Être Fleur Bleue
Malory Tate (Ceramic Artist in Residence 2017/2018)

Être Fleur Bleue is a collection of sentimental and romantic ceramic vessels embodying the French expression of “the little blue flower.” These vessels inspire the actions of arranging, gathering, and collecting.

I’ve been looking forward to Malory Tate’s year-end show ever since last September when she started her year-long residency in Port Moody Arts Centre. With a Ceramics degree from NSCAD University and a year of apprenticing to well-known Nova Scotia potter Jim Smith, Malory was well prepared for a year in a rent-free studio to perfect her collection for the current show.

Over the Winter Malory gave a presentation to TriCity Potters and showed what she enjoys making and hoped to complete during her Residency. She works in a white mid-range porcelain, which presents challenges. At the end of this blog I’ve added the link to my blog reporting on that evening.

The July/August Port Moody Arts Centre shows opened last Thursday evening and Malory’s show was installed in the Ann Kitching gallery, a well-lit perfect area for a 3D show. Malory has made several old-fashioned writing boxes, with ink-wells and pen holders and drawers (yes, all clay!). Displayed with them are flower bricks, and on other plinths are her signature tulipieres and vases. All are mainly white, with accents of blue. There is a quiet dignity to her work, a definite reference to earlier times, and clearly a love of flowers and ways of displaying them.

My photos show Malory thanking the Arts Centre and Janice Cotter for the opportunity, some of her guests (Vancouver potter Laura Van der Linde also teaches at Trout Lake Community Centre where Malory has been teaching when not in her Port Moody studio), and some of the lovely work in her show ‘Être Fleur Bleue’.

You can take a look at this show of Malory’s pottery until August 9th. At 7pm on that evening she will be giving a talk and slide show and a tour through the exhibition space.

I’ll mention the other two Arts Centre shows which opened last Thursday in my next blog.

https://www.gillianmcmillan.com/2018/03/22/malory-tate-ceramic-artist-in-residence-pmac/

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On Wednesday evening, a week ago, Ceramic artist Malory Tate was the presenter for TriCity Potters’ March meeting. Since last Fall she has occupied the little pottery studio in the clay department of Port Moody Arts Centre as this year’s Ceramic Artist in Residence.

Malory grew up in Kamloops BC, the daughter of literary parents who gave her the romantic name. Perhaps this is why she has had a passion for things baroque, decorative and Pre-Raphaelite and has followed an independent path in her ceramic explorations. She travelled across the country to attend Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and told us that she was much influenced by then-retired but still hugely important ceramics instructor Walter Ostrom. His well-known maiolica glazed and decorated earthenware forms have led to a distinctive look that is recognizably NSCAD to this day.

In particular Ostrom is well-known as a mad keen gardener so it is no surprise that he created flower bricks and tulipieres. In spite of gentle pressure to head in a different direction Malory stood her ground, and now, a year or more since graduating, she is intent on producing elegant, porcelain tulipieres and centre pieces.

We were invited into her tiny studio, ‘do not touch!’ and had a glimpse of some of the pieces she’ll show in her end-of-the-residency show (in July I believe). Tantalizingly lots of her work was shrouded in plastic so we’ll have to wait for a few months to see what she’s been up to.

Thank you Malory for a fun introduction to your work, personal information about yourself and telling us a little about your hopes for the future. Malory had given a workshop to current Clay Drop-in Members at PMAC and supervises the Tuesday morning drop-in time. She also teaches at Trout Lake Community Centre. With the long commute on public transit from downtown Vancouver Malory works hard when she’s in the Arts Centre and hasn’t really had a chance to see much of Port Moody. So now we are hoping to show her Rocky Point Park, Gallery Bistro and have her visit us local potters. Clive and Ysy took her to Clive’s studio on Monday and I think she’ll visit Ysy’s next and perhaps mine soon after.

One small suggestion from her was that there could in fact be two ceramics artists in residence, for company and bouncing ideas and suggestions off each other. With the Arts Centre only opening at noon nowadays she lets herself in to get working and is often alone. Interesting idea.. there is another little ‘office’ available right next to hers. In fact it is the room that was my studio from 1996 to ’99 and Clive’s for some eight years after that.

Good luck with your Summer show, Malory, and best wishes for your emerging career in ceramics.

http://malorytate.com 

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