but even with the appreciative eye of a collector I can see some
of the methods that have been used. Slab pots are just that, slabs
of clay pinched together and fires, while some are started from
coils of clay and again worked by hand into shape. Most of us
are familiar with the image of the potter sitting at his wheel
shaping a mound of clay as his wheel turns.

Besides the many kinds of clay, methods of using it, and tech-
niques of shaping it there are also many ways of decorating it.
Different minerals and chemicals can create different colors and
glazes and apparently endless combinations of clay, mineral,
fuel, temperature, and methods of manipulation go into the cre-
ation of a unique object. Each of these combinations in itself
can be the starting point from which to guide your collection.

Another starting point, of course , can be geographical.
Collecting the work of only one region or country, province or
city, studio or potter.

The more you focus your habit and the boundaries of your col-
lection the more you learn about it. I only keep pottery made
here in B.C. for my private collection and I am always wanting
more information about how to recognize it and about its’ his-
tory. There have been a few books published and at least one
that is easy to buy at the B.C. Potters Guild on Granville Island.
The guild also publishes a monthly newsletter for its members
which can be purchased at the Guild Gallery by interested col-
lectors.

The book, Made of Clay, besides giving and interesting history
of B.C. potters, displays the chop marks and inscriptions that
the contributing artists use. However, over the 80 or so years of
the province’s ceramics history, there have been many hundreds,
maybe thousands of potters whose marks are not listed in a
book. Decifering marks and inscriptions can be both exciting

and frustrating and like myself you may have a number of mys-
tery marks for future investigations.

I have, however, had some lucky finds and discoveries over the
last few years. One such concerns the work of Wayne Ngan. He
is certainly one of B.C’s and Canada’s most renowned potters
and his work is collected by many. I had a few pieces of his
work years back before I recognized his mark and even sold a
couple without knowing who had made them. As I learned to
read this mark I began keeping as much of his work as I could
find and putting together a small history in pots of his career.
Wayne has been working consistently in clay for over 40 years
and the progress of his work is a study in itself. He lives on
Hornby Island and during his occasional visits to Vancouver will
often go to antique shops looking for something he collects. A
few years ago he happened through my shop and he introduced
himself! We had a few short chats about pottery. This year when
he was in, he singled out two specific pots on my shelves and
asked what I knew about them and how much they cost. I had
to tell him I didn’t know who had made them but that I liked
them enough to put a higher than average price on each. It
turned out they were both made by him. The first was this
brightly colored pot which is signed but not with the mark |
recognize as his. He explained that this signature is his name
written in Chinese characters and that he made the pot before
his chop mark was designed. The other wasn’t marked at all but
he recognized the brush strokes in the decoration as uniquely

his.

As you can see the criteria for starting and building a collection
are many and combinations of these can make your collection as
unique an entity as each of the pots you add to it.

John Lawrence

Discovery

Art Travel

FEATURING Denys James

UPCOMING CERAMICS EXCURSIONS

ITALY
TURKEY

For details, please visit www.denysjames.com/excursions

May 13 - 29, 2006
September 14 - October 5, 2006

For moresinformation on Discovery Art Travel or Denys James, please contact us at: Phone/Fax: (250) 537-4906
182 Welbury Drive, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada V8K 2L8

January 2006

Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter