Green, Blue-Billed Bird Teapot
I've added 2 photos from Land Artist Chris Mackenzie to my blog of Jan 10th, and a little more on the 2D art currently on display at Port Moody Art Centre.
Yesterday it was time to open my latest glaze kiln and retrieve some ordered pieces - the 8 jugbirds for Crafthouse YVR, a flicker and sugar pots and a wild Green, Blue-Billed Bird Teapot. Other pieces will wait here for the April ArtWalk.
Customers who have enjoyed a blue-billed green jugbird since last year's ArtWalk commissioned me to design a matching bird teapot. I really like the combination of colours so was happy to draw and make one. We'll see whether he's big enough for their needs - I think that when he's filled with tea he's heavy enough. Luckily the odd bill/spout has produced a good pour!
Here is a little photo essay on the process of his manufacture. I threw the body first, then its lid and then a cylinder which I later cut up to form the spout/bill. 
Assembling the pieces and then adding a handle/tail, eyes and a 'crest' on the lid is totally absorbing and satisfying. I leave the completed piece under soft plastic to even out the moisture for a day. I then paint it with my coloured slips before allowing it to dry slowly.
A final step before the bisque firing is the application of terra sigillata (very fine red clay slip) to give the base and lid 'seat' a pleasing finish.
After the bisque firing all the work is dipped in a clear glaze and fired again to Cone 04, an earthenware temperature which melts the glaze to a bright glossy food-safe coating.
Snowy day in Port Moody
Today was a good day not to drive in to Vancouver, so we still haven't been to see the Audain Collection at VAG. But there was an impressive snowfall last night and we don't have Winter tires. I terra sigged the bases of the 13 pieces that I've managed to complete since early December and loaded and turned on the kiln.
Alan and I walked around the local streets. I took a photo of this elegant oak tree from St. Andrews lane looking north. Port Moody legend has it that Colonel Moody planted it when he was here from England to survey this mill town at the end of the railway. Seedlings fom the oak keep volunteering in our garden and we've allowed two to stay. We keep them clipped as small bushes rather than letting them grow tall.
My MacBook and iPad are now synced so contacts, calendar and mail are on both. I can have Internet etc when traveling and leave the Mac at home. But arranging downloads and learning to use iPad has taken hours! The panoramic stitched photo is app Dermandar, a free download Margaret Hsu told me about.
The people who commissioned a new bird teapot have enquired about its progress. Luckily I did get that made and it's in the kiln too. I took photos of the process so that'll be my next post.
Land Art in Port Moody
The official opening of Port Moody Art Centre's current shows will take place on Thursday evening Jan 12th. between 6 and 8pm. But the work has been on view since last week, partly I'm sure so that Land Artist and photographer Chris MacKenzie can have one of his two planned outdoor Art pieces installed before the opening. So I popped by on rainy Saturday to see what he'd done and to take a quick look at what's up in my local Art Galleries.
As a long-time fan of British artist Andy Goldsworthy who installs magical arrangements of stones, ice, leaves and sticks in natural settings I was interested to find out what Chris Mackenzie is making. Like Andy, Chris is a fine photographer and it seems to me that once one has spent years taking photos of the best natural scenes one comes to a point of wanting to introduce surprises. Google Andy Goldsworthy to see images of painstaking arrangements of beautiful colours, often in circles outlining odd holes. These works of art may never be seen by anyone except the artist but the photograph capturing this fleeting gift is what we can see in books.
Chris has been working on Land Art for the last two years after many more in photography. His show, 'Stones, Chestnuts & Snow' in the 3D gallery features large format photos of some delightful arrangements in local forests and by streams. Large rocks on the floor, a video showing waves gently lapping over pebbles towards red chestnuts placed at the high-tide mark and an accompanying sound-track make the little gallery a pleasing introduction to his ideas and one is then intrigued to see the arrangements of sticks on the outside lawn of the Arts Centre. Next Saturday he plans to work publicly again, installing 8 more rectangles of sticks on the island in front of City Hall.
Gallery curator Susan Jessop asked artist Angela Gooliaff to indicate the feelings of an artist confronted with display cases for her work. The resulting ants scurrying inside and outside the cases are a fun surprise! 'Cabinet of Curiosity Series' with Tony Chu.
Time ran out so I shall take a better look at the other two shows at the opening on Thursday - Maegan Elise' 'Goodnight Goodluck' mixed-media drawings based on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan - and the abstract drawings of Rosemary Burden 'Breeding Ground'.
The Opening Reception was a week ago now. I do enjoy the opportunity to hear more about each artist and the ideas and work behind each person's exhibition. After spending time with the 2D work this time I appreciated the mixed-media work by Maegan Elise. She is in third year at ECU and her paintings have already been selected for a show in North Vancouver and one image has been chosen by Translink to appear on a bus or a sky train for the next two years. She is this year's recipient of Port Moody Art Centre's Kwi Am Choi award for emerging artists. He would have enjoyed her work. I found them to be moving and powerful.
The other 2D works, showing on the walls of the Plum Gallery, are abstract drawings by Rosemary Burden. These warrant a careful look. They have a delicate botanical feel and I enjoyed them a lot.
Since I started this blog over a week ago Chris Mackenzie has been in touch. It was a snowy day last Saturday when he completed the second of his Port Moody installations. I'm afraid we merely walked around our neighbourhood and did not drive down to the end of the Inlet to watch him. But he has sent me two photos of the work as it looks today in the snow. Who knows what effect the next few weeks of rain, frost and then Spring will have on his careful arrangement?
I do hope there will be lots more public art in our city, whether it is ephemeral and a passing pleasure like Chris' sticks and last year's now-fading, but thought-provoking blue trees or more permanent sculpture, painting, plantings and even buildings.
Kwai Sang Wong
On Thursday evening June MacDonald and I drove over to Place des Arts in Coquitlam for the opening of Fraser Valley potter Kwai Sang Wong's show: 'When Imagination Meets Clay'.
Winnie started pottery lessons with June at Place des Arts several years ago so was pleased to have the show of her recent work on display there. Her main interest is to explore the idea of the teapot.
She shows a variety of teapot forms, some with loopy handles and many colours of glaze, and most non-functional especially in the case of the raku-fired pieces which have decorative holes as part of the design.
I liked her miniature teapots which showed a bigger variety of lid treatments and were functional. Other teapots were halved and displayed on the wall. The glaze effects on those were forms referring to her experience of immigration.
The show continues until Jan 28th. 2012. Click this link to check times the galleries are open and information on the other two concurrent shows. I enjoyed the work of book artist Rachael Ashe in the Mezzanine Gallery.
NCECA in Seattle March 28-31
Now that the Christmas season is over and other people are back at work or school I'm quite content to be back in the studio. I've read the same sentiment from several artist friends on facebook. We look forward to family and celebrating time but actually enjoy solo time doing our chosen passion just as much. 
My one photo was taken on Granville Island on New Year's Eve. Alan and I were there to take in a matinee of the show 'Blood Brothers' at the Arts Club. Did not join in the standing ovation.. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner with family at 'Whet'. Good food.
I am happy to have an ipad now and will have to spend some days getting up to speed on its capabilities. Probably typing on my MacBook is preferable but when we're travelling I shall be able to email and use the internet. I downloaded 'DerManDar' and shall enjoy taking panoramic images. And 'Draw Free' has already proven addictive. I see that David Hockney's upcoming show at the Royal Academy is to include some ipad drawings!
NCECA, this year in Seattle, is causing much excitement locally. I've already registered. This will be the nearest we've ever had the ceramic conference. I was able to attend it when it was in Las Vegas (cheap flights from here) and more recently in Portland. Now I'm happy to know that my Medalta friend Brenda Sullivan plans to fly out from Ontario to travel down to Seattle for the conference with me. Alan can't resist the chance to spend 3 days in Seattle too. He'll enjoy the museums, galleries and meet up with archaeological friends.
Meanwhile I've been able to unwrap several half-made jugbirds and a bird teapot and get spouts/bills and handles on them and start the painting of them. Poor Soly at YVR Crafthouse is fairly patient but I now have a deadline... asap!