CLAY SYMPOSIUM IN
REVIEW: PART TWO

MORE THAN SKIN DEEP

The Canadian Clay Symposium featured a panel discussion with four of the
invited artists, moderated by Robin Hopper. The panel gave the audience
an opportunity to hear from all the presenters in one room, which was a
welcome relief from trying to squeeze into crowded demonstration rooms
to catch isolated snippets. The premise of the panel was to discuss issues or
motivating factors that drive the creative instincts of each artist, a topic taken
and addressed thoughtfully by each presenter.

Karen Burk, whose background 1s in psychology and literature, teaches
at the College of Craft and Design in Fredericton, N.B.. She finds that her
students provide her with inspiration and challenge. Addressing an issue faced
by both students and professionals, she asked, “How do you notch your work
up?” How do you negotiate between sanity, market forces and the constant
challenge creative artists require to remain vibrant? In her own case, she often
selects a favourite work and attempts to articulate exactly what it 1s that so
attracts her. Her analytical, scientific mind is balanced by her love of energy,
colour and pattern, which she finds particularly appealing in such works as
Japanese kimonos and Iznik tiles. Her own high-fire porcelain platters and
bowls are delicately painted with engobes and utilize motifs derived from
such sources. Lately, she has been reassessing life by acknowledging death,
designing and making her own and her partner’s funeral urns. Hopefully, these
will not be called into service for some time to come!

In keeping with the theme of the panel, Mark Hewitt focused more on his
own roots as a son and grandson of directors of Spode, his apprenticeship
with Cardew, travels in Africa and subsequent relocation to the United States.
Working with a wood-fire kiln, using local clay and inspiration from local
traditions, Hewitt’s large-scale potted forms have graced magazine covers
and been exhibited and collected in the US, Japan and Britain. While his first
pottery models, notably ash-glazed Iga ware, derived from Japan via Leach
and Cardew, he has recently returned to his roots in mdustrial ceramics
and the highly refined wares of the late Qing dynasty. He now admires
the extravagantly decorated conceptual forms of Leopold Foulem and the
elegant, refined forms of Gwen Hanson Piggott. Equally attractive to him
are the indigenous North Carolina pots, which often based on quirky forms
such as wig stands and traditional grave markers. Despite their low quality
clays, blow-outs and drips, these indigenous pots remind him of the music of
John Coltrane, whose “sheets of sound” were wild but not entirely random
in their aesthetic. He has published his historical research in his co-authored
book, The Potter’s Eye, where he recounts surprising connections between
South Carolina alkaline glazes and Chinese ash glazes. For Hewitt, historical
research married to working knowledge of actual examples generates ongoing
inspiration to make pots.

Jeannie Mah similarly pursues extensive historical research and travels in order
to nourish her engagement with her work. She began her presentation with a
nod to the theme of the conference, “surfacing,” by quoting from Margaret
Atwood’s 1972 novel of that title. In her case, Mah took the opportunity to
“dive” into—not a northern lake—but Portugal, with tts venerable traditions
of ceramic wall decorations and mosaic patterned sidewalks. Like Burk, she 1s

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