A week after the Clay Symposium I’m realizing that it is important to make a plan for such an event-filled day. I circled the talks that I wanted to attend on my programme but now I know there are others I should have slotted in! After Aaron’s Ceramic Roadshow I flitted in to each of the demos and talks but didn’t stay in one. So, as I wrote after the Symposium three years ago, if anyone would like to write about one or more of the presenters and has photos, by all means let me know and you can be a guest blogger here. Sandra Ramos of the Clay Collective organizing these events, has said she’d like any related blogs for their records and website.
I caught Cathi Jefferson introducing Victoria’s Samantha Dickie. Sam has been a guest artist at Metchosin’s annual ‘Fired Up’ sales several times. Here she was showing how she makes her moulds.
http://wwwhttp://www.samanthadickie.com.
Gwendolyn Yoppolo had just finished her slide show when I found her so all I can offer is a photo of her pieces.
gwendolynyoppolo.com/index.html
James Watkins was throwing some double-walled forms. A visit to his website shows how they look after his unique saggar, raku and fuming firings.
I have watched Ruthanne Tudball demonstrating in the past and am most impressed at her ability to throw and assemble a tea-pot all in one sitting. Her confidence and skill in this process means that the work is alive. There was one of her pieces in the presenters’ display during the week prior to the symposium.
The six ‘Women in Focus’ groupings of pots were still on display so she might have noticed one of her early jugs in Celia Rice-Jones’ collection.
Last Sunday I popped back to Shadbolt Centre to see the results of the recent Symposium-related firing workshops and was most impressed by the colours and surfaces she has coaxed out of their Soda kiln. The workshop participants were very happy.
http://www.ruthannetudball.com
Sunshine Cobb was born in Vancouver but now lives in sunny California. Her work is hand-built and colourful and is characterized by her sand-blasted finish. I see her work on Instagram often and congratulate her on using social media very effectively.
After seeing her presentation in the morning’s panel I should have found time to watch Alberta’s Katrina Chaytor working. I really enjoy the way she works and appreciate her obvious pleasure in finding complicated patterns for their decoration. Inspiring!
Later in the afternoon I settled in to help congratulate this year’s honorees and to watch the keynote talk. Next blog..
A final photo here was taken just as the wood kiln was opened on Sunday, after the soda kiln had been emptied. Again, I gather the wood firers enjoyed the results of their several-day firing.
