of BRITISH
COLUMBIA
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The Symposium Experience zy velany Hallam

Overwhelming, chaotic, frenetic—my first
Canadian Clay Ceramic Symposium was all
of that. I sit many weeks later and think about

what I came away with, what will stick with

me and help me in making my own pots. Here
is what I learned from the sessions I attended:

Lorna Meaden:

‘The first session of the day, Lorna sat down
and talked while she threw her pots and
people asked questions. A sort of stream of
consciousness list of advice and stories came

out. Some practical tips:

* When throwing tall forms, drag your inside
arm a bit on the inside of the rim to stabilize
the pot. Make sure your elbow is straight up
and don’ pull forward or you'll pull the pot
off centre.

e

The cause of “vomiting” teapots is likely
that the spout is uneven, wide-narrow-wide.
Lorna demonstrated throwing and then
bending a spout while still on the wheel so
that you dont get a kink in the spout if you
were to bend it later when it sets up.

e

For handles, Lorna shapes them as much as
possible before pulling them. She makes her
handles thinner in the middle in both width
and depth, i.e. looking at the handle from
both the side and straight on for greater
comfort when holding it. “The best handles
are the least handled.”

Thought of the session: Think about where

your pots come from and why you do what
you do. Do you have a case of OPP (other

people’s pots)? In Lorna's case, at one time she

was making a lot of pots that looked like Julia

Galloway’s. It was the lift of the pots that she
loved, where the base was the smaller point in
the pot. What to do next? Go through photos
of historical pots for examples, flip quickly
through books and be aware of your gut
reactions — and practice the 3Ps (persistence,
patience, practice) always. What if...you
could figure out what you like, and use that
to find to your own style?

If you can’t stand the heat get out of the

kitchen:
Moderator

with a quote, “We are creatures who need to

D’Arcy Margesson _ started
make”, and then opened the discussion to the
panel: John Neely (post secondary educator),
Robbie Lobell (flameware potter), Vikram Vij
(restaurateur) and Mariko Paterson (potter
and teacher), What followed was a discussion
of how we use pots and how pots made by
hand enhance our enjoyment of food and
drink and the people that we share them with.
Some highlights:

* Making pots that work for the kitchen and
the table: It really struck me when John
talked about inviting his students to his
home for potluck dinners when he said
that new students “only bring a bag of chips
and dip once.” His students learn all the
technical stuff in the BFA/MFA programs,
but they really learn how pots are used when
they're sitting and sharing meals, discussing
how the pots work in real life with the food
they're eating.

e

Opportunity: Robbie talked about the slow
food (and local) movement being a real
opportunity for those who make hand-
crafted and specialty pots. Vikram added
that when food and handmade pots are on
the table, “something different happens.”
With the huge local food movement, he
believes that local pots will come next as
part of that movement. Mariko talked about

with SUZY BIRSTEIN

where Mama Mia was filmed!

- Skopelos Foundation for the Arts
Info & registration: 604.737.2636, www.suzybirstein.com

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - May 2043

Lorna Meaden’s decorating.

hanging out for hours at the old Tomato
Café drinking coffee from Suzy Birstein’s
mugs “coddling something that’s really
sexy,” the feeling you get from something
made with care. John added that, when he
was in Japan, younger and smaller restaurant
owners would talk to customers about “pots
from the potter down the road.” The use of
local, handmade pots exists in Japan and

eventually it will find its way here.

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