COLUMBIA

Installations, Continued from Page 4.

art and industry, between tradition and contemporaneity.

Two other installations celebrate the potential of working in ceramic
multiples: Modern Tradition in Blue and White (white porcelain and
blue decals, 2009) by Tan-Ni (Jenny) Lu and Untitled (Glacier white
porcelain, 2009/2010) by Phyllis Wang. Modern Tradition, a series of
three mold-ware vessels cast from dairy product containers, reaches
back in technique and makes a wry, humourous statement celebrating
the residue routinely discarded without regard for their materiality
in their own right or attention paid to the text on the surface. The
installation references Ming dynasty blue and white ware pure white
ceramics with traditional folk motifs painted with cobalt oxide; by
1447, these materials and practices were restricted to exclusive use
in the production of objects of the court. It is from this source that
European ceramics factories borrowed to produce designs for both
high end and affordable blue and white china. Similarly, Phyllis Wang
celebrates the common brown paper bag, casting three different sizes
to make molds to generate ceramic fragility and permanence. Like
Tofu Residue and Modern Tradition, Wang's series of porcelain castings
of freestanding paper bags add to discussions about containers, both
disposable and reusable, permanent and impermanent. While there
should be whimsy in the casting of disposable objects, it is a reminder
of a lifestyle that wants to preserve and destroy in the same instance.
Our transient consumer culture leaves a trail of detritus, and in the
wake of the wave of unrecyclable trash that washes ashore, we seem to

want to celebrate the debris by casting it and preserving it with glaze.

FOR SALE: Home & Studio

« Beautiful 1400 sq. ft. log home and newly-built
Potter’s Studio on a 2 acre wooded lot overlooking
a lake with a mountain view.

« Dream post and beam custom built studio with large
windows and in-floor heating; equipment could stay.

« 520 sq. ft. of living space on second floor of studio.

* Riverfront property allows you to kayak or canoe in a
“paradise” setting.

Catastrophic illness is forcing the sale of this first time
offered gem. Take a look....you won't be disappointed.

Horsefly Realty Ltd.
250.620.3440 » land@horseflyrealty.ca

Untitled, by Phyllis Wang. Glacier white porcelain, 2009/2010.
Photograph: Phyllis Schwartz

While ceramics technically should outlast paper, it is the plethora
of paper that currently plagues us. Ceramic objects from antiquity are
reminders of the immanent state of decomposition that occurs over
time, a slow process but not as slow as the polymer and Styrofoam
that conveniently replaces the ceramic reusable vessel. Out of a gallery
context, these objects would likely be decorative objects, too precious
to be used the way their prototypes are used once and discarded. As a
collection, all five exhibits in the 2010 Emily Carr Graduation Show

are an ironic commentary on the materiality of consumer culture,

asking questions about the paradox of ceramic permanence.

summer 2010
ceramic
arts programs

register new!

_
shadbolt centre:
arts
Coloured Clays: Form & Surface ren!)
$350.00, 5 sessions | Instructor: Vince Pitelka
Wednesday-Sunday, 9am—Spm | July 14-18 | Barcode 218053

Soda Firing Workshop
$105.50, 3 sessions | Instructors: Linda Doherty & Jay MacLennan
Thursday/Friday/Sunday, times vary | Starts July22 | Barcode 218042

Summer Pottery

$167.12, 8 sessions | Instructors: Sabrina Keskula (M, W) Fredi Rahn (Tu, Th)
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10am-1pm | Starts June 29 | Barcode 215721
Mondays & Wednesdays, 10am-1pm | Starts June 30 | Barcode 215720

Throwing Intensive Workshop
$146.34, 3 sessions | Instructor: Jay MacLennan
Thursday/Friday/Saturday, 10am-4pm | Starts June 24 | Barcode 215841

Taxes not included

Register today! burnaby.ca/webreg
shadboltcentre.com | 604-291-6864

City of
Burnaby
Parks, Recreation’
& Cultural Services

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - June 2040