GALLERY OF BC CERAMICS JUDY WEEDEN Spint af Fire May 4-29 Opening: May 5 15:00-17-00 Judy Weeden has established herself as one of the finest potters in British Colum- bia. In a departure from her well-known seamless and geometrical work, Judy's upcoming show explores a mew direc- tion—saggar firing. This traditional proc- ess involves placing unglazed porcelain pols in a saggar, a covered heat resistant box, that is packed with fine sawdust. As ihe kiln is fired the sawdust smoulders producing gradations of black and grey which pattern the pot and white ghosting just below the surface, In this exciting body of work the unpredictability of saggar firing adds an element of freedom and mystery to Judy's perfect forms. Exhibition Openings and Dates May Judy Weeden Spirit of Fire May 4-29 Opening: Sat May 5, 15-00) 171M) June Junichi Tanaka Larger Scale and Beyond May 31-June 26 Opening: Thurs May 31 July Cathi Jefferson, Susan Hira, Connie Glover, Carol Ann Michaelson, Nora Valliant & Jana Zylich Women in Wood June 28-July 31 Opening: Thurs June 28 Please note opening dates and fines are codrdineted with the Craft Howie. JAPAN UPDATE Notes from Keith and Celia Rice-Jones who are in Seto, Japan Its been three weeks and the last af the pots for the Ogama (big kiln) firing are drying in the sun. Glazing and loading of the wark already bisqued begins tomorrow at the Chukyo University kiln site. As well as the Ogama, there's a walk-in Anagama which was unloaded just after we got here, the 14-chamber Noborigama which will be completed next year and the pad for a round, domed top biln. We te mostly had asa workspace the converted bank that Yaswe uses for classes, [ts about three minutes walk from the house and studio, It was difficult jumping right in with clay that behaved very differently and having only a vague idea of whar finished products might look like. Our exhibition should be interesting! The Qgama, last fired over two years aga has been partially rebuilt using some salvaged bricks from an extinct oil kiln and mew ones made and bisqued here. We were involved in mudding the outside, a bit ike working on a very large elephant. The firing runs in twelve hour shifis and is attended by many visitors apparently and the opening isa major event, Work is very much uhat happens here. It's well under way by 9:00 am with a fill range ofstuadso tasks from day puggingand moving work on through various stages to packing and shipping. Yasuo seems able to pick up and put down work at any stage moving easily from throwing to the phone, to visitors, and back to work, His output i prodigious usteally with a helper feeding him material, There’s hanch and afternoon tea breaks before supper at 7:30pm. Usually most people then go back to the studia until 11:00 or 12:00 midnight. [t's when the apprentices get te do their own work, Tomo, the assistant, and Chie, the official apprentice, get Sunday off but its largely another workday for everyone else. The whole area here is involved with clay; it rans for miles with dozens of potters in this immediate few block area, Were on the country edge af Seto which is industrial on a full range scale from duge clay pits and clay preparation plants to nnaller factories and any number of family based workshops ranging from mould made utre to artistic one-off with everything in between. The work also ranges from esoteric tea bowls ($20,000 is the most expensive we ve seen) to kitsch trivia. We watt ta see ubere the Japanese eye places our work. Kerth Rice-fones Keith and Celia wish everyone success at the Made of Clay and they re sorry to miss the AGM.