I opened my latest glaze firing last Tuesday but I haven’t had time to post some photos in a blog since then. On Wednesday Al photographed the jugbirds and plates, but then we took some straight in to Vancouver. I had promised to leave six at the Gallery of BC Ceramics as my contribution to the North West Ceramics Foundation’s Gala Fundraiser next Thursday, as well as one of my largish salty jugbirds.
That evening we attended a reception at the Western Front for contributing artists and collectors at their fundraising gala a while ago. It was a fine Spring evening so we mingled in the Luxe Hall and on the deck outside where we could sample Fanny Bay oysters and catch the marvellous Mount Pleasant view of The Lions on the North Shore. Several of the Raiders were there. I left a plate for Eric to paint for a gift, and another for Marlene to finish painting so the Raiding goes on! It’ll be nice to have a group out to Port Moody again and they’ll be able to see how my garden grows! And they can help fill my next kiln.
I had fun painting some of the slab plates myself, using my usual red clay and coloured slips. But after seeing other artists here painting with underglazes and who work without any of the traditional expectations for ceramic designs I found myself experimenting. I won’t post individual pics of all my efforts but you’ll see that in the group of six that I’ve left at the Gallery there’s one that is abstract, just using areas of colour. The black line started around the forms and followed the plate’s rim and then I left it. I rather like it.
The other four plates are simply my enjoyment of Spring colours, and of having read Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘Flight Behaviour’ about Monarch butterflies. (I must see if I’d like to grow milkweed in our garden).
In my next blog post I’ll show photos of eleven new jug birds.
Here again is the link to the catalogue of work donated to next Thursday’s ‘From Oven and Kiln’. Do consider joining me and others in BC’s Ceramic Community for a fine meal, silent auction and a dessert plate to keep.
