Canadian Clay Symposium: Diversity in Clay
Saturday March 23
Symposium Presenters

Clary Illian

Tam an lowa native who gradu-
ated from the University of lowa
in 1963 witha BFA. In 1964 and
1965, I served an apprenticeship
at the Bernard Leach Pottery in
Comwall, England. Since 1966,
Ihave made my living as a full-
time utilitarian potter. In other
words I make pots for people to
use with food, dnink and plants.
My current studio is in an old
Oxddfellow’s Lodge in Ely, lowa,
It includes a showroom where I
sel] all the pots I can make, and Clary Tian

two large kilns, | have taught

semesters and workshops in arts schools and craft institutions
across United States and Canada. Volunteering at Prairie High
pottery classes is giving me a chance to work with young
throwers and to learn more from them and Mr Hawkins about the
process of teaching beginners, Recently my text A Potter's
Workbook was published by the University of lowa Press,

Peter Isley

Fram [989 f produced, in hindsight, some quite insignificant
crystalline pieces, but these gave me the impetus to go on and
become totally involved in research and experimentation, The
comminmment became an obsession that remains with me, to the
point whereby three quarters of my time and production is given
ever to crystalline pieces,

Peter Ilsley's personal notes.

[fitis not true thar only one shape can fit a purpose; surely it is true that whatever the shape,
itshould work For example, spouts should pour without making a mess; casseroles should
not collect food in tight corners; and knobs should not slip out of your fingers. This is the
true dialogue of utility, but te all of these requirements there are many solutions. A

Potter’s Workbook, 101,

A useful object that has been crafted with artistic standards in mind is doubly special and
celebrated both how and where ir will be used, A Potter’s Workbook. 106

Susan Delatour LePoidevin

Biography

Bom in New York in 1954 Susan Delatour LePoidevin studied
at the University of Oregon before receiving her BA from the
University of California at Santa Cruz in 1976, Susan also spent
a year at Sun Valley Centre, Idaho, and two years at the Banff
Centre, Alberta. Her primitive fired sculpture has been exhib-
ited in cities across Canada and the United States. She now
resides with her family in the interior of British Columbia.

Techniques

These sculptures are made from carthenware clay and are fired
by means of a primitive fired process. The glaze and underglaze
are applied at the greenware state and then fired to a low tem-
perature in an electric kiln. Afterward the pieces are wansferred
to a bnick box where they are covered in sawdust and peat moss
and smouldered for 12 to 24 hours, When the sawdust has com-
pletely burned down, the pieces are removed.

Susan LePoidevin Kilnewair Chapel! 20001
17.9% 25.4 5 10.2cm

6 Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter January 2002