Canadian Clay Symposium
March 24th, 2007

Presenter Profiles

Jeannie Mah

I have been a full-time studio potter for over 30 years work-
ing exclusively in porcelain making one-of-a-kind and pro-
duction items. Together with my husband Tim De Rose, a
potter and painter, we operate Wilton Pottery in an old lime-
stone schoolhouse near Kingston, Ontario.

I approach the glazing of porcelain in a painterly manner,
using many glazes and colours. My work ranges from multi-
coloured plates and bowls, to sinks, teapots, and a complete
range of dinnerware items.

Since 1976 I have been working with crystalline glazes.
Finding there was very little written information on the
process, I applied for and received a grant to research these
glazes. The material was the basis for a book called Crystalline
Glazes, published in 1997 by A & C Black, London, England
and the University of Pennsylvania Press, USA. This was the
first book written exclusively about crystalline glazes. In the

spring of 2005, the second edition of Crystalline Glazes was
published.

I have taken part in numerous shows, symposiums and pot-
tery events across Canada, the U.S.A. and Europe. I was the
guest speaker at the International Exhibition of Crystalline
Ceramics in Vallaurais, France (2005) and Lattice Structures
in Kansas City, U.S.A. (2005).

One of the things I enjoy most about being a potter is being
able to control what I produce. I make the clay or have it
made for me, design and make the item, glaze and decorate it
and then sell it from my studio showroom. This is both a
responsibility and a freedom, which keeps my career interest-
ing and challenging.

For the Canadian Clay Symposium on March 24,

2007, I will be doing a digital slide presentation on

the History of Crystalline Glazes. I will be showing

slides of historical pieces collected from museums and
art galleries from dating from 1855 (when crystalline
glazes were first discovered) to present day. In my col-
lection I have several slides showing the work of
Adelaide Robineau (1865-1929) one of the pioneers of
this glaze process. I also have a collection of the work
of contemporary crystalline glaze potters from around
the world and several shows where this work has been
displayed.
Jeannie Mah
Kinichi Shigeno

Kinichi Shigeno majored in ceramic design at the Aichi
Ceramic Institute in Japan. Later, in 1973 he entered a
seven year apprenticeship and concentrated his work on
ceramic sculpture. His “objects” were influenced by Henry
Moore, Brancusi, and the Sodeisha Contemporary Ceramic
Sculpture Movement. During this period he concentrated
on the beauty of forms rather than accidental surprises that
could be created during firing. 4 In 1981 he moved to
Canada where his ceramic work took a different form of
sculpture. He started to make and change everyday items
into ceramic art. An apple became an elegant form decorat-
ed in gold and polychrome enamels. Other items included
fish which were turned into magnificent serving pieces for
special occasions. Even a shoe and boat became forms that
were turned into functional pieces of art. His use of poly-
chrome enamels, blue and white brushwork became his
palette to decorate his everyday objects.

In 1991, Kinichi won the "Place Setting Competition"
sponsored by Murchies Tea Merchants and created his "Blue
Birds" for Government House in Victoria. The 84 piece
place setting graces many official government functions and
was even the designer's choice to serve lunch for dignitaries
at the APEC conference in 1997.

In the late 1990s he concentrated his art pieces on murals
and wall installations as well as continuing with his sculp-
ture. He took a departure from his Japanese inspired motifs
and in his 1997 solo exhibition entitled “Levitation” he
experimented with large tiles and presented the public with
a new dimension inspired by his sense of the west coast spir-
it. With cool blues and warm earth tones he depicted the
sky and water in a minimalist fashion. Perhaps unconscious-
ly he was being inspired and influenced by his adopted
country, Canada.

His recent work is focused on a series of wall hangings called
"Transition". These ceramic murals are geometric in shape
and are an abstraction from his "shoe series”.

Kinichi's presentation at the Symposium with consist of a
digital slide show, demonstration of slip casting, underglaze
brush decoration, airbrushing and use of stencils,

Rachelle Chinnery

Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter

June 2006