Light-Headed!

Light-Headed features the works of Elaine
Brewer-White and runs Nov. 6 to Dec. 1,
2009, at the Circle Craft Shop & Gallery in
Granville Island’s Net Loft.

Brewer-White’s ceramic work is based on
the figure where moments of solitude or
simple interactions between people celebrate
the wonder of the human condition. This
work seeks to further explore social behaviours
and life-affirming activities through the use
of humour and irony. For this new series of
works, Brewer-White engages the concept of
blending art and utility—namely, art as light
source.

“In this age of recession and belt-tightening,
I wanted to reflect on ways I could present art
that serves a purpose as well as an aesthetic.
The idea of creating torsos with lights for
heads made me laugh—and got me so excited
Ive been in my studio 24/7!” says Brewer-
White.

She adds, “It was a great challenge to express
the intent and gesture of each piece with just
the torso, and not rely on a face to convey
meaning.”

‘The Light-Headed series bears her trademark
humour, colour and whimsy, as well as power-
smart light fixtures for illumination. Beginning
November 1, 2009, sneak previews of this
exhibition will be posted to Brewer-White’s
website, www.ebrewerwhite.com, and on her
blog, www.humourandart.com.

FOURHeathers
TakeROOT

Leighdon Studio Gallery

HeatherAston

PRINTMAKER

HeatherMcAlpine

PAINTER

HeatherJohuston
PHOTOGRAPHER

HeatherCairns
POTTER

November 3 — 28
OPENING RECEPTION: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 7-9PM

Leighdon Studio Gallery, 190 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver BC, Canada 604.875.0029
www.leighdon.ca

DVD Revi GW By Patty Osborne

Paul Soldner: Playing with Fire

DVD, 80 minutes

American Museum of Ceramic Art; $29.95
Paul Soldner is said to have changed the

face of modern ceramics, not only with his
vigorous and unrestrained body of work

but also through his influence as a teacher
and mentor who encourages his students to
pursue their own direction and to “welcome
accidents along the way.” Paul Soldner:
Playing with Fire follows Paul’s early days

as a potter when, under the GI bill after
WWIL, he was accepted to study ceramics
under Peter Voulkos at the new Los Angeles
County Art Institute. When he arrived there,
he discovered that he was the only student
and the ceramics department consisted of

a big empty room. The two men set out

to research and equip a pottery studio and
build their own wheels and kilns. Soldner
went on to more and more experimentation with clay. He is credited with developing the
North American version of raku, a process he first read about in a book by Bernard Leach
which involved taking pots out of the kiln when they were red hot. Soldner describes his first
attempts as “pretty shitty” but once he began to plunge the red hot pots into combustible
materials, the results were exciting and a new style of raku was born. The DVD centres
around a large show of Soldner’s work and includes interviews with Soldner himself (who

is always wearing a brightly-coloured sarong skirt and is shown several times kneeling in a
field, cutting the flowers off dandelions with a pair of scissors and putting them into a brown
paper bag so they can be used later to make dandelion wine,) some of his contemporaries in
ceramics and some former students. While Soldner comes across as humble without being
self-deprecating, everyone else stresses the importance of Soldner’s groundbreaking work,
saying he has “the curiosity to think of new ways of working and the courage to do it.”
Playing with Fire is an important record of the history an extraordinary man in an interesting
time. It’s a funny and heart-warming look at a man who has many friends and admirers.
Soldner himself says that “creativity takes courage” and perhaps this DVD will inspire some
of us to take chances and see where they lead us.

COLUMBIA Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - November 2009