POTTERS
GUILD

of BRITISH

COLUMBIA
—_—_
NEWSLETTER

4 bc potters

November/December, 2004 Volume 40 No. 10

Partners and other Bonded Relationships

More than 32 years ago I left an academic career in research and teaching biology at the University of
Alaska to make pots as a full-time profession, first in Fairbanks, Alaska, and now on Saltspring Island. I
was fortunate to have had as mentors Dean Schwarz and Al Johnson, potters who were both students of
and. deeply steeped in, the Marguerite Wildainhain tradition. For many years I made strictly functional
ware, earthy, homey, sit-on-the-table stuff that had a ready market in the 70's and 80's.

Gradually as I became more skilled, the pots began to look more sophisticated and were not always func-
tional. My primary goal is to create work that expresses beauty and harmony both in a functional and
decorative context. I now use many forming techniques: throwing, slab-building, casting and any combi-
nation of these.

Today my signature work is known for its sharp-edged designs created by slip-carving. This decorating
technique had very humble beginnings. When I first became a potter, like every beginner's pots, mine
were pretty heavy. I tried carving some of the extra clay away on the outside as a pattern in an attempt to
reduce the weight. Needless to say, it didn't work. But I liked the
appearance and kept on going from there.

For the most part new ideas for form and decor come along at about the
rate of their realization in clay. A kayak or canoe trip on a wild river, a
hike in wild mountains, a look at architectural greats or at small flora
and fauna in my own back yard feed the images that appear as lines and
abstractions on the surfaces of my pots. But that isn't all that Iam or
that I see. Occasionally something within me wants to laugh at the exac-
titude of my labours and I envision whimsical pots that need to be

“told”.

The pieces in this show have come together over a number of years.
They evolved from my early days of making functional production ware
where ten to twelve identical forms were churned out at one time and
the ensuing boredom that washed. over me. Eventually new interest was
added to the process by assembling identical pieces in various ways.
This, of course, is a time-consuming process, doubling the time to make
half as many pots. Further evolution was an attempt to achieve greater
efficiency by making two or more pots out of one. That's evolution
gone truly awry! But I'd rather become extinct having fun on the way.

It became apparent that these pairings or groupings always had some
dialogue or relationship with each other, mimicking the various emo-
tions or social exchanges between sentient living beings. Sometimes
these relationships developed as serious, other times, comical. Often the
altered form became too complex to host intricate slip-carved designs.
Hence I needed to develop some crazy glazes (another new direction for
me) to fit with the whimsical nature of these partnered pieces.

It is my pleasure to put these pots together in one place at my up-com-
ing show at the Gallery of B.C. Ceramics and it is my hope that you
will come and participate in this new adventure with me.

Judy Weeden
Top: “Ritual”. Bottom: “Mitosis”. Photos courtesy Judy Weeden