pose 4+

Clay On Salt ing Island

The ceramic activities here on Salt Spring
Island are many and very diverse.

Kathy Venter, whose werk can be seen at
Diane Fars Gallery in Vancouver and in
the Vortex Gallery on Sale Spring has
broughe life-size terra cotta figures to the
forefrant. She is a vibrant teacher and has
shared her philosophy and expertise with
many students, including this writer.

Denys James continues to concentrate on
the gure in his haunting wall pieces,
always pushing deeper insa the mysterious
communication beeween feure and
material, He has successtully led pottery
exploration trips to San Miguel in Mexico
and this year he will also take groups to
Osxaca. As President of the Salt Spring
Potters’ Guild, he focused his energy on our
workshop with Linda Chirstiansen in April.
Also in April, Demys' work was chosen for
the 12th Annual San Angelo (Texas)
Ceramics compenition, Open to entries
from Canada, the USA and Mexico, his
work was part of the 127 pieces selected
from over 1,700 entries!

The Salt Spring Potters' Guild members
have instituted a porter’s breakfast one
Friday each month. [e is well atrended and
topics discussed might range from Clayarr
Internet access and works in progress to
fascinating clay-world gossip. These regular
soctal meetings have led to several group
trips off island to see ceramic shows,
including Judy Weeden's beauriful show at
the Gallery of BC Ceramics.

Gary Chemeff, a local potter producing a
wide variety of top quality functional and
sculptural work for over 20 years, has just
returned from a trip to Japan as guest of the
small community of Yamanaka, in the
Ishikawa Prefecture. It is an area famous
for Kutani ware produced in large and small
workshops. His stay brought him into
contact with the fifth generation Kurani
potter, Matsumoto Saichi, whe is an official
National Livia Treasure. [nm addicion to
continuing his fumily tradition, Sachi has
enlarged his repertoire to include large
sculptural installations and pors flavoured
with Islamic geometry. The tip came
about through Gary's work with the local
Chamber of Commerce to create more of a
profile for Sale Spring pottery, which
brought him into contact with visitors

from Yanvanaka. Gary is featured
prominently (cover bey, in fact) in the
curren issue of “Woody Life”, a Japanese
magazine dedicated to the log cabin and
wood stove lifestyle. [cig a big crace in
japan nght now,

A must for visitors to Sale Spring is the
Saturday Marker which gets underway
Euster Weekend, Here may be seen some
of the wide variery of clay work on the
island. Lari Robson has been selling his
work at the market since the very first
vendors peddled theit wares out of the
trunks of their cars. His classic salt-fired
pots, timeless and consistently beautiful,
are still dhe best bargain on the island.
Any potter's work noc seen art the market
can be tound at Artcraft or the local
galleries and shops. Laura Keil, whose
large hand-buile vessels have shown at the
Gallery of BC Ceramics and the Canadian
Craft Museum, is preparing her final show
ac the University of Washington, where
she has been studying wich Akio
Takimori, among atkers. When she is on
Salt Spring, she spends some of her dime
baking bread ar Barb's Buns, a nourishing
place where shows of local art work, such
as Normand DesRosier’s wonderful,
intricare porcelain tiles, are often seen,

The Alliance of Salt Spring Artists has
weloomed clay artists and included them
in its shows in local business venues. The
ASSA is a volunteer organization which
has sprung up to promvote artists’
exhibitions and sales of their work. [
showed wall pieces from a series called
“Ou of Hiding" and some wall-mounted
heads from “The Metapher of Swimming”
at the local coffeehouse in February. The
wall pieces were generated from turning
fifty and the subsequent reflections on ry
life. | had made a small igure of a woman
which | really loved, only to open the kiln
and find fragments of it throughout the
kiln. | was upser and threw the pieces
out, but reconsidered a week or two later
and retrieved them. [ then used the feet
to make footprints on large slabs, and
used the head as a mold over which |
draped very thin slabs of clay and
attached these co the slabs, along with
gesturing hands and other components.
For colour, I'm using a technique the
ancient Greeks used to use on their
marble statues, where beeswax and resin
are mixed with powdered pigments and
melted onto the bisqued ware, It gives

very rich, deep colours. [ very much like
the idea of artists’ and potters’ work on
view in the places where people go to do
business and spend time with their
friends. In this way, people who might
never go inco a gallery come in conact
with art and get co know and apprectate if
through repeated casual visits. Sales
were brisk, so [ know che public
apprectates it cow!

Salt Spring recently welcomed a new
addition from Germany, porter Rura
Alexander, whose exquisitely thrown

work is a fine thing co see and handle.

On September 12th and 13ch, the ¢cth
annual “Thernugh the Fire” event takes
place. Six potters originally came
together to presenc their work to the
public in a way that was fun and
educational, both for themselves and their
public. In previous years, they have built
and fired a paper kiln on this weekend, as
well as pit firings, throwing and
handbuilding demonstrations, raku and
sawdust firings. Even the planning
meetings are designed to be fun sacial
events - a way for solitary potters and
ceramists to escape their lonely studios
and still be productive! The public has
responded with grear enthusiasm, with
many people returning for the Sunday
kiln openings to see the exciting work
emerging from chese strange looking
constructions! The six potters who put
on "Through the Fire” also lear from
each other and make this weekend a
focus for experimental work, This year,
another paper kiln will be built and fired,
imcerporating the expertise gained from
that first paper kiln experience. Come
and see (call Judy at 250 / 537 - 5403 for

location),

Melissa Searcy

“Eros” by Judy Weeden