When I was in the Gallery of BC Ceramics today to buy two more tickets to Saturday’s BC Potters’ Guild 60th Anniversary Dinner I was able to have a preview of the current show. The four BC clay artists who will be the featured presenters at ‘Dig This’ on Saturday at Shadbolt Centre have been invited to show some of their work on Granville Island for the month. The dinner will follow the day-long symposium. Also not-to-be-missed will be the lunch hour talk by Vernon master potter and mural-maker Bob Kingsmill. He will talk about BC’s first potter, Axel Ebring.
I took photos of some of the pieces in the show so that those of you, like me, who are unable to attend the opening on Friday evening can have an idea of what to expect on Saturday. I’ve also included the little biography each artist supplied. You’ll need to click on the photo to enlarge it for reading.
We are all familiar with the work of Brendan Tang. He has brought in two large pieces from his ‘Manga Ormulu’ series. Look for him to explain his journey leading to the creation of these distinctive forms and see some of the process of their fabrication.
Robin Dupont was the soda and wood-firing leader for the month I was one of twelve artists-in-residence at Medalta in June of 2010 so I now recognize his style and preferred surfaces. My favourite piece in the show is one of his comfortable teapots.
The other two artists are new to me.
Kathleen Raven lives on Saltspring Island. Her wall pieces tell a story, are very 3-dimensional and use a fine variety of surfaces. One can spend quite a while pondering the work.
And Sarah Lawless lives in Kaslo, a long way East of the Lower Mainland. Wheel-throwing is her passion and I’ve chosen these mugs and unusual thrown plate to show you. Her glazes are subtle, practical and pleasing.
A visit to the Gallery this month is certainly worthwhile even if you aren’t able to spend all day Saturday in Burnaby, listening to these four and watching them at work. And it’s always a treat to wander through the rest of the gallery to see the astonishing variety of work by the best of BC’s potters.
