COLUMBIA I dont normally include all of the background information on calls for entry, but this one is a bit different. When I'm visiting museums devoted to ancient civilizations, I often wonder if we would know anything at all about human history if our distant ancestors hadnt spent so much time and effort honouring the dead, particularly with various forms of pottery. Here’ our chance to make our own contribution to human history, Thanks to Jackie Frioud for forwarding this information—Ed. ASHES! OART. ‘The Call for Artist Entries is now open for FUNERIA's 5th biennial international Ashes to Art” competition to present the most original and superbly-crafted contemporary funerary urns and personal memorial art being made by artists and designers today. The exhibition opens with a catered reception under a full moon on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at Art Honors Life®, FUNERIA's Northern California gallery. ‘The exhibition will also be presented online to engage registered site visitors in voting for a People’s Choice Award-winning work. FUNERIA was founded in 2000 and remains the only arts agency and exhibitions organizer of its kind. It is the world's leading resource for original, contemporary, museum-quality funerary urns, vessels and personal memorial artworks made by established and emerging artists. FUNERIA’ artworks are promoted and sold through its website, retail gallery, wholesale showroom, and forward-thinking funeral service providers worldwide. FUNERIA is the founder and organizer of the precedent-setting Ashes to Art” juried exhibitions of funerary artworks that continue to set new quality and aesthetic standards in how we honour a life well-lived. The competition is open to artists and design teams worldwide working in all sculptural media. Eminently qualified jurors will choose finalists from digital entries that demonstrate new, original, evocative, beautifully crafted objects that are intended to contain all, ora portion, of an individual's cremated remains, or that can otherwise be used to celebrate a unique life. An online entry process will be added to FUNERIA's website in the next several weeks, Mail-in entries can be posted anytime up to the August 9, 2010 deadline. Questions should be emailed to arthonorslife@funeria.com. FUNERIA's Ashes to Art® competitions and exhibitions have established a special niche in contemporary funerary art since their It's a CLAY THROWDOWN! ‘The guild is looking at organizing a road trip to the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, WA, to visit a juried exhibition focuss- ing on the work of Northwest clay artists and craftspeople. The Clay Throwdown! show emphasizes a creative approach to clay, considering both traditional expressions of ceramic art and the fringes of the medium, where concepts of art and craft merge. The exhibition will encourage and recognize innovative and extra- ordinary work by contemporary Northwest artists and craftspeople. ‘The guild’s Clay Throwdown! tour would be a one-day event on a September weekend, at a cost of about $60, which would include bus transport, lunch, admission and a guided tour of the show. If youre interested, please let Jackie Frioud know by June 15 at: jfrioud@shaw.ca or 604.921.6417. The tour will go ahead if there are enough interested members. For more information: www. bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/biennial/index.htm Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - June 2040 STH BIENMLAL INTDEMATIONAL DEADLINE AUG 9, 2010 2001 debut. They are credited with redefining the role and aesthetics of what have typically been uninspiring urns to contain cremated remains. They have opened new opportunities for artists to show and sell their work and they've helped the public broach a difficult subject in the most gentle, often charming, frequently provocative and always meaningful way. Through its exhibitions and leadership in a still- emerging contemporary funerary art genre, FUNERIA engages artists in issues that are timely and compelling. Apart from asking artists to fashion beautiful, original and finely crafted work, Ashes to Art” exhibitions also present artists working in all media—clay, metal, glass, wood, stone, fibre, mixed media, biodegradable and innovative materials—with an opportunity to consider their larger role in contemporary culture by responding to questions such as these: * We know something about early cultures because we've studied their burial sites. How long is an urn expected to hold its contents before disappearing into the earth, water or air? What will our personal memorials and end-of-life practices tell future generations about us? If we want our bodies and ashes to dissolve into the natural environment over time in a biodegradable medium, is there one unique and artful object that will remain to stand in for us when we're no longer here to speak for ourselves? e More than 50% of all cremation urns are kept at home, at least for awhile. Nearly 60% of respondents age 55 and older in a new funeral industry survey said that they will choose cremation for themselves. An older survey revealed that nearly 40% of respondents would like their ashes scattered. What kind of beautiful objects can survivors use in performing this task comfortably, and in a meaningful way? e While many cremation urns will be buried or placed in a columbarium niche, what if there is no site to visit, or surviving family and friends are far away when it's time to celebrate, honor and memorialize ancestors and loved ones? What ritual objects and interactive processes can artists create or interpret in fresh and mindful ways that will help individuals and families connect with their past, present and future? Gallery & Online Exhibition Opens: October 23, 2010 People's Choice Award Announced: December 19, 2010 Click here to download Prospectus & Rules of Entry Art Honors Life® | The Gallery at FUNERIA 2860 Bowen St. #1, Graton, California 95444 www. funeria.com | arthonorslife@funeria.com