Highlights of Hagan’s projects range from exploring, environmental work with the art and science arenas to primary producer installations with primary students, university art residencies and individual to collective transformation. Her diverse ventures include ages 3-103, intergenerational, multi-cultural and interdisciplinary projects. She advocates for the thriving of all life in mutually sustainable community and environments.
Cayman Island dive with Stingrays.
Brain coral inspiration snorkeling off Rum Point, North side Cayman.
Snorkeling Spott’s Beach, South side Cayman Island.
Eagle ray diving off North Wall, Cayman.
Lookin’ up from 100’ down, North Wall, Cayman.
Azure Vase Sponge, North Wall, Cayman: love at first sight and inspiring dive transforming into abstraction clay sculpture.
Marguerita with artist, Diane Burko who coordinated Coral Reef Ecosystems Panel: Presentation and Poster Session at AGU Conference in D.C. Panel consisted of artists, Burko and Hagan and scientists, Mark Eakin, Natalie Goodkin, Molly Moynihan and Stuart Sandin with panel moderator, Susan Eriksson, artist and scientist.
Incredible gathering at intersection of art and science.
Mark Eakin oversees all coral survey for NOAA & is the senior science consultant on documentary film Chasing Coral (Netflix); Natalie Goodkin & Molly Moynihan from Nanyang Technological University and Stuart Sandin from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Sandin’s 100 Island Challenge project includes visual art collaboration for remote coral image capture to produce 3-D printed models tracking the health of the reef around the world.
Mark Eakin, NOAA and senior science consultant in documentary Chasing Coral speaking with visitors from NASA at our poster session.
Stuart Sandin explaining data from his project mapping coral health globally.
Art residency with primary art students in pre-k, kindergarten and first grade at Westtown School with art teacher Jeff Waring. Permanent installation at elementary playground entrance at Friends school on 600 acres in West Chester, PA.
First graders made the sculpted marine organisms floating between the Pre-K & K shields with primary producers in relief.
Art teacher, Jeff Waring sharing how Hagan draws marine micro organisms on her Primary Producerware and sculpts the La Mer series following slideshow on our blue planet’s primary producers.
Pre-k and kindergarten sculpted marine organisms and attached to wet clay shields made by Marguerita.
Students painting ceramic color on bisqued shields and sculpture.
Fall 2018 with gallery curator, Margaret Pezalla-Granlund at TCNJ. Hagan worked in the gallery on new marine abstract sculpture later exhibited during Springs Eternal: Art, Water & Change 2/6 - 3/31.
Residency included exhibition of Wildlife & La Mer, lecture and reception with numerous gallery visits and events with science, art, art education and general students, Art Open House event, Women’s College Club of Princeton and Hagan visiting science class and faculty.
Hagan with students following her lecture at the opening of her solo exhibit during art residency at TCNJ.
Alexis showing Diane Burko and Hagan the cold-water coral samples they are studying following the historic discovery of the largest known cold-water coral reef, approximately 100 miles long off the coast of South Carolina.
Cold-water coral from expedition including lophelia pertusa inspiring Hagan’s marine abstract Perpetual Lophelia Pertusa.
Dr. Erik Cordes shares the DEEP SEARCH Project and discovery of the largest deep-sea coral reef in history. The site of the reef was a target for drilling. Thanks to the findings, Charleston Chamber of Commerce reached out to Dr. Cordes with news that the drilling was off the table for now in a bi-partisan effort.
Detail of the charming lophelia pertusa at Temple Labs in Philadelphia. Perpetual Lophelia Pertusa sculpture abstracts and plays on the sensual tentacles and polyp mouth of this complex beauty.
Another deep dive and magnification of a different essential environment and ecosystem: our gut!
An ongoing project by Kathy High about shared micro-ecologies among family members. Pleased to transform Kathy’s 3 household crests into ceramic sculptures. The essential microscopic bacteria comes to life moving across the 13th c family crest designs.
It was created in collaboration with Dr William dePaolo, Center for Center for Microbiome Sciences and Therapeutics (CMiST), University of Washington, Seattle.
“Family BioCrests” is an art project researching the micro-organisms that inhabit our gut. This project asks whether family members share similar gut microbes because they share a living space – thus possibly giving families a particular gut microbe profile.
Fecal samples were taken from families, including partners/spouses, children, parents, pets, and cultured and analyzed at a science laboratory. Similarities between each individual’s bacterial/fungal profiles determined the signature crest of each family.
Household of 5:
3 human adult females
1 human infant male
1 feline male
Shared bacteria:
Microccocus Luteus, Klebsillus Pneumoniae, Escherichia Coli
Gentle Grandpa detail
Household of 3:
1 human adult female
1 human adult male
1 cannine female
Shared bacteria:
Lactobacillus Paracasei, Escherichia Coli
Woody Fox detail: E. Coli is spiky bacteria with flagella tail and common to all 3 households.
Household of 2:
2 human adult females
Shared bacteria:
Bacillus Subtilius, Enteroccus Faealis, Escherichia Coli
69 detail
The Alternative Healing Project was created, curated and coordinated by Laura Hinds and Hindsight Consulting Group in 2018 for the Community Health Workers Peer Project at Drexel University Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice.
The 2 weeks of creative healing follows the rigorous months of certification for young men of color living in violence. I am honored to host the extraordinary young men in my ceramic studio each year. The weeks of well being also include yoga classes, visiting the gym, the barber, a hot glass studio, drumming and completing their personal digital stories.
The ceramic program includes creating custom works in clay and wraps with a group critique of their works in clay and experience. The ceramic pieces are exhibited at the final celebration with the screening of their digital stories for a powerful and inspiring closure and new beginning for everyone.
With necessary funding, the brilliant program continues each year and I am grateful.
Isaiah glazing his symbolic multi-ringed orb.
A number of these visionaries have launched programs supporting young fathers as well as transforming directions for youth of color growing up in violence.
Each participant had to apply for this competitive program and be juried in and were profoundly inspiring.
Marguerita and Anthony for a little perspective on scale.
Most of these young men had never worked in clay and surprised themselves. At this critique we all agreed, each piece was a love letter to themselves and to those who had stood by them.
Look out world for this bright star.
Game Changers 2019 Studio Session
Sharing ceramic projects at the 2019 Celebration Ceremony.
Nasir: infectious smile and stellar mask.
Final Celebration Ceremony 2019. Love these guys.
This video was created for the exhibit La Mer: People Protect What They Love at the Science Museum of Virginia by museum videographer, Tyler Rhodes. Working with Hagan’s photos of her ceramic sculpture and the species she collected, this video animates the ceramic and gives a sense scale to the micro marine organisms in the final frames within a droplet of water. Humpback whales sing in the background with an altered adaptation of the song, La Mer by Charles Trenet.