Another bisque firing last weekend took care of maybe half of my stoneware pieces for the next salt kiln and the latest painted plates, this time by Eric, Katie, Jacqui and Marian. The glaze firing was just for their work. I had no earthenware work to add to it but I don’t mind firing with half a kiln, the cost of electricity isn’t too bad.

Alan has photographed the finished plates so I’ll post them here, mainly for the benefit of the artists. They do seem to enjoy having their work published! and one can certainly see how much they enjoyed the opportunity to work in a different medium.

Here is a little on young Jacqui’s art experience so far.

I have taken the liberty of copying ECU’s bio on Marian Penner Bancroft to accompany the photos of her plates. Marian has just recently retired from her professorship at ECU. Nice to see that she enjoys birds too!

Marian Penner Bancroft is an Associate Professor in Visual Art and Material Practices / Photography. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in a number of collections including those of the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in Ottawa. Recent exhibitions have been at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris and Republic Gallery in Vancouver. Current interests are the intersections and overlaps amongst issues related to history and its objects, the uses and representations of landscape, and the family.

Her work periodically includes text, sound, drawing and sculpture. She is represented by Republic Gallery in Vancouver. Marian studied at the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver School of Art (now ECUAD) and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto. She has also taught at Simon Fraser University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

I am impressed the strong graphic quality of Katie’s black and white on sage green plate.

Just a little note to those who break a bone-dry piece. One of Eric’s was completely split in two after he’d spent an hour or so drawing and painting on it. I sprayed it with water and applied paper-clay slip made from the same earthenware clay and a piece of loo-paper. We left it wrapped in plastic for a while, touched up damage to the drawing with underglazes and crossed our fingers. The piece survived the bisque and glaze firings and looks to be a sound finished plate.

What better way to spend the Victoria Monday holiday than to have artists here to paint, chat and eat lunch together? The visitors this time were Eric Metcalfe and Katie Lyle again, and first-timers Western Fronter Jacqui Ross and recently retired Emily Carr instructor Marian Penner Bancroft.

As usual total concentration prevailed and wildly different images appeared by late afternoon. We were able to have our lunch of cold cuts, salad, artisan bread and hummus outside on the deck in sunshine. I was happy to show Marian my garden.

Alan took photos of us working and I’ve included snaps of the finished work. It now awaits my imminent bisque firing. The final work will, as visitors to this blog know, be bold, shiny and super!