What a treat to take Skytrain from Port Moody in to Vancouver’s huge waterfront Conference Centre on Saturday to visit this year’s Circle Craft Christmas Show. With a wee bus ride to the station I was there in under an hour. I shared some photos of downtown Vancouver in chilly sunshine, but I’ve been asked to show pics of potters working in the show too. There were many!
I’ve reduced the size of the photos, and will try to name each artist and add a website address, so let’s see if I can upload 17 photos asap. I apologize for missing one or two potters. https://signatures.ca/circle-craft/
Vancouver potter Laura Van der Linde was busy with customers when I first arrived but I was able to catch her in a quiet moment later on. I do enjoy her colourful, eccentric pieces. https://www.lauravanderlinde.com
Three potters were scheduled to demonstrate wheel-throwing and I caught Cathi Jefferson and Gordon Hutchens as they worked. I missed the third person, who Cathi told me threw marvellous tall vases in porcelain. There was no published brochure for this year’s show so I wasn’t able to find her name. Cathi was here from the Cowichan Valley and Gordon from Denman Island so they will have been staying in Vancouver for the show’s five days. http://www.cathijefferson.com/Home.html http://www.gordonhutchens.com
Cheerful Fort Langley resident Elaine Brewer-White was being assisted by her daughter on this day. https://elainebrewerwhiteceramics.ca
Vancouver resident Matthew Freed was working alone in his booth but was happy to chat briefly. https://www.facebook.com/matthewfreedpottery/
Susie Kathol is a wildlife biologist and botanist who lives in Revelstoke. Her work features fine sgraffito drawings of the flora and fauna she studies. https://susiekatholceramics.ca/pages/about-me
Hell Wench! I gather that means Wild, Free and True to Nature. Martha Casey-Knight lives in Vancouver, having arrived here from Australia just as Covid started. Her work, like Susie’s, features sgraffito work in black, on white clay. https://www.hellwench.com
I did enjoy meeting these two clay artists and hope our paths cross again.
These pottery displays either didn’t have anyone on hand, were being manned by a friend, the artists were busy with customers or, in the case of Whistler resident Kathleen Tennock, there was no attendant. I recognized some work from previous years, such as that of Korean-born, Vancouver resident Sophia Kim. Lots of wonderful work! https://www.kathleentennock.com https://sophiaclayart.myshopify.com
Leah Wang had her work displayed in the Emerging Artists section, and cheerfully posed for me with her work. I couldn’t find a website for her. Fraser Valley’s Red Pot Pottery grabbed my attention at a previous CC Christmas Market. I was taken by her meticulous and colourful work then. This year’s pieces were quieter. Her website doesn’t give her name. https://www.redpotpottery.com/About-Myself
I had a great conversation with Red Deer, Alberta clay artist Brian McArthur and had a hard time not taking home a ceramic bird. With Dawn Detarando, he makes gorgeous tiles, mainly typically Canadian Rocky Mountain images, as the team of Voyager Art & Tile. If you like tiles, check these out. http://www.voyagertile.ca
The last two booths that had me hesitating were those of Nanaimo-based Bronwyn Arundel of Arundel Studios and Grass Mountain Pottery. Both artists were busy talking to customers, which has to be good. http://www.arundelstudios.ca
Ren Shieh was born in Taiwan, in the foothills of Grass Mountain, hence the name of his studio. His traditional and painstaking work has been shown at Place des Arts, Coquitlam and at PoMoArts. https://gmpottery.com/about.html
That’s my wander through Circle Craft Christmas Market 2022, during which I made a point of looking for potters. Of course I made some purchases for gifts, but not pottery! Thank you Laura Van der Linde for encouraging me to make the effort to attend this year’s market.
I am sorry I have missed some pottery booths. If any of the potters mentioned here would like to correct what I’ve written or add a note or two, please contact me.. no problem.
Next blog, I’ll post pics of my own soda-fired pots.
Lovely to see so many old friends and also new faces surrounded by their beautiful work.
Thanks for the “virtual tour”, Gillian.