Keith and Celia Rice-Jones are fervent believers in this statement by William Morris. At an Artist Talk on Thursday June 13th Keith showed us photos depicting their journeys in clay and specifically their home and studio. Every part of their garden and house has been carefully considered, with Celia being given credit for the well-tended garden. Hand-made furniture, tiles and pottery fill their home, with framed artwork carefully placed wherever there is a space.

Celia is the production potter, making everything you might need for preparing and serving food, from teapots to baking dishes, goblets and mugs. Keith came to clay with a background in carpentry and his sculptures and robust functional ware demonstrate that fine craftsmanship connection.

Recently Port Moody’s gallery manager Janice Cotter visited the Rice-Jones pair in their Burnaby-almost New Westminster home and gleefully selected all the pieces which are currently on show in the Port Moody Arts Centre’s Kitching Gallery. My fourth photo shows Janice introducing Keith and Celia at the opening of their show, ‘Clay Compulsion’, and of the concurrent show of work by the Greater Vancouver Wood-turners Guild, ‘The Art of Wood’. The shows opened on June 6th and will be up until July 11th.

The related free Artist Talk ‘The Art of Home’, a week later, was very well attended and afterwards Celia and Keith led a tour of their joint show, answering questions and explaining their various techniques for fabricating the pieces.

Visitors who ‘shuffled’ around old Port Moody last night on our second ArtWalk/SHUFFLE will have been able to check out both excellent shows while wandering through the Arts Centre galleries. I have included a couple of photos of fine wood-turned pieces in the Wood-turners show to tempt you to check both shows before they close.

I”ve included one photo of me and my display just before yesterday’s Shuffle. It was a really good evening, with old friends and new acquaintances dropping by my studio as a first stop on their culture crawl.

This coming Saturday will be the third and final chance to meet Keith Rice-Jones as he works alongside his huge show at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre. The show is of thirty years of Keith’s working in clay so there are new large garden sculptures, wall pieces, his signature urns and various other strong, stained forms. Check this link to the Evergreen’s site to read their description of the show and for hours the show is open. You have until Jan 9th to see it.

http://www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca/art-gallery/upcoming-exhibitions/keith-rice-jones

For many years Keith was the Art Teacher at Port Moody Senior Secondary School so many local students will remember him. He and his wife Celia work and live at  ‘Wildrice Studio’ in New Westminster. Maple Ridge Art Gallery hosted a show of work by both of them earlier this year. We are all wondering how Keith has found the time to organise not only making all these pieces but the well-planned displays in both shows.

The large space in the Evergreen Gallery is pleasantly busy as you negotiate between person-sized sculptures, stop to admire platforms showing groups of vessels, pause before interesting 3D wall pieces and wind up captivated by an excellent 9-minute video. The latter beautifully explains Keith’s working methods and the studio he and Celia share.

http://www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca/art-gallery/upcoming-exhibitions/keith-rice-jones/behind-the-scenes

Alan and I made two trips, once to catch Keith on a Saturday afternoon as he tried to work on a planned large coil-built sculpture while chatting with visitors, and again when the gallery was less busy so that we could take photos. So I took the photo showing Keith. All the rest were taken by Alan. We didn’t capture everything.

You should make a point of visiting this fine show yourself and you’re sure to find pieces that you enjoy. I was particularly impressed that Keith was able to persuade the gallery manager to allow a clay ‘studio’ in the gallery space. It is, I think, part of their commitment to public education. Concurrent with this show, as with the triennial Fraser Valley Potters Guild shows, they are offering clay classes and tours using the show as inspiration.

During this Christmas season the nearby Lafarge Lake has several spectacular light displays so take the short walk around it while you’re there. Evergreen Skytrain construction makes it look as if there’s no way in but just drive north on Pinetree Way and you can get in.

Sorry I haven’t made a note of titles, Keith.

http://www.wildricestudio.com

Celia is an accomplished thrower and her functional ware is elegant, totally practical and is enhanced by beautiful glazes. It can be found at their studio showroom and at the Gallery of BC Ceramics where Celia is a long-time gallery volunteer.

Keith, having trained first as a furniture maker, is interested in working with stiff clay. His work is formal sculpture, often referencing Art History. Lately the work has become larger and more rounded, finished with dark, metallic surfaces. He often works on commissioned pieces. Keith is a past president of the BC Potters Guild.

Keith taught Art at the very school we hold our meetings in and he and Celia have been involved in teaching ceramics to school-age children all through their careers. Notably they have coordinated several mural projects with schools and communities in the lower mainland. We were shown photos of the process of organizing these astonishing works which will remain as a testament to creativity for many years. When you visit the Michael J. Fox theatre in Burnaby look for the vast mural there, and Edmonds Community School has a mural of continents and luggage labels to acknowledge the school’s multi-cultural population.

Do check their smart website for photos of them, their studio and work.  www.wildricestudio.com/

Keith and Celia will be two artists in a four-person show in North Vancouver show. Here is the invition:

As Keith writes:

Christmas Sale 2011