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Egyptian Paste and Neil Forrest

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Egyptian paste objects are the oldest known glazed
ceramics. Egyptian paste is a self-glazing clay that
produces brilliant, lovely colours that we do no justice to
with our poor black and white printing. To see some of
Neil Forrests intriguing pieces check out the Autumn 94
issue of Contact, or come down to the gallery and browse
through issue 21 of Ceramics, Art and Perception from
Australia. Better yet, come to his workshop at the
Shadbolt centre for the Arts in Burnaby the weekend

of January 20-21, 1996.

Neil lives in Nova Scotia, where he is an assistant
professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
He has exhibited widely throughout the States and
Canada. His workshop will focus particularly on the
demonstration of coloured inlay. He uses Egyptian paste
clay as both a decorative and functional surface.

If you’ve ever licked your lips over an Iznik tile, gazed
longingly at a scarab amulet or created a traffic accident
by rubber-necking at some gorgeous old building, Neil is

your man. He spent a few years in New York admiring the |
contents of the Metropolitan museum being inspired by the I
architectural ceramics and the tiled subway walls
(Incidentally, | was quite charmed by the Canadian content |J
of the subway tiles -those impressive beavers- until |}
someone told me that it was actually the symbol of those
founding furriers, the Astors). i
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Neil’s work combines architectural elements of terra cotta
with inlaid Egyptian paste. Stains are added to the paste
body, rolled and flattened into thin sheets and then cut to UJ
the desired shape. They are low fired in an electric kiln, /)
resulting in a dense, glassy body that is slightly bumpy to
the touch. I’m sure that Neil’s workshop will be of interest
to many of us. /’ve asked my family to get it as my |]
Christmas gift! Deadline for registration is December
15 at_a cost of $96.30 and is payable in advance.
Contact Shadbolt Centre for the arts at 291-6864 or here UJ

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1 HUMANLY IMPRINTED

| If you happen to be in the vicinity of Castlegar you may
', want to make the detour to the West Kootenay National

Exhibition Centre (located across from the Castlegar
y airport on Heritage Way) to check out artist Garry
|} Grahams’s large-scale, architectural ceramic installation,
1 “Humanly Imprinted”.

| Garry’s exhibition presents what the artist calls an

| “ancient future”. He explains that “while | am inspired by
antiquity and intrigued with the use of basic earthen
materials, my work in clay in profoundly contemporary.”

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" Garry's large immobile works are arranged to create an
“arid garden environment”. Common to each hand-built

piece is an architectural quality in the design and

[| Structure, complemented by uniquely decorated,
unglazed surfaces. Residing in the Castlegar area, Garry

i has worked in ceramics for more than 15 years. He is

‘| currently clay instructor at Kootenay School of the Arts.

"| His recent

at the Potters Guild at 669-5645. 1
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work emphasizes balance and more active, colourful |

surface motifs. 1

The title of the exhibition, “Humanly Imprinted” works on |
three distinct levels. “the first level is about me,” Garry |]
says. “Important influences in my Ife have become
imprinted or notched somewhere on the edge of my 4
experience and knowledge. | have then transferred some |
of these visual memories and thoughts, as well as my
tactile skill, directly into and onto the clay. Encountering
this work in the gallery, the viewer will, in turn, be J
imprinted with a response that will blend with his or her |]
own interpretation of my show. Thus the three levels move 1
from me to the clay to the viewer. ‘Humanly Imprinted.”
No manual required.

Show runs until November 19, 1995
Call 365 - 3337 RR1, Site 2, Comp10, Castlegar ;
B.C. V1N 3H7 |

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