Lhave worked with clay since 1972. My
formal training was at Sheridan College
School of Crafts and Design in
Mississauga, Ontario, graduating in 1978.
I have made my living a3 4 potter ever
since,

While at college | explored the symbolic
significance of form and material, | looked
at the earliest of clay artifacts that spoke to
the essential nature of the material, and

Laurie Rolland Hird Vecre! D002
1305 cm, body made in plaster
mould and assembled with handbuilt
paris, cone 6 oxidation, slips and
stains

June 2002

Gallery of BC Ceramics

Exhibitions

Place Settings

June 6-July1

Opening Reception June 6, 6:00-8:00PM

Laurie Rolland
ASKOL: Bird Shaped Vessels

July 4-30
Opening reception July 4, 6200-8:00PM

that resonated for me personally. These
were archetypal female figures and ritual
vessels... a8 clay belongs to the carth and
is in the nature of the Feminine....” |
wanted then, as I still do, to synthesize the
form and surface that 1 admired in ancient
ceramics and yet maintain a comtemporary
attitude.

Although drawing from a rich clay tradi-
tion, without a shared system of beliefs it
became necessary to imitate and invent.
By studying the female vessel character,
ancient symbols and their meanings, birds
and their promise of spiritual ascent, 1
attempted to combine tribal and court art
in forms denved from nature.

The bird is the symbol of the soul for many
cultures and there is an iconological rela-
tionship between it and the female arche-
type. As figure, it assimilates pagan im-
agery into Christian allegory. “For the
wing more than any other bodily part sym-
bolizes participation in the divine.” Cur-
rently, in this work, the bird is realized in
form, symbol, or as realistic image, and
often it is juxtaposed with repetitive lines
representing water,

The bird also symbolizes the dream of
flight made real. Early attempts by hu-
mans to fly have some documentation.
Leonardo's drawings and models of

Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter

Participants in Place Settings, an exploration of the ritual of setting the tale, are members of the
Wood Co-op and Potters Guild of BC. Diverse techniques and designs demonstrate the artists’
various interpretations and explorations of meals, Gillian McMillan’s dinner sets show vibrant
vegetables arranged as mandalas, celebrating the ingredients of a meal. In contrast, Sandy Lum’s
press moulded sushi scts have the clean lines of utilitarian and contemporary design. Combining
ceramics with furniture shows where we eat and store utensils. Doug Lane's Feast Table infers the
ritual of communal eating and celebration, whereas in Sideboard Jeff Trigg expresses the importance
of storage. Dining is always an important and integral part of everyday life.

omithopters (flying machines) provide
inspiration for the background sketches on
the bird plates, texture tools and the struc-
ture of some vessels.

These pteces are handbuilt or are a combi-
nation of throwing and handbuilding, The
assembly of multiple parts is the visual
puzzle aspect of ceramics that I particu-
larly enjoy. The structural decoration made
with bisque texture tools creates an intri-
cate surface that requires a high degree of
control when glazing to achiewe the sur-
faces I desire. Electric firing works well
for this.

Laure Rolland

Rolland’s second floor studio
with view of the ocean