Review by Rachelle Chinnery Craft Perception and Practice: a Canadian discourse Volume 2 by Paula Gustafson ISBN 1-55380-026-5 7 Y x 10 224 pp Paper Back 37 colour illustrations $26.95 CDN On this twenty-eighth consecutive day of rain, in the post-trauma of craft show lunacy, so many fine craft artists are catching their breath and pondering their future. In these 7) dark days of coastal winter, a solid reassuring read about craft goes down like a steaming hot cup of tea - from a finely crafted cup. CRAFT Porception and Practice Weluee It shi Paula Gustafson’s long awaited second volume of Craft: Perception and Practice has finally been released. The publication of Volume 1, in 2002, was the first of its kind to be catalogued with within the art sections of libraries, and because of this, according to Gustafson, “critical discourse about sculptural objects and functional art - the expressions of professional fine craft artists - has achieved its rightful place within the main- stream of visual art.” This most recent collection of twenty-two essays is divided into five thematic categories: The Landscape of Memory, The Vessel as Idea, The Language is Personal, History Redux, and Limning the Theory. It is a full range of topics covering the spectrum of interests from medium-specific to broad craft theory. Explaining her selections, Gustafson says, “Critical response engages in a parallel adventure: one foot on the stabilizing path of tradition, the other on the freeway of innovation and change.” Gustafson’s new collection ranges from “heretical” writings, which “extol the bawdy pleasure of holding an object” (referring to Bettina Matzkuhn’s sensually charged essay), to Glenn Allison’s transcribed lecture Report from the Interior”, presented at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. One of Allison's poetic thoughts from this essay is that “Craft is performative, and in language we speak it as a verb.” Once again Gustafson’s choice of essays completes a full-bodied representation of craft in all its complicated glory. The format and layout of Volume 2 are identical to the first Volume, but this new collection of essays is stronger, with more consistently erudite writing than the first. Issues of professional- ism - and the meaning of professional craft - are thoroughly addressed in Defining Professional Craft, by Sandra Alfoldy. She states, “Ironically, the recent development of professional craft is actually a rebirth of many of the rules and hierarchies of the craft guilds that operated as the first professional systems in western societies as early as the twelfth century”. Another very readable and well-researched essay is found in The Landscape of Memory chapter. Susan Surette’s Landscape as Language in Canadian Ceramics: A Reading of a National Collection, is an analysis of the importance of ceramics acquisi- tions in both the Massey and Bronfman collections. Surette asserts that Canadian ceramics in national collections affirm this craft as “an active and full contributor to the national ethos.” The nineteen contributing writers in this compilation are artists, critics, teachers, and art gallery directors. Perspectives, theories and proclamations are broad, varied and relevant - on one level or another - to every practicing craft artist. Some essays are tran- scribed lectures that would otherwise be inaccessible, unless the reader had attended the talk. And now, with the demise of the magazine Artichoke, there is one less venue to read critical thought about craft in Canada. A singular drawback of this book, as with the first publication, is the quality of the photographs. While the writings are the pri- mary content, not having clear professional images of profession- al work seems anathema in a book of this caliber - even the cover image is out of focus. However, this is not a coffee table book and the written content is overwhelmingly informative and satis- fying to read. Gustafson sits comfortably among the pantheon of the very few Craft Champions publishing in the world. Rachelle Chinnery Throwing with Janet Mansfield A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study throwing techniques with world-renowned ceramist Janet Mansfield. Janet has four decades of experience and is represented in international collections and publications. She is an author and editor of “Art & Perception” magazine, as well as manager of a ceramic gallery in Australia. In this 2-day workshop, Janet demon- strates her throwing techniques for a variety of forms, then guides students as they apply these techniques during hands- on practice. Mon/Tue, March 20 & 21, 10am-3pm 2 sessions, $178.62 Barcode: 100085 To register phone: 604-291-6864 Or register through TeleReg: 604-570-3800 ot WebReg: www.burnaby.ca/webreg Shadbolt Centre for the Arts 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 2J3 604-291-6864 February 2006 Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter