By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News
Sun-News photos by S. Derrickson Moore
Creative collaboration opportunities start as soon as you walk into the home of Fred and Polly Day.
Arrayed on a table are an assortment of wooden spikes and pegs, weighted bases and a motley assortment of Fred Day's white ceramic sculptural shapes, along with a small sign with an invitation to "Disassemble and create your own connections."
"Go ahead. Build something. Make some art," Day coaxed his visitor.
As the newcomer assembled a ceramic tower, he demonstrated that he practices what he preaches in terms of productive creativity.
At first glance, the Day hacienda seems to be a study in clean, unclutteed Scandinavian- Southwestern organic lines and earthy colors.
On closer examination, it's clear that every wall, cupboard top and corner is inhabited by the creations and collections of the Days.
Polly's paintings blend with Fred's free-form ceramic sculptures and his eclectic and some times eccentric assemblages of tables.
Featuring everything from barn wood to birdhouses and desert pebbles, the tables seem to have independent spirits and animated wills all their own.
Though solid and balanced enough to form sturdy bases for the Days' books and objets d'art, some of the creations seemed poised for a leap into other dimensions, or at least a brisk jog around the block.
"I'm a Libra, and his tables really bothered me at first. There weren't any straight angles - everything was cast off to one side," said Polly "But eventually he won me over."
These days, she even sometimes makes personal contributions to his tables.
Some of Fred's creations incorporate her ceramic tiles into the distinctive Day designs, along with occasional found objects such as stones.
In a written profile, Day describes himself as "Director Emeritus of New Mexico State University's Physical Plant Department, 1951-1978, during which time the university grew from a 700-acre campus to 6,300 acres, from 12 permanent buildings to 75 and student enrollment from 1,500 to 12,000."
After earning a master's degree in horticulture from Texas Tech, he came here to help deal with the influx of post-World War II students flooding college campuses.
"We had to entirely re-landscape the New Mexico State University campus. With that kind of expansion, we all had to work together on campus planning. We had a lot of guidelines to follow, trying to keep the classrooms within a short walking distance and eliminate as much auto traffic as possible on campus.
"We wanted to create an oasis in the desert, which meant you had to have the know-how and expertise to grow just about any thing that will grow here.
"We used palm trees and tried to create a very green look. I think it's held pretty well over the years."
The Days raised three kids, and Polly worked as an art instructor at Las Cruces High School and with community programs, including arts and crafts classes at Munson Senior Citizen Center.
Meanwhile, back on the home-front, she found the art bug was nibbling away at her husband. "I began to take ceramics classes under Amanda Jaffee prior to retirement in 1978," he said.
He experimented with everything from free-form objects to sculptural works, including a 3-D interpretation of a vase from a Picasso painting which won an award in a regional "From the Ground Up Exhibit."
These days, he has moved from ceramics and horticulture to devote his time to creation of a burgeoning garden of tables.
"For ceramics, you need a huge area to work and a facility for firing. It takes a long time to make something and let it dry. I find I like working in wood."
He said his "interest in small tables began at the request of family members."
After his first efforts, requests from family and friends continued.
He usually uses pine, oak and barn wood, and works with sketches inspired by anything from works of art to nature in the desert landscape surrounding his Las Alturas home.
"I'm intrigued by designs that seem to want to go one way, but I like coaxing them another way. I am using the same design philosophy in wood working that I used in clay design. I call it 'design intervention,'" he said.
He has exhibited his works in local galleries but most requests come tbrough people who have seen his tables in local homes, he said.
For more information about Day's tables call (505) 522-1669.
Day collaborated with wife Polly and nature to create tables that incorporate her ceramic tiles with his designs.
| "Featuring everything from barn wood to birdhouses and desert pebbles, the tables seem to have independent spirits and animated wills all their own." |
