Canadian Ceramic History

I found these articles fascinating and informative. Canadian Ceramic History tells of the first pots made in Canada and there are good images of decorative techniques and forming methods at http://www.creeculture.ca/content/pottery.  

Here's a photo from a website featuring good images of Iroquois pots . The image above is from this site. 

Pottery Makes You Smarter

The ceramics world has lost another artist. Yoshiro Ikeda has passed away.  

Here's a link to an article in Ceramics Arts Daily about his use of building up the surface with multiple firings. I agree that the method is more important than recipes. Experiment, have fun and keep records. 

Students' Pots

Yesterday the students from the Beginner's Throwing Class I taught at the Saskatoon Potters Guild picked up their pots. Here are some pots made by people who have never thrown before. I'm impressed and glad that they persevered. Learning to throw isn't easy. Thanks to the returning students who offered encouragement.

I derive a great deal of satisfaction from sharing my skills and helping people learn. Of course I always think I have the best students. Kudos to the class coordinators and technicians. 

The pots on top were glazed with a white glaze and then dots where applied using raspberry (a chrome-tin) glaze and spearmint from Mastering Cone Six Glazes.  Floating Blue, an old standby and very popular with the students, was applied to the pouring bowls.

Rhonda, whose plate is picture above has been taken a few classes before, has attained her goal of making plates. She made a sprig mold from a metal dragonfly magnet. Glazes on the plate are spearmint and shino.

Donation to The Gardiner Museum

What a wonderful gift!  Mr. Yu donated his collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics to The Gardiner Museum. 

I enjoyed hearing Raphael Yu speak about collecting ceramics. Take a listen to this video.

Congrats to Deb Kuzyk and Ray Mackie who have some of their beautifully decorated pottery is in this collection. 

Here's an in situ photo taken by Ken Field of Deb and Ray's exhibition Urban Vermin, in the Perry Gallery, at the Art Gallery of Burlington, in Burlington, Ontario. The show runs until  Jan 18, 2015. A visit to the Art Gallery of Burlington is a highlight my trip when I visit Ontario. Their collection of ceramics is outstanding.

Karin Swildens

I came across an image of one of Karin Swilden's sculptures which resonated with me. Intrigued by the surface and form, I wanted to find out more. 

Karin uses a variety of media to make thought provoking work which includes doors, women, goddesses and erotica. 

Spoons

Spoons are functional and decorative objects that enhance daily life. We use them to sip and stir. Some are heirlooms and evoke memories. Souvenir spoons are collected and given as gifts.

"Emmaline" was named after my paternal grandmother who gave me a metal spoon that she used to make sure her gravy was lump-free. 

This spoon was made by dipping an armature made from kiln elements into paperclay slip, letting it dry and repeating the process over and over. It was then fired in an electric kiln. 

Emmaline is in the Spoon Me exhibition http://www.pinterest.com/medalta/spoon-me-medalta/ . Hope you enjoy checking all the spoons out. I managed to only purchase two at the reception...but there are more on my wish list.

This shrine to Medalta http://medalta.org/ features a souvenir Medicine Hat spoon along with images of kilns there, bricks, pots and more.