Haley Bates is an artist based in Fort Collins, CO whose work explores human interconnectedness through the lens of function, design, and craft. She is interested in the unlikely intersections of digital and traditional craft practices, but finds that her head, hands, and heart are most closely aligned when she is in the studio, working with the traditional tools and techniques of silversmithing. This dynamic relationship between maker and material, idea and object, mediated by process, has anchored her studio practice for the last two decades.

Haley is a Professor of Art and head of the Metalsmithing & Jewelry program at Colorado State University. She received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. In addition to teaching at CSU, Haley has led demonstrations and workshops at schools and institutions throughout the United States. Her work is included in numerous private collections, and is in the permanent collection of the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN and is exhibited both nationally and internationally.

"Through my work, I explore human interconnections through the lens of function, design, and craft. I am drawn to humble objects that share a background of utility and functional design, and that reside solidly within the domestic sphere. Because these objects are so familiar, interruptions of their design become a focal point for deeper interrogation.  I challenge the usual assumptions around function and use by amplifying or modifying the qualities that define their utility.  These unexpected and incongruous results allow me to explore the metaphorical and poetic possibilities that such objects can contain. The processes I use require attentiveness and a slowing-down that both informs and grounds my practice: a quiet but powerful intervention that helps bring internal equilibrium to the outward demands of daily life.

I often explore themes within my work that are highly personal, and not always obvious.  Formal investigations of structure, surface, line, light, and space commingle with more emotionally-driven themes of grief, loss, commemoration, and longing. Ultimately, I strive to create work that expresses a sense of connectedness, and that communicates these themes beyond the scope of my own experiences. "