Sean Kunz – Gillian McMillan — Rara Avis https://www.gillianmcmillan.com Fri, 29 Jul 2022 05:00:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Kunz, Hildebrand & BCCMR https://www.gillianmcmillan.com/blog/2022/07/28/kunz-hildebrand-bccmr/ https://www.gillianmcmillan.com/blog/2022/07/28/kunz-hildebrand-bccmr/#comments Fri, 29 Jul 2022 04:35:57 +0000 https://www.gillianmcmillan.com/?p=13396

I warned Alan that it was unlikely that I’d leave Willock & Sax gallery empty-handed. Manitoba potter Terry Hildebrand is achieving some lovely colours on his finely-thrown cups, bottles, bowls and tea-pots. They are soda-fired.  

Terry Hildebrand beaker

At first I thought I’d buy a fine little mug but Alan thought something larger would be better, and Susan Sax-Willock brought out more for me to make a selection. This tall, light-weight beaker turns out to be the perfect size for a can of cider.

For some of his pieces Terry makes a custom base that fits into a wooden or ceramic base.  You can see some of those in yesterday’s W & S gallery blog and in this link:

http://www.potterry.com/Terry/Ceramics/Ceramics.html

Sean Kunz lidded bottle and funnel

As I took a final walk around the gallery I spotted the work of Sean Kunz. I’ve noticed his interesting way of altering and assembling wheel-thrown shapes (something after my own heart) and love the sometimes eccentric and wonky placement of handles and spouts. This bottle grabbed my attention. Why two lids? I asked Susan, and she explained that the handled piece is actually a funnel!

I see a monk with his pet dog. 

I’m told that the turquoise glaze is a nod to the glacial lakes and rivers that he saw when working there in the mountains.

This photo shows the funnel in use. 

Look at his wonderful pots in this link from W & S gallery:

https://www.willockandsaxgallery.com/ceramic/sean-kunz

Just recently the long-planned Registry of pottery marks by BC potters was launched. It’s a work in progress and at present is only available online. A printed version would quickly be out of date. NorthWest Ceramics Foundation president Debra Sloan has been collecting marks, signatures and biographies for several years. Now, if you have a ceramic treasure you’d like to identify you can use this resource to find the maker. You can research using a name, mark or signature.

https://craftarchive.ca/s/bccmr/page/home

If you are a BC potter who’d like to be included for posterity go to this link to register. And if you know of potters who should be included please let Debra know. 

https://www.nwcf.ca/bc-ceramic-marks-registry/

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