Tom Smith. Small stoneware pot with a bronze lid, nd. 10.2. h x12.7 w cm. Collection Judy Blake.
Tom Smith Strathbutler Award 1992
Teacher, early social activist, and ceramist, Tom Smith moved through many careers and activities to become one of the most respected ceramic artists of New Brunswick. Enjoy the journey through his life and art.
By the way, if you have pictures and stories about Tom you would like to share, contact me via the comment section below.
Raunch 2014. Alwyn O’Brien. 2015 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics Winner
The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, ON, will celebrate Alwyn O’Brien and her work, and present to her the 2015 Winifred Shantz Award on Saturday, November 14.
“O’Brien, from Saltspring Island, BC. creates ceramic sculptures to push the medium as a vehicle to explore the metaphorical and literal question “What is the Vessel?” With an extensive knowledge of the history of decorative arts and a passion for the baroque, O’Brien’s objects challenge the definition of the vessel through the use of lacey hand-rolled coils in a deliberate yet chaotic way to construct volume and shape. Pinching, rolling and fingerprints are evidence of the hand and connect the material to the body.”
O’Brien received her MFA in 2010 from the University of Washington in Seattle and her BFA from Emily Carr Institute. Her work is featured in the collections of the Seattle Art Museum, the Surrey Art Gallery, and the Mackenzie Art Gallery. She divides her time between Saltspring Island, B.C. and Vancouver, where she is currently an instructor at both Emily Carr University of Art and Design and Langara College.
Alwyn will receive $10,000. This prestigious national awards allow early career practising ceramic and glass artists to undertake a period of independent research, or other activities that will advance their artistic and professional practice at a key moment in their careers.
Margo Meyer in her studio
I have added a page on Margo Meyer. She has been called “the matriarch of functional ceramics” in Newfoundland and Labrador. Her knowledge, skills and tenacity shaped the existence of studio pottery in the province today. Although she sold her works across Canada her desire for privacy kept her below the radar of many collectors and galleries.
Enjoy reading about her life and viewing a brief slide show on her work.
Of course, if you know of or have pictures of her work please let me know. Her page can be easily updated
canadiana – importantcanadiandesign homepage
I have added a new page to the collectors and collections section. canadiana – important canadian design
This is a site that adds a much needed presence promoting Canadian design. There is, of course, a section on ceramics including sections on artists such as Gaetan Beaudin, Maurice Savoie, Jean Cartier and Pierre Legault among others. The quality of images is excellent too.
Enjoy this new page on the Studio Ceramics Canada site
John Chalke: Surface Tension Exhibition
If you are in Calgary from October 15 to December 19, 2015, you cannot afford to miss this exhibition at the Nickle Art Gallery, University of Calgary.
Curated by Michele Hardy and with a catalogue essay by Amy Gogarty, the show promises to be a much needed exploration into the ceramic art of that icon of Alberta ceramics, John Chalke.
“John Chalke’s ‘clay paintings’ are conceptual ceramic works that dance between sculpture and painting. Inspired by the landscape of southwestern Alberta no less than its local clay, minerals, textures, and fissures, Chalke’s works are richly textured. Surface Tension draws on public and private collections from across Canada to explore the horses and cows, bottles and broken crockery, aerial views and archaeology of Chalke’s personal iconography”
Visit, learn, enjoy. And let me know how you liked the exhibition.
http://www.nickle.ucalgary.ca/exhibitions/item/john-chalke-surface-tension
An invitation for you to Alexandra McCurdy’s exhibition at the David Kaye Gallery
For those of you who are fans of Alexandra McCurdy’s art be sure to catch her exhibition, Crossing Material Boundaries, at the David Kaye Gallery, from October 1 to 25, 2015. As a special treat Alexandra herself will be there on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 2 to 4 pm.
Jean Clarke Design, African Cave Drawing, c.1953-56. Coll.Laura Blodgett.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Asking has its benefits. Another hard to find work has been added to the page on Stan and Jean Clarke courtesy of Laura Blodgett, collector. Thank you and keep ’em coming.
Walter Dexter . Vase. stoneware, thrown, 12mi. #2 glaze, Cochrane, with cobalt . cone 9. 15 1/2 cm h x 11cm d
Walter Dexter. Torso Vase.
If you haven’t visited the page on Walter Dexter yet, view his biography, pictures, and a slide show of his recent work.
Enjoy.
Jean Clarke Creating her Sculptures, nd. Nat Arch CGP C131971
Stan Clarke in his studio, nd. Nat Arch CGP C131970
I have added a new a new “short” page on Stan and Jean Clarke. Their careers span the formative years of ceramics in BC in the 1950s to 1970s. They were not only creators but were also important connectors between organizations and institutions in BC and across Canada.
If you know of collectors who have Stan’s or Jean’s works in the collection please let me know by leaving a comment. You can never have too many pictures of this hard-to-get period.
Enjoy.
Walter Dexter 1931-2015
Another great one in the history of Canadian studio ceramics has passed. Award winning Walter Dexter started in Alberta with Luke Lindoe but spent most of his years in British Columbia, especially Vancouver Island. Raku, Stoneware, and his Torso Vases are part of his teaching and artistic legacy. He will be missed.
Studio Ceramics Canada 