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?

Port Moody SHUFFLE – Gillian McMillan — Rara Avis

My SHUFFLE & Sally’s farewell