Fraser Valley Potters Guild – Gillian McMillan — Rara Avis

FVPG 50th Anniversary Juried Show

Gillian McMillan — Tue, 13 May 2025 06:06:14 +0000

Our April passed in a blur of packing or leaving our old house looking immaculate for potential buyers. I think May will be better, starting for me with a return to the world of ceramics. I was happy to join fellow potters Carlene, Eliza and Kay for the drive in to Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre to attend the opening of Fraser Valley Potters Guild’s annual juried show last Thursday May 3rd. This year the guild celebrates its first fifty years!

My photographs show pieces that I enjoyed. There were many attendees and I wasn’t able to see all the work! For the list of Winners and Honorary Mentions and more news on the opening, go to FVPG’s website to read the post by Amy Gogarty. https://fraservalleypottersguild.com/news

This year’s juror was recently-retired MOA Ceramics curator and NorthWest Ceramics Foundation board member Dr Carol E. Mayer.

You can see this fine show of a wide selection of Ceramics techniques until June 8th. at the Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan st. Vancouver BC.

TRANSFORMATION: FVPG 2023

Gillian McMillan — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:33:42 +0000

On our way to Abbotsford last Friday to attend the closing sale at Herman Venema’s studio (see yesterday’s blog) Carlene, Eliza and I stopped in at the ACT art gallery in Maple Ridge to see Fraser Valley Potters Guild’s latest show, TRANSFORMATION.

We were greeted by the Art Gallery curator and manager Courtney Miller, who showed us around the ceramics show and explained some of her display decisions. To give you an idea of the variety of work that was juried into this year’s show I’ll make this blog into more of a photo essay, adding information in each caption. The juror was Langara college instructor Gloria Han and I think I found all her honourable mentions and award winners. There are Student and Open categories for entrants.

This is one of a number of works that address the deteriorating state of our world. Sculptures and vessels here, by Ofra, Kay and Amy address climate change, pollution and gross consumerism. Ceramic shows aren’t all about vessels, mugs, bowls and vases.

There were so many inventive, beautiful and skilfully-made works in this show that I had a hard time deciding which ones to feature. Forgive me if yours isn’t shown. This exhibition will be up until April 29th 2023.

‘Of the Earth’ Fraser Valley Potter’s Guild 1

Gillian McMillan — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 03:01:05 +0000

Fraser Valley Potters’ latest show opened at Coquitlam’s Place des Arts on Friday night. The juror for this show, ECUAD ceramics professor Jen Woodin, gave the members a critique of their submissions at an August meeting and she attended the opening to present prizes and certificates to her selection of prize-winners and ‘honorable mentions’.

Visitors to the evening’s events were first welcomed by Place des Arts Executive Director Joan McCauley and then we were ushered into the Leonore Peyton Salon to be further welcomed by Indigenous MC Dennis Joseph, accompanied by Christine Mackenzie who had led the summer’s community art mural that was displayed on the walls around us, and sound artist Matt Dyck who had coordinated music and light effects for the evening.

As usual, I found myself taking lots of photos, of people and their pots and the evening’s events. There are so many ceramic artworks to show you that I need to divide this account of Friday’s happy evening into two blogs.

To begin with I’m giving you a glimpse of the ‘Sharing Culture Through the Natural World’ mural in the LP Salon. Notice the forest images in light on the floor.

Later in the evening I took the stairs up to the mezzanine floor to see the ‘Evolution of Self and Indigenous Art’ show and was happy to meet Bella Coola artist Christine Mackenzie. Her clothing, jewelry and re-purposed masks were charming.

Works by Fraser Valley Potters Guild members were displayed in protective acrylic cases on plinths, in the Arts Centre’s Atrium. They’re protected but it is difficult to take good photos.

It was a busy evening, with many pottery friends in attendance. When I could find one of them I tried to photograph each artist with her pot/s.

Here is the list of Award Winners and Honorable Mentions.

In the Open Class there were 2 Award of Merit winners: Eliza Wang and Jean Paull, who will receive $100 each and a certificate. 4 Honorable Mentions will be given certificates only: Pat Schendel, Ying-Yueh Chuang, Giles Barton-Owen and Amy Chang. In the Student Class there will be 1 Award of Merit winner: Zilin Shen, who will receive $100 and a certificate. 1 Honorable Mention with a certificate only: Susan Johnston. Congratulations all!

To see more photos of pots and people at last Friday’s opening please click on the second blog with the title ‘Of the Earth’.