Mystery potters, continued from Page 7. In the meantime, Dave has been able to help another collector with her request for help in identifying the pieces on this page (at right): o My family and I recently acquired quite a few pieces of beautiful pottery from my late Oma [grandmother]. She was an avid supporter of Vancouver artists and purchased these vases (see photo left) that date back to the early 70s with a signature unknown to us. If anyone at the guild could help us out with identifying the artist, my family and I would be much obliged. Curiosity is abundant in our household and we all are excited to find out who this wonderfully talented potter may be! Thanks and take care, Thea Neumann Here is the solution to this mystery, courtesy of Dave Carlin: Hello Thea! Your three pieces are beautiful! I understand why why you love them. And you're right: the potter was wonderfully talented. His name was Gordon Thorlaksson. He was born in Winnipeg in 1937, and passed away on Bowen Island in 2009. He had a degree in Fine Arts from San Jose State University in California, and taught ceramics in B.C. through the 70s. Thorlaksson was captivated by ancient Chinese ceramic forms and glazes. The formality, aesthetic qualities and technical achievements of Sung, Yuan and Ming potters were an inspiration to him. In the 60s when he was studying, he found he was not entirely in line with prevailing attitudes. In an interview in 1977 he said, “my style [...] was not very well received. The trends then were ceramics that had a total earthy functional quality, or to those which gave social comment. ‘There was a general resentment towards elegance and other characteristics associated with the Imperial Chinese periods in which I am interested.” He pursued this ideal relentlessly. So far, in fact, that for every pot he made, he made an accompanying ceramic base for it to sit on. Thorlaksson was trying to create a ceramic version of a turned rosewood base that frequently appears under fine Chinese pieces. He saw the Fine Pot as something inseparable from the Pedestal on which it was placed. In this matter, he was so fastidious that he always inscribed his pots and bases with a matching number. From the photo you supplied, I can tell you that you have: Van[couver] B.C. [pot#] 147 GTsson [his signature] '76 [the year he made it] As you are fortunate enough to have three Thorlaksson pots and three Thorlaksson bases, I would encourage you to keep the right pot with the right base. If they're mixed up, they often look slightly wrong or unbalanced. Sadly, most of the remaining Thorlaksson pots and bases that I encounter have been separated. AL Lem ieee Gordon Thorlaksson. Photo by Allen Steele, from A Catalogue of British Columbia Potters, by Bob Kingsmill. I've attached a scanned photo of Thorlaksson from a book called A Catalogue of British Columbia Potters compiled in 1977 by Bob Kingsmill. This book is an exceptionally important reference for people interested in the Ceramic history of B.C. Bob is still a force in our community today. You can chat with him in person in his studio on Granville Island fora few days each month when he travels down from his home in the Okanagan, www. kingsmillpottery.com. a The Gallery of BC Ceramics’ "Vancouver Collects" exhibition Oct. 3 to Nov, 4, 2013 will feature works collected by Dave Carlin. Don't miss it! —Dave Carlin GUD of BRITISH Potters Guild of BC Newsletter : December 2042 8 COLUMBIA a