Keith and Celia Rice-Jones of ‘Wild Rice’ studio were presenters at Wednesday’s meeting of TriCity Potters. They gave us a power point presentation telling some of the story of their journey in clay. Members were fascinated to see how the studio and kiln were built on their New Westminster property and how two people whose work is very different work side by side. They use cone 10 clay and almost all the work is fired in reduction in a natural gas fired kiln.
Celia is an accomplished thrower and her functional ware is elegant, totally practical and is enhanced by beautiful glazes. It can be found at their studio showroom and at the Gallery of BC Ceramics where Celia is a long-time gallery volunteer.
Keith, having trained first as a furniture maker, is interested in working with stiff clay. His work is formal sculpture, often referencing Art History. Lately the work has become larger and more rounded, finished with dark, metallic surfaces. He often works on commissioned pieces. Keith is a past president of the BC Potters Guild.
Keith taught Art at the very school we hold our meetings in and he and Celia have been involved in teaching ceramics to school-age children all through their careers. Notably they have coordinated several mural projects with schools and communities in the lower mainland. We were shown photos of the process of organizing these astonishing works which will remain as a testament to creativity for many years. When you visit the Michael J. Fox theatre in Burnaby look for the vast mural there, and Edmonds Community School has a mural of continents and luggage labels to acknowledge the school’s multi-cultural population.
Do check their smart website for photos of them, their studio and work. www.wildricestudio.com/
Keith and Celia will be two artists in a four-person show in North Vancouver show. Here is the invition:
As Keith writes:
