Village Squire, 1975-11, Page 8kilo and a wheel and other materials. She
started pinching pennies from the grocery
budget until she'd saved enough to buy a
little electric kiln measuring 13 by 14 inches.
She soon outgrew it and had to make the
decision as to whether or not to move up to a
bigger electric kiln or build a gas kiln. She
decided to take the big step and,build her own
kiln. If, she says, she had known all the
problems involved she probably wouldn't
have taken on the project but she's the kind of
person who doesn't sit back and worry aobut
the problems that lie ahead but goes right at
it. And so the little behive-shaped kiln sits in
the backyard and Kaaren is rather proud of
her accomplishment. It's a self-supporting
brick arch structure that husband Bill,
predicted would never stand when she pulled
out the form, but it did and still does. On this
cold late October day it sits filled with clay
pots and plaques waiting for firing.
Today, she says, she is much more relaxed
and haphazard about her work patterns than
when she first started out. Perhaps, she says
it is because she has developed a style of her
own. For a while, Kaaren says, she was
producing work that was "a poor imitation of
no one. Now I have a style that's me".
Her pots tend to be utilitarian. She spends
a lot of time in the kitchen so she makes
things that she can use in the kitchen. The
pleasure, she says, is in using her pots.
Still there is pleasure in looking at them
too. There is a lot of humour in her work, like
the cup the writer is drinking from as the
conversation goes on across an antique pine
table in the Batten's Exeter kitchen. The cup
features a gentleman with a large protruding
nose and bushy mustache. It has a rough,
earthy texture that makes it a delight to touch
as well as to look at.
Texture is one of the major elements in a lot
of her work. Her pots are one small part of her
work. She also makes delightful figures from
clay complete with textured pants (the clay is
rolled against burlap), and squiggly strands
of clay for hair and beards. There's a warmth
in both the texture and the humor of the
figures. She enjoys making them, she says,
but hasn't made any for a year or more.
She also makes plaques from clay and
combines them with macrame to interesting
wall hangings, many of which decorate the
big old Batten home. The jute of the macrame
and the texture of the clay go well together,
she says. She's been experimenting too with
weaving combined with her clay and shows
one example of this, clay plaque with a hole
left in the centre which is then filled with
woven jute.
From the comfortable antiques of the house
to the many examples of her work that
decorate the place one gets a feeling of a
great deal of artistry and creativity on the part
of Mrs. Batten. .Yet she has little art
background as such. She grew up south of
Woodstock at a time when most girls were
either teachers or nurses. She went to
teachers college herself then went on to the
University of Toronto where she studied
Home Economics and there indirectly picked
up some of her tools through the study of
design, colour and balance. If she was going
through school again today, she says, she'd
probably go into art but she's done quite well
without it. She's taken several short courses
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6, VILLAGE SQUIRE/NOVEMBER 1975
in various arts and crafts.
Her art has been good for her, she says. It
has helped her grow. Being in the newspaper
business is a lonely business she says and
she's often home alone at night while Bill is
away covering a meeting. • Her pottery has
helped not only to fill those evenings but
provide a good deal of self -growth as well.
In fact, if there's a problem it is that her
work is too popular. Every time someone
opens a new shop in the area they want to
include her work. She's cut down the number
of shops she sells in though because she
found she was having to produce too much
what other people want her to produce and
not so much what she wants to do.
She also likes to know the people who are
interested in her work. For that reason she's
planning an open house on November 28 in
the afternoon and evening so that all those
interested in her work can see it and talk to
her and her family. (The Battens live at 64
Sanders St. West, Exeter).
Those who attend will also get a chance to
see the award winning child -proof addition
the Battens designed and built several years
ago. The addition features a cedar lined
gymnasium on the main floor large enough
for the boys and their friends to play
floorhockey or basketb?ll. One part of the
addition has —a gallery that features a
comfortable family room with television,
stereo and big stuffed furniture, and of course
several examples of Kaaren's work.
And just to prove the whole family is
involved in the work, the family will be there
to greet visitors too.
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