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Rice-J ones Wo rksh op By Christy Richardson, Cariboo Potters

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In late September, 18 Cariboo potters enjoyed an inspiring weekend
workshop in Williams Lake with Keith and Celia Rice-Jones. They
shared a wealth of knowledge and demonstrated a wide range of
techniques.

On Friday evening we watched a PowerPoint presentation that
introduced us to their studio and their work. This gave us a glimpse of
what to look forward to over the weekend,

Some of the Rice-Jones’ work is collaborative, but Keith focuses
more on larger sculptural pieces made with his own coarse clay body.
His early training as a woodworker is evident in his approach to design.
Celia's work is mostly done with a finer white body. All their work is
reduction fired to Cone 10 ina gas kiln.

Some of Keith's work is made with clay wedged with sawdust in an
approximate ratio of 50/50. The sawdust burns out during the bisque.
He then wire brushes it to remove burrs and ash, brushes and sponges
on copper oxide to accentuate the pits, and sprays on soda ash to seal
the oxide and give a hint of sheen in the glaze firing.

He has created a number of metal scraping tools from old handsaw
blades. He scores all his joins with a fork and slaps on a slip of clay
and magic water.

Celia demonstrated a series of wheel forms. She finds perfectly
symmetrical forms uninteresting and alters mugs with the swirl of a
stick. She also made and helped workshop participants make thrown
rings that were then altered into oval or rectangular walls for pots with
slab bases. She then demonstrated a variety of different handles and
helped people enhance the pots they had made.

Each participant was given a squared tube (12” to 14" long x 3”

Keith and Celia Rice-Jones demonstrating their techniques.

wide) of extruded sculpture clay. We could sketch or start with a
maquette, but our challenge was to cut and rejoin the clay of the tube
to create a sculptural form. All the original clay had to be present in the
final piece. Cutting and joining angles, balance, rhythm, movement,
repetition, focus and view from all sides needed to be considered—a
daunting challenge with fun results.

At the Saturday evening potluck we saw slides of a two-month
residency Keith and Celia had done in Seto, Japan, a number of years
ago. It was fun to learn about the cultural traditions that surround
pot-making there.

Tt was an ee weekend with generous instructors. Thank you

Keith and Celia.

Elementum; Form,
Function, Feast
By Mike McElgunn, Canadian Clay Collective

The 6th Triennial Canadian Clay Ceramic Symposium is coming...
March 23, 2013 at the Shadbolt Center for the Arts in Burnaby

‘As pottery can be more than a container, food may be
more than physical sustenance. Together pottery and food
frame the events of a thoughtful, observed life and
the possibilities of a value-driven life every day.”

—Linda Arbuckle, 2012

When choosing that perfect serving vessel to share a special treat with
friends, you probably look for an impeccable form (hand-made of
course) of just the right shape. Colour plays an important role in your
choice, as does the thoughtful and possibly whimsical hand painted
decoration,

Linda Arbuckle, a tenured professor teaching ceramics at the School of
Art and Art History at the University of Florida, makes just such work.
Her mainly majolica earthenware creations feature themes gathered.
from nature painted deftly with bold strokes and an unapologetic
use of colour. With more teaching, workshop/demo presentations,
lectures, awards, jurying and committee appointments under her belt
than one would think possible, Linda is the consummate presenter,
sharing her skills and thoughts freely. We are fortunate to have Linda
as both a presenter and moderated panel member at the Canadian

Clay Ceramic Symposium next March at the Shadbolt Centre.

* To learn more about Linda and her works, visit her website and the

links at http://lindaarbuckle.com

* Watch Linda do a decoration demo at http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=j8 Wg8nehaXc&feature=relmfu

Please visit http://www.canadianclaysymposium.com for full
symposium information.

Registration is now open. Early Bird Registration ($115 plus
applicable taxes) is open until Jan. 15, after that date registration will
be $135 (plus applicable taxes). All fees include lunch. Register by
mail (cheque payable to the City of Burnaby) or by phone to set up
a new account: 604.291.6864. Those previously registered in Burnaby
programs can access webreg online at: www.burnaby.ca/webreg @

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - November 2042

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