His work spans three decades of experiment and innovation and has been on display and winning awards in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and regional and national galleries and art shows.
Now Hallam is working on a new innovative project that combines his love of recycling with teaching others the hands-on pleasure of making art themselves.
“National and international artists are using recycled materials in dramatic ways. Steven Siegel creates large-scale boulders out of plastic bottles and cans. Robert Johnson salvages trash from rivers and compresses it into ‘River Cubes.’ Green art is strongly encouraged in today’s society,” Hallam said.
“I started recycling when I lived in Colorado. When I moved to Greene County I took my stuff to the Greene Arc recycling center in Ruff Creek.” Seeing the mounds of discarded materials “started the wheels turning in my mind. I thought – why not turn some of this into art?”
Hallam also found himself thinking that the people who worked there could create artistic products out of these nontraditional materials. “Art can be wonderfully therapeutic and rewarding, and it would be a fresh way of looking at what most people think of as trash.”
Hallam admits he found his muse almost by accident at Slippery Rock University. “I was studying physical therapy and took a clay class. I found it very compelling and I loved the results. Clay is the original recycled material and it’s renewable – the earth is always making more. I’ve been doing art for 30-some years but just recently I’ve been feeling like an artist. I felt more like a scientist because I’m always exploring and experimenting with new techniques, new materials and new ideas. There is a lot of science in working with clay.”
Hallam’s talents are widely recognized by his peers. His work has been published in national ceramic magazines and he is a member of the Society of Sculptors of Pittsburgh, Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh and the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. His skill as a carpenter builds structural integrity into whatever he makes. His home and studios on Center School Road, Jefferson, were handmade from bits of the recycled past, from ornate old Victorian trim to a salvaged stairway from an even older log cabin.
And art is everywhere – tall red clay sculptures on the lawn, wall hangings, paintings, drawings and brightly glazed ceramic pieces on tables and shelves.
Downstairs, in a workroom Hallam refers jokingly to as “the cave,” pieces of the new project were spread out on the table. Beaming, he pointed to some of the art already being produced by the people who work and participate in programs at Greene Arc.
“This spring I found out about the Sprout Fund grants when I attended a workshop at Waynesburg University. I contacted executive director Cindy Dias at Greene Arc and we decided it could be done. I wrote the grant and when it came through we started the project.”
The Sprout Fund is one of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s leading supporters of innovative community building projects with an emphasis on creativity. Hallam’s proposal received a Seed Award and Greene Arc’s mission to “develop quality programming for our individuals with developmental disabilities” was about to enter the world of art and imagination. Hallam was there to show them how to look at ‘trash’ with new eyes.
When spring comes, the finished projects will be assembled and put on display at Ryerson Station State Park and the Mt. Morris Welcome Center and at Geene Arc headquarters.
“We’re planning to have an open house in February to introduce the public to what is being done,” Hallam said. The project workplace is designed for safe material handling, assembling and packaging and tasks are tailored to individual skills.
“I’m very impressed that the people who are participating have taken ownership and are coming up with their own ideas and following through. I’m training the staff and working with the individuals, so we’re all learning together. That is what I hoped would happen and I’m very excited. I don’t see myself as an art teacher – I’m an artist teaching my art. This is a grand opportunity to pass on some of my ideas to others.”
“It’s been a wonderful journey working with Kyle,” Dias said. “The goal was to do a project incorporating art and culture, but the significance to me is he’s changing lives.”
