In collaboration with the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the North-West Ceramics Foundation is pleased to announce Michael Kline as their next speaker at a free public lecture Friday, April 5, 2019. The lecture will be held in the Discovery Room at the Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby, from 7 to 8 pm. The talk is free and open to the public, but as space is limited, registering is highly recommended.

A well-known veteran of workshops, Michael Kline makes utilitarian ceramics with painted and stamped surfaces based on botanical motifs. For most of his career, Kline has worked with wood-fired salt-glazed stoneware, usually with organic patterns painted on a thick white slip surface. Kline began working with ceramics while pursuing a civil engineering degree in college, graduating with his BFA in Ceramics in 1986. He attended a workshop with Michael Simon at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina, in 1989, which encouraged him to become a full-time studio potter. After sharing a work space with others for ten years in Western Massachusetts, he returned to Penland as a Resident Artist. Following his residency, he set up a studio in nearby Bakersville, where he continues to work today.

Michael Kline Mug detail[/caption]As a resident at Penland from 1998 to 2001, he began making large pots inspired by the traditional stoneware of Catawba Valley and Seagrove, North Carolina. In 2015, he visited the Freer-Sackler Wing of the Smithsonian and was struck by 15th C. examples of the Korean sangam technique. Since then, he has focused on developing this technique, creating floral stamps and inlaying the impressions with white slip on a dark stoneware base. Kline’s signature work is characterized by delicate pattern systems overlying robust forms.

In his auto-biographical talk, Michael Kline will discuss his evolution as a potter, from starting out as a foundering engineering student to becoming a full-time studio potter. He will talk about the value of social media, branding, photography, and effective artist statements in navigating the digital world. His talk will serve as an introduction to a workshop sponsored by the Shadbolt held on April 6 and 7.

​The talk will be held on Friday, April 5 from 7 to 8 pm in the Discovery Room at the Burnaby Village Museum. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more on Michael Kline, please see his website at www.klinepottery.com/