Made of Clay, 1998, an award winning book, compiled by Linda Doherty, published by the Potters Guild of BC, and distributed by Douglas and McIntyre in 1998. It is a survey of ceramists in BC, with essays by Carol E. Mayer and Jane Matthews.
Author Archives: kitsmediatech
Transformations – Ceramics, 2005
The PGBC 50th Anniversary catalogue, Transformations – Ceramics, 2005, published by the Burnaby Art Gallery, documenting the 50th Anniversary Exhibition of the Potters Guild of BC at the Burnaby Art Gallery. Curator Carol E Mayer assisted by Darrin Martins, curator of the Burnaby Art Gallery; jurors, Carol E Mayer and Hiro Urakami.
Transitions of a Still Life
Transitions of a Still Life: Ceramic Work by Tam Irving, jointly published by the Burnaby Art Gallery and Anvil Press in 2007. Written by Carol E. Mayer and photographed by Ken Mayer. This book embraces ceramics as a visual art through a thoughtful survey of one of BC’s most respected and beloved potters.
Seeking the Nuance
Seeking the Nuance: Glaze experiments of the 60s and 70s from the Ceramics Studio at UBC, Second Edition, 2017, by Glenn Lewis, Phyllis Schwartz and Debra Sloan. The Second Edition includes more in-depth historical information and news of outcomes from the First Edition. [sold out] The second edition includes a discussion of the Leach/Mingei philosophy, which continues to influence many studio practices in British Columbia. 60 pages, new images, and 33 glaze recipes.
Up on the Roof
Up on the Roof: The Role of Equestrian Ridge Tiles as Historical Narrative and Architectural Embellishment, first ed 2017; second ed. 2018, by Debra Sloan; Research and Insights by Peter Smith
Up On the Roof explores traditional equestrian clay ridge tiles that from the Middle Ages adorned rooflines in Britain and Europe. The practice died out by the early 1800s, and now those last and rare remnants are found mainly in West Country museums. Up on the Roof recounts how Bernard Leach and fellow members of the Old Cornwall Society revived the tradition in the 1920s. Over the last decades memories faded once again, until, in 2014, the Leach Pottery instigated research and response. These tiles reveal a role for art in the public realm to instill interaction and engagement.
The Ceramic Art of Thomas Kakinuma
The Ceramic Art of Thomas Kakinuma, Debra E. Sloan and Carol E. Mayer, West Vancouver Museum, 2017. Published in conjunction with The Ceramic Art of Thomas Kakinuma exhibition, curated by Darrin Morrison, West Vancouver Museum, January 24 – March 10, 2018. Front Cover: Peacock, T Kakinuma, 1963
“The Ceramic Art of Thomas Kakinuma is the first solo exhibition featuring Kakinuma’s work since 1969. Kakinuma was an acknowledged contributor to the dynamic Modernist art scene in Vancouver; his work was exhibited Canada-wide and awarded internationally. Kakinuma was also a beloved teacher at the UBC Ceramic Huts and within the Lower Mainland.” D. Sloan
“Thomas Kakinuma taught pottery at UBC from 1956 to 1960, and 1965- 1969. His own work included sculpture, functional ware , decorative vases and small animal figures . . . the paucity of documentation is surprising considering Kakinuma’s contributions to the larger story of how UBC alongside the Vancouver School of Art served as the foundation for the development of British Columbia ceramics.” C.E Mayer. See a full transcript of the Kakinuma story by Debra Sloan
Sally Michener
Sally Michener is an artist, educator and long-term Board member based in West Vancouver. She holds a MSW from Columbia University in New York City and an MFA from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. She immigrated to Canada in 1973 and taught at the Vancouver School of Art/Emily Carr University for twenty-five years. Her studio practice consists primarily of ceramic sculpture and installation-based works, which have been exhibited across Canada as well as abroad in Japan, China, the USA, Mexico and Europe. About her work, the artist states “The human body and the column are basic subjects in my work. I continue to be interested in formal, abstract composition, function and aesthetics.” Sally has received numerous Canada Council grants and awards and is a member of RCA. She has participated in ceramic residencies in Canada, Mexico and China. In 2007, she was one of ten Canadians invited to participate in a month-long residency and to create work for an international ceramic museum in Fuping, China, and, in 2009, she created a garden installation at the Burlington Art Centre in Ontario. Sally served on the Board from its inception in 1993 until 2015. For more information, please see the website of the Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art
Tam Irving
Tam Irving is an educator and studio potter based in West Vancouver. He is a founding member and impetus behind the formation of the NWCF. After obtaining a degree in Agriculture from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and working as a chemist for Shell Canada, he became a production potter. He began to teach in ceramics at the Vancouver School of Art/Emily Carr University in 1973, retiring in 1996 to return to his own practice. As an artist, he is “interested in the beauty that can inhere in simple objects.” He has exhibited widely including in Thrown: Influences and Intentions of West Coast Ceramics at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC in 2004, and the solo exhibition Transitions of a Still Life at the Burnaby Art Gallery in 2007. He has written for Contact Magazine and Studio Potter. His work is in the collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull; the Gardiner Museum, Toronto; the Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo and the Surrey Art Gallery in Surrey. Tam served on the Board from its inception in 1993 until 2010.
Ron Vallis
Ron is currently working with Martin Peters at the Dunbar Pottery in Vancouver and is a retired cultural worker. He is interested in the simple domestic vessel as an artistically expressive object within the discipline of the traditional tools of hand, wheel and fire. Ron graduated with honours from the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University) and studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts. He has exhibited at the Ping Gallery and the Gallery of BC Ceramics in Vancouver, and at the Exit Gallery and Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff. His work was included in the exhibition Thrown: Influences and Intentions of West Coast Ceramics at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC in 2004 and High Fire Culture at the Belkin Satellite Gallery. For many years he served on the Board or as President of the Potters’ Guild of BC and on the Boards of the BC Highland Dance Association and United Scottish Cultural Society. Ron has been a member of the Board of the NWCF since 1997, serving as Vice-President from 1997 to 2000 and as President from 2001 until 2016. For more on his work, please see Dunbar Pottery
Cheryl Stapleton
Cheryl Stapleton is an artist, educator, pottery studio technician and manager based in Vancouver. She holds a BFA (1999) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She has managed the Roundhouse Pottery Studio since 1999 and the studio at West Point Grey from 2002 – 2021. She has taught ceramics classes to both children and adults since 1996 at Kwantlen University, the Surrey Arts Centre, the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver Museum of Anthropology, and West Point Grey Community Centre. She currently offers classes at both the Roundhouse Arts and Community Centre and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Cheryl has maintained a studio in the Mergatroid Building located within the parameters of the Eastside Culture Crawl since 2004. In 2005 and 2006, she participated in the Terra Cotta Residency in Santiago du Cuba, and she attended ceramic conferences in Seattle, WA; Helena, MT; Cedar Rapids, IA; Portland, OR, and Phoenix, AZ. Cheryl also volunteers with the Fraser Valley Potters Guild Association and the Canadian Clay Symposium. She has been a member of the NWCF Board since 2008. For more information on Cheryl, please see here.
