Lhave worked with clay since 1972. My formal training was at Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design in Mississauga, Ontario, graduating in 1978. I have made my living a3 4 potter ever since,

While at college | explored the symbolic significance of form and material, | looked at the earliest of clay artifacts that spoke to the essential nature of the material, and

Laurie Rolland Hird Vecre! D002 1305 cm, body made in plaster mould and assembled with handbuilt paris, cone 6 oxidation, slips and stains

June 2002

Gallery of BC Ceramics

Exhibitions

Place Settings

June 6-July1

Opening Reception June 6, 6:00-8:00PM

Laurie Rolland ASKOL: Bird Shaped Vessels

July 4-30 Opening reception July 4, 6200-8:00PM

that resonated for me personally. These were archetypal female figures and ritual vessels... a8 clay belongs to the carth and is in the nature of the Feminine....” | wanted then, as I still do, to synthesize the form and surface that 1 admired in ancient ceramics and yet maintain a comtemporary attitude.

Although drawing from a rich clay tradi- tion, without a shared system of beliefs it became necessary to imitate and invent. By studying the female vessel character, ancient symbols and their meanings, birds and their promise of spiritual ascent, 1 attempted to combine tribal and court art in forms denved from nature.

The bird is the symbol of the soul for many cultures and there is an iconological rela- tionship between it and the female arche- type. As figure, it assimilates pagan im- agery into Christian allegory. “For the wing more than any other bodily part sym- bolizes participation in the divine.” Cur- rently, in this work, the bird is realized in form, symbol, or as realistic image, and often it is juxtaposed with repetitive lines representing water,

The bird also symbolizes the dream of flight made real. Early attempts by hu- mans to fly have some documentation. Leonardo's drawings and models of

Potters Guild of British Columbia Newsletter

Participants in Place Settings, an exploration of the ritual of setting the tale, are members of the Wood Co-op and Potters Guild of BC. Diverse techniques and designs demonstrate the artists’ various interpretations and explorations of meals, Gillian McMillan’s dinner sets show vibrant vegetables arranged as mandalas, celebrating the ingredients of a meal. In contrast, Sandy Lum’s press moulded sushi scts have the clean lines of utilitarian and contemporary design. Combining ceramics with furniture shows where we eat and store utensils. Doug Lane's Feast Table infers the ritual of communal eating and celebration, whereas in Sideboard Jeff Trigg expresses the importance of storage. Dining is always an important and integral part of everyday life.

omithopters (flying machines) provide inspiration for the background sketches on the bird plates, texture tools and the struc- ture of some vessels.

These pteces are handbuilt or are a combi- nation of throwing and handbuilding, The assembly of multiple parts is the visual puzzle aspect of ceramics that I particu- larly enjoy. The structural decoration made with bisque texture tools creates an intri- cate surface that requires a high degree of control when glazing to achiewe the sur- faces I desire. Electric firing works well for this.

Laure Rolland

Rolland’s second floor studio with view of the ocean