{"id":8866,"date":"2026-04-14T12:29:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=8866"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:29:14","slug":"admiring-artists-hanna-traynham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=8866","title":{"rendered":"Admiring Artists: Hanna Traynham"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the many spectacular parts of living along the Blue Ridge is the fantastic creativity of such a vibrant and beautiful land and community. At a school that emphasizes exploring multiple disciplines, many of Roanoke College\u2019s students are part of that artistic community, whether through their studies or hobbies. This semester, I wanted to see what students like that could learn from other local artists. This week, I interviewed Hanna Traynham, Assistant Professor of Ceramics & Sculpture here on campus!<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What are your primary artistic mediums, and what specifically draws you to them?<\/span><\/p>\n

A: I am particularly drawn to clay! In my early childhood, I found a wild vein of clay in a creek bed and explored how it could be molded in my hands and dried in the sun. I have always been enthralled by clay\u2019s plasticity and strength, leading me to naturally push the physical limits of the material. I wheel throw, alter and pierce my vessels to explore the boundaries of its capacity to maintain its structure after being stretched and large amounts removed from the form. I like to see how much material I can remove and still have a vessel remaining! This process naturally lends itself to failure, frequently pushing beyond the limits to further hone and refine my skills. Within this threshold of control and collapse, my most interesting work emerges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What parts of your life have most fostered your creativity?<\/span><\/p>\n

A: My creativity has been fostered throughout my life, starting with my parents who encouraged me to explore my creative voice early on. I followed my heart to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts at James Madison University and began teaching art in all forms of educational settings. Teaching others has fostered my own creative journey. When I lived in Portland, Oregon I taught high school ceramics and other art forms. Engaging in student growth propelled my own understanding of how vital creative expression is for each person. While there, I earned a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University which advanced my professional teaching practice tenfold. I love the myriad of ways in which we learn. Ultimately, I believe that learning is a communal activity. This is why I work to cultivate a sense of community among the students within each of my classes. When we are more comfortable around each other, we can let our guards down and take greater risks in our artwork. These opportunities for potential failure often feel vulnerable, yet it is in these moments of uncertainty that we learn the most about our work and ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

After I relocated back to Southern Appalachia, I earned my Masters of Fine Arts from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was there where I learned about digging and processing wild clay from the very landscape I love and missed dearly when living far away. This newfound meaning of the material with which I work offered new directions for my creative journey. I am enriched by utilizing the ground that I honor to craft vessels that hold deeper meaning than the final pottery form itself. I have a deep connection to the land of Southern Appalachia, and using clay from this land embeds rich meaning within each pottery vessel that I create.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: How did you come to the Roanoke area?<\/span><\/p>\n

A: I grew up in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, in Floyd, Virginia. I loved my upbringing so much that I yearned to return. I recently moved back home to Floyd, and am commuting to Salem to share my enthusiasm for Ceramics and Sculpture at Roanoke College.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What are you working on artistically currently, and what are the next steps on your bucket list?<\/span><\/p>\n

A: I am currently working toward building a wood kiln at my home. This is a major undertaking, requiring extensive knowledge of the firing traditions, collection of materials for brick kiln construction, and cultivation of the creative community to help make firing with wood possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What is your advice to young artists?<\/span><\/p>\n

A: My advice to young artists is to strike a balance between seeking creative ideas from the internet and looking deep inside yourself for inspiration. The most genuine and authentic work emerges from pausing, taking a deep breath, slowing down, closely observing the natural world around you, being quiet, writing down thoughts, and reflecting on your personal experiences in life. When you do this, no one else can create the work you can. Also, notice the moments when you get lost in the process. When you lose track of time, forget to eat, and spend long hours in the studio happily creating, you have found the elusive workflow that many fail to achieve. It is these moments that are the most valuable to your creative growth. It is then when you begin establishing your own voice \u2013 actively responding to the material and being open to the directions it suggests through your hands. This is a beautiful collaboration between you and your material, whatever it may be. When you find yourself attentive to these moments, and give yourself plenty of time to explore them, you will naturally become better at executing the ideas that emerge as you are working. Just observe and listen! Also, do not be afraid to take risks in your work. If you play it too safe and stay within your comfort zone, you will never discover how far you could go!<\/p>\n

<\/span>Maggie Raker<\/p>\n

Culture, Wellness & Lifestyle Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the many spectacular parts of living along the Blue Ridge is the fantastic creativity of such a vibrant and beautiful land and community. At a school that emphasizes exploring multiple disciplines, many of Roanoke College\u2019s students are part of that artistic community, whether through their studies or hobbies. This semester, I wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture-wellness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}