Vancouver, B.C. V6 IR? (04) 63-9629

Potters Guild of British Columbia

1359 Cartwright St., Granville Island

NEWSLETTER

APRIL 1990

ISSN 6319 812X

ANNE HIRONDELLE WORKSHOP

To see Anne's work ts literally an eye-opener, since it is probably twice as large as life, something one doesn't get from photographs.

Besides making impressive vessels, Anne also writes very well, and her Ceramic Review (No. 112, 1988) article, “Teapot as Metaphor”, is again quoted here:

“The work begins with a series of sketches. I use these as a personal shorthand _for realizing ry three-dimen- sional ideas. I keep them ir.a notebook in two sections; new forms ane existing forms.”

Tdraw to clarify my ideas. Occasionally, ! am able to visualize a form arid draw it complete. More often, the forms evolve in the process of drawing. Inevitably, ifT translate them into clay, they change: sometimes slightly; sometimes dramatically. Some ideas, I have discovered, are available to me only through the clay itself. Once a clay form is complete, I alter the original sketch to reflect the finished piece."

Later in the article, she discusses the relevance of her work: something we may well give some thought to , in eonjunction with the concerns raised on page two of this Newsletter issue,

“To exist in the world, my work must have a meaningful Junction. The scale of the pieces makes therm slightly awkward for actual everyday usage, but still reserves the possibility of function on special occasions using deliberate care. Their symbolic function is equally important. When they are successful, the pleces be come archetypal receptacles for ideas, feelings, asso ciation. Sometimes, my goal is to create forms that appear full, forms that overflow with memories and sensations beyond their actual physicalness. A teapot, for example, need not be full of tea to communicate the spirit or ritual of tea. Other times, emptiness ts central to the function of a vessel: drawing the viewer in to consider the unknown; asking him or her to fill tt with private meaning.”

“Because lrely onthe vessel as my core metaphor, Irely on tradition. [see my pleces as a personal restatement ofa very old staternent, as a visual thread between the past and the future asl eke oul meaning inthe present, They are expressions of my desire for order, harmony, Yootedness’, and a little grace in this world that feels as though tt ts flying apart. Through my vessels, I hope to speak, not centre stage, but in the quiet coritempla- tine niches and comers of the individual and collective psyche.”

Continued ort Page 3

GUILD MEETING

April 19, 7:30 pm Studio 5 1359 Cartwright

with LAURA WEE LAY LAQ on Marketing and Directions in her New Work