ArtWalk – Gillian McMillan — Rara Avis

My SHUFFLE & Sally’s farewell

Gillian McMillan — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:59:37 +0000

It’s Sunday evening and I’m looking back on an eventful weekend, full of friendly connections, happy reunions and a sad farewell.

By Friday afternoon my studio was incredibly tidy, with a varied selection of work displayed on the big table. Al took some photos to record this moment, the first occasion for local folks to check out my working space since 2019.

The SHUFFLE committee had arranged for each of the twenty local venues to have a big pink banner and bold signs so that Shufflers could find us. I think my studio is the only one, this year, in a home, so it was very easy for me to welcome folks from before four o’clock until after nine. Even though I was at the far western end of the suggested ArtWalk tour I was almost constantly busy. People were so interested in the various techniques that I use, in seeing my equipment and examples of earthenware and stoneware, electric, gas, soda firings, slip work and sgraffito. They also were amused by and enjoyed my somewhat wild garden. My only regret is that I was unable to check out what all the other artists were showing in their varied venues around old Port Moody. It was a fine sunny evening and from other reports it seems that the return of the SHUFFLE was a big success.

I see from my guest book that most visitors live locally in the Tri-Cities, with just a few from Burnaby, Vancouver, Langley and Mission. I chatted with TriCity Potters, pottery students from PoMoArts and Place des Arts, local friends, neighbours and collectors. Thank you all for making the effort to find me, and especially lovely people who will now give a piece of my work a new home. I’m very grateful to the SHUFFLE committee for organizing the event and to the sponsors who provided us with brochures, advertising, banners and signs. Let’s do this again next year!

Next morning I was delighted and honoured to see an Instagram post by Vancouver collector Chris Brayshaw (of Pulp Fiction books and CSA Gallery). He said that instead of driving out to Port Moody that evening he would feature a piece of mine from his collection. It’s a simple little celadon-glazed vase on which I’d drawn an oak tree, remembered from my childhood in England. The words made my day!

On Saturday afternoon there was a memorial for the much-admired and influential Emily Carr UAD Ceramics instructor, Sally Michener, at West Vancouver Unitarian church. The occasion was a fitting farewell for kind, encouraging, respectful, creative and colourful Sally. Tam Irving, her colleague of some twenty-five years, gave a thoughtful eulogy. He reminded us of Sally’s determination to have students consider the possibilities of hand-building and sculpture, and Ceramics history, along with Tam’s forte, functional wheel-throwing. A slide-show included ceramics that had influenced her own practice, images from her many solo shows, her travels and good times with her students.

https://www.galleryofbcceramics.com/post/remembering-sally-michener

Sally Michener and Tam Irving led the Ceramics department during my three years at ECIAD in the early nineties. Along with many of her students and her fellow faculty members I joined Sally’s children Dan and Katy to share anecdotes, laughs and fond memories. Thank you for your devoted care of your mother, Katy, and thanks to Dan for Saturday’s well-planned memorial.

Knowing that Sally’s friends and colleagues Monique and Renée would be there I brought along their recent ‘Raid’ plates. They’ll deliver Karen and Eric’s to them, and we plotted a further ‘Raid’ for later in the Summer.

Now it’s time to clean my wheel prior to working in red earthenware next. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be at Shadbolt Centre to help unload the latest soda firing and clean shelves. I wonder what the Vault kiln has in store for me?

Painted Plates, ‘Snow’ clay & the SHUFFLE

Gillian McMillan — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 03:38:09 +0000

Once the early June celebratory time was over I got around to painting ten Egg boxes with underglazes so that I could get the most recent plates fired as well. ‘Snow’ white earthenware clay from Plainsman Clays has been recommended as a replacement for the Georgie’s Wonder White that I have been using for some years now. I need a white clay for my visiting plate painters. So this recent firing included quickly-made plates and two wee dishes to test the new white clay from Greenbarn Pottery Supplies.

First I’ll show you the finished plates that were painted by returning Raiders Renée, Monique, Eric and Karen. These first two large platters are by Renée. Exciting!

Monique painted a large serving dish and a smaller lunch size plate. So subtle..

Eric and Karen just came for the afternoon so only had time to paint one lunch-size plate each. It was so good to see Eric wielding a paintbrush once again.

The colourful Egg Boxes are a special request from Jonathon’s Gallery in London, Ontario. J first suggested I make some eggs to accompany my many birds and I’ve now made quite a few, but never this wildly coloured! I do enjoy carving them. Let’s see what Jonathon has planned for this batch. You’ll see wee wads under the lids. I really didn’t want the lids to get stuck where I’d painted underglazes.

My other job to do before I could get these fired was to quickly roll out another slab plate with the new ‘Snow’ white earthenware clay. I needed to reassure myself that my coloured earthenware slips, underglaze and clear glaze would all fit properly ie marry without crazing or ‘shivering’. The inner circle was painted with a ‘peacock’ slip, the outer area is underglaze and then I sgraffitoed yet another startled bird.

Happily, the result is very good. I also made a couple of plates using both clays to check whether their shrinkage is the same, and then threw a little white dish and a tinier one with the mixed clays. Carving came along too. I’m very pleased with the new clay so far and can now plan to make more plates for future ‘Raiders’.

This has been a somewhat mad couple of weeks because I realized I hadn’t really left enough time to make my two cubic feet of stoneware pots for the soda firing this week. In record time I now have those pots bisque-fired, ready for liner glazing and wadding tomorrow and a trip with them to Shadbolt Centre on Wednesday.

That will leave Thursday to prepare my studio for Friday evening’s return of Port Moody’s ArtWalk/Solstice SHUFFLE. We haven’t hosted our local version of a Crawl since 2019 so are excited to show folks what Art-making looks like here.

The event is just for one evening, Friday June 23rd, and our studios will be open from 4pm until 9pm. You can see a larger version of this map here. https://www.pomoshuffle.ca

If you click on ‘venues’ you’ll see that my studio is #1 on the brochure. I’m looking forward to seeing you that evening. Some members of TriCity Potters, at venue #2, plan to share a table or two on the lawn by the Arts Centre. You will find other clay artists in the Arts Centre/PoMoArts venue #3 including the solo show of current clay artist-in-residence Max Yang and work in the Blackberry Gift Shop. Further along on your SHUFFLE you’ll find four clay people at venue #15 at Spring Street Studios. Finally you will find the work of Clive Tucker at venue #20 as you wind up your SHUFFLE on Brewery Row.

I’ll have to skip helping to insert soda into the Vault kiln that day, but I’ll be at Shadbolt Centre next Tuesday to help unload and clean shelves. Can’t wait!

Port Moody’s ArtWalk/SHUFFLE

Gillian McMillan — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 01:30:53 +0000

Opening my studio to the public one day a year is a marvellous incentive to get the space clean and tidy. Tomorrow is the day of the Port Moody ArtWalk. Like last year it coincides with Summer Equinox. I have publicized the event on facebook and instagram and have sent invitations out to a list of friends. So if you’ve heard about this many times.. sorry. But it is a happy way of keeping in touch with faraway folk and I have enjoyed responses from England and elsewhere.

This is what I wrote:

It’s time to invite you to visit my pottery studio as part of your SHUFFLE around old Port Moody. Our local ArtWalk takes place on Summer Solstice evening from 4 – 9pm. My studio is the first on the map, a little West (and a hike over St George street hill or St Andrews lane!) of the Arts Centre. Pick up a brochure with the map from my studio, the Arts Centre or download one. I’d love to see you! Gillian

and this is the information about the SHUFFLE around town:

The Shuffle is a back for a second year. It’s a one-night, self-directed event on Friday June 21, 2019 from 4:00-9:00 pm in the areas around the Port Moody Arts Centre, Gallery Row, the Historical District, and the Esplanade Studios area.

Experience the creative process in action at galleries, private studios of local artists and local businesses — open to the public for the Art Walk. Artists will also be presenting their work on the lawn beside Kyle Centre. There will be live painting, performances, and refreshments, all within walking distance of Gallery Row. Mark your calendars, this is a great opportunity to be inspired by creative talent and support the artistic community of Port Moody!

Stay tuned for posts @PortMoodyArtWalkabout performances, artist demonstrations and special activities.

Follow The Shuffle onFacebookfor updates

Download The Shuffle Map here.

My most recent firing contained ten plates by the Raiders and my latest jugbirds. Unlike last year when I was only able to show folks jugbirds which were already destined for the Airport, this year I have thirteen new avian friends to show you. If you’ve ever wanted one of my silly fellows for your syrup, cream or gravy or as a gift, now’s your chance to choose one. Next week I’ll take any left over in to Circle Craft or over to Eclectic Gallery in Victoria.

Tanager & Flicker jugbirds

Chickadee & Puffin jugbirds

Grey jugbird with orange bill

Pond Green jugbird with red bill

Gloopy plate

Yunomi

little lidded pot for salt

After our wonderful busy time with visiting family I turned my attention to getting some stoneware pieces thrown and assembled ready for the salt firing workshop in Lund. A week ago I took my sixteen pots in to Jackie Frioud’s studio in the Mergatroid building in East Vancouver. She had invited us, the five participants in her salt-firing workshop, to bring our bone-dry ware to her studio to be sprayed with her flashing slips. She has a proper spray booth and an interesting selection of slips – blue, red, orange and yellow. Bless her, she took care of all the spraying for me.. I’d neglected to bring along my mask! so it was good to see how much slip she sprays and for how long. I am so looking forward to seeing how they all react to the flames and salt when we open her kiln on July 9th.

One day soon I’ll pick up my work and get the liner glazes applied here and will then take the pots up the Sunshine Coast and on to Lund, via two ferries, in early July.

Meanwhile, I shall enjoy welcoming any folks who care to Shuffle around Old Port Moody tomorrow evening. It’s the longest day of the year so you might like to take a short wander around our garden too.