work the clay with optimism, in hopes that the outcome will be that which I had planned. Many variables must be successful prior to placing my pieces in the kiln.” As with seedlings coming from the soil in his garden, when Butch’s pottery finally emerges from the kiln, the clay has magically bloomed.

Holden is the department chairperson for the visual arts department at Bemidji State University. He instructs various levels of ceramics and drawing classes while working tirelessly to ensure that his department continues to flourish amid the financial drought experienced by many schools and universities. Beloved by students and staff, Holden makes a positive impact on those in his path. His goodness and balance are contagious, leaving others striving to create more of both in their lives.

Good and balanced. The two words also describe his pottery, yet greatly underestimate it. A master of combining opposites, Holden’s works possess a grounding, harmonious quality. The act of combining elements of contrast is something he values. “When I’m able to combine a variety of design elements so that each is evident, yet fluid with the others, I’ve created an aesthetic tickle which I find incredibly satisfying.”

The “aesthetic tickle” he speaks of can be entrancing. His manipulation of negative space—the concave portion of a bowl or the inside of a cup—becomes a major factor in his overall design. In this way, his latest exhibit, “Around the Block,” surprises and stuns the onlooker. The phrase, “around the block,” has perplexed him for years.

“As a kid, whether we rode, walked, or pushed, we always did so around the block,” says Holden. “I have always thought it interesting.” The collection is as perplexing to the viewer as the phrase is to Holden. Clusters of bowls hang as strategically as puzzle pieces, creating wall art that incorporates the circular forms of the bowls and geometric patterns within the grouping. Sitting on a bench in the midst of his works is like sitting in a ceramic garden—clusters of ceramic, multifaceted blooms cropping up on all sides while large “bulbs” wait to sprout atop pedestals.

Amidst the circles and hexagons, a lone vessel rests on a shelf. The asymmetry of its mosaic, ornamental elements contrasts pleasingly with the balanced shape and height of the cylinder. Coal and sand tones propose strength and solidarity and are reminiscent of an ancient treasure unearthed in a remote African village. The ornately detailed vessel, Holden’s first, was created more than thirty years ago. It fits beautifully alongside the new pieces, some of which were pulled from the kiln days ago. Like a message in a bottle, set to sea many years prior, this vessel found its way home. Recognizing his work, a former colleague purchased it along her journey. Her act of returning the original to the creator completes a full circle. Full circles, balance, and trips around the block are keys to the exhibit.

Holden’s formal training works congruently to fashion his formations. Obtaining his undergraduate degree in 2-D design from the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, Holden is a master at manipulating surfaces. This expertise is combined with the pottery skills acquired through workshops, countless personal hours spent with the clay, and obtaining his MFA at Indiana State University.

“Pottery tells the story of its creator,” says Holden. “In the campus collection we have a small Turkish pot that dates to the first century. When I place my thumb inside that pot, I can feel the thumbprint of the person who worked the clay. When my thumb sets on that print, I am connecting my human experience with that potter’s experience.” In this way, clay records history. In this way, pottery becomes both “re-creation” as well as “recreation.”

Holden breathes his life into his pottery. “I’m working with these man-made rocks in hopes that I can collaborate with them in order to tell my story.”

Fortunately, the clay is recording his life. His work conveys his multi-dimensional manner of looking at and manipulating the world around him. It also conveys his positivity and goodness. His optimism and ability to problem-solve shine through in his art. If, one hundred years from now, a person places a thumb in the pottery print of Holden’s, perhaps something magical would transpire as the two lives connect.