POTTERS
GUILD
of BRITISH

COLUMBIA

ET
NEWSLETTER

@ be potters

April 2003

Volume 39 Number 4

Judi Dyelle

The roots of my work come from my studies in Oriental ceramics.

Forty-two years ago | enrolled in art school deter-
mined to be a great painter, Well, | am not, but I am
trying to be a great potter. It has been a long and
somewhat slow road as | experienced life along the
way. Moving back and forth across the country,
having children and running a ceramic department
certainly took a chunk out of my productivity. 1 am
settled now and feel at peace with what I do and
where I am. All of my life’s experiences have played
a part in what I produce. | definitely have two sides
to my work. One is very feminine, the other very
masculine. This is whol am and itisimportant for me
lo express this in my work.

The roots of my work come from my studies in
Oniental ceramics. All through the five years that I
spent at the Ontario College of An, I focused on the
arts of the Orient. 1 was an honours graduate and
received a Canada Council Grant to study in Japan
with Tatsuzo Shimaoka, Spending a year and a half
there, | feel that this was the most intlwential experi-

ence of my life. Not only did] get to see all the pots
that I had only known from photographs, but also I
pol areal sense of the tradition behind the making
of those pots. The fact that the wares were famous
ina certain area due to the type of clay that they dug
and the materials that they used in the glazes from
the same region made a lasting impression on me.

I enpoy testing local clays, mainly for their glaze
ability. At the moment, I am very excited by aclay
from the Sooke region. I have been using a clay
from the Kamloops area as a base in three of my
glazes. The original glaze is a lovely rich, red
brown with crystalline propertics and I have then
taken this and added other metallic oxides to pro-
duce two black glazes. Since | have always had a
fascination with black glazes, these have finally
given me the surface that I have been looking for
ever since | was inspired by some black iron work
[saw in a small village in nocthern Japan.

see Judi Dyelle page 70

Above: Jndi Dyelle Paracus Vase, Narnloops Series 2002,
wheel thrown and assembled, reduction, high fire porcelain,
propane gas kiln, cone 9 (1280°C), local earthenware slip glaze
with oxides, sponged decoration, 29,0 cm W x 13,5 cm H.
Phaba; Janet Dwyer

Left: Judi Dyelle Bowl, Crustal Pint Series 2002, wheel thrown,

Pierced bow!, reduction, high fire porcelain, propane pas kiln,
cone 10 (1303°C), crystalline glaze. 17.4 on W x 12.2.0cm H.
Photo: Janet Dwyer