COLUMBIA

B.C.'s Dedicated Ceramists, Continued from Page 8

“B.C. has an unusual concentration of highly qualified and
dedicated ceramists,” says Debra, the book's researcher. “A very large
percentage of these potters are practicing because of Leach’s book, and
influence—whether they follow his ideas [or not], or even like or value
his particular practice.”

‘The recipes in this book are being published in the hope that they
will re-establish awareness of these traditional influences—and reveal
how they are very much relevant to B.C. potters working today.

“What is important about these glazes is the connection to the
qualities of the distant past,” adds Glenn. “In any adaptation [it is
important] to be able to retain these qualities,
rather than just come up with another modern
fashionable covering.”

Each of the book’s recipes—including,
for example, Kawai Celadon, Ying Ching,
Charmian’ss Speckle, and John Reeve’s
White Porcelain clay body—list suggested
ingredients, percentages, firing range and
author. The recipes are not for beginners,
but are meant for those who have already
developed their own glaze-testing process.
Potters are encouraged to share results of their
experiments with the book's glaze and clay
body recipes on a website which has been
created for that purpose at:

www.bcpotters.com/heritageglazes. html

The hope is that this book will “revive community discussion
about the nuances of ceramic techniques, specifically glazes [and] ...
invite other ceramic artists to play with these glazes, talk about their
experiments,” says Phyllis.

The book's recipes are part of a larger card file collection written
out and organized by Glenn Lewis when he taught at UBC in the
60s. This card file was abandoned in an old coffin kiln at the UBC

Ceramics Studio in the Education Faculty, and would have been lost

Exhibition:

If you are in the Lower Mainland between Jan. 14 and April 11,
2010, you wont want to miss the Art of Craft exhibition at the
Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut St.

Art of Craft presents craft from across Canada, British Columbia
and Korea. Elegantly showcased in the museum's spacious rooms,
the exhibit features a wide spectrum of fine craft in different craft
mediums, including textiles, sculptures and compositions in wood,
glass, metals, jewelry, and ceramics. The overarching intention
behind the display is to provide an expansive picture of the impressive
breadth, quality, and novelty of concept underlying contemporary
Canadian craft, in creative juxtaposition to the richly traditional
crafts of Korea. The exhibit also provides an in-depth exploration
of issues of identity and culture as expressed through fine craft,
and highlights the fact that there is “no such thing as a particularly
Canadian type of craft,” but rather, “a powerful reminder of the

openness of craft materials and techniques” (Sandra Alfoldy, curator

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - February 2010

forever if not discovered by Phyllis’ 10-year-old son in 1996. The card
file spent many years being shuffled around until Phyllis and Debra
tracked Glenn down and the book project began.

‘The recipes were chosen according to three criteria: locally available
materials, safe materials, and historical importance. They are set in
context through author biographies provided at the end of the book.
Each page is set up to look like a recipe card and there is space to
make notes. The book is designed to stand up so that the recipes can
be easily read.

Seeking the Nuance is being published by the Potters Guild of BC

L to R: Phyllis Schwartz, Glenn Lewis, Debra Sloan (October 2009).

as a fundraiser. The official book launch is Saturday, March 6, 1 to
3 p.m. as part of the exhibition Vancouver Collects at the Gallery
of BC Ceramics. The book will be sold at the Gallery and will also
be available at Aesthetics: 2010 Canadian Clay Symposium on
March 13 at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. It may be available for
order online thereafter. You're invited to come out and pick up your
connection to a piece of B.C. ceramics history—or reconnect, as the
case may be!

Art of Craft

of Canada’s presentation at the 2009 Cheongju Craft Biennale,
Korea.)

Rooted in both experimental and traditional craft techniques, the
pieces in this exhibit call to mind the timeless functionality of craft
objects; at the same time, the beautiful pieces on display reveal their
capacity to undergo a continuing and contextual transformation
while always retaining the essence of their origins in the human
hand. You'll find the work of several Guild members displayed at the
exhibit: Linda Doherty, Jackie Frioud, Shirley Inouye, Lynda Jones,
Keith and Celia Rice-Jones, Laurie Rolland, Jenny Ross, Kinichi
Shigeno, Jasna Sokolovic, Nancy Walker and Jinny Whitehead. You
can also view an original film featuring four artists of contrasting
métiers at work in their respective studios (Jinny Whitehead is the
ceramist featured.)

For details of how to get to the museum and opening times, see
the Museum of Vancouver website: www.museumofvancouver.ca