SUMMER RAMBLES PART II

It was on the post-Quebec City leg of our eastern

travels that something I have long suspected was confirmed for me this summer.

Quebec City Is very regional in focus and outlook, and rightly so (I notice that Gabriel Labreque is repre- sented here by the Arabesque Gallery at 2341 Gran- ville St). Montreal on the other hand, ts a wonderfully diverse mix of people and cultures, even though it appears physically not to have changed or grown significantly since 1967. So it was that I discovered on a nostalgic walk on Rue de la Montagne a store window bursting with ceramic art, most of it from British Columbia! It was an advertisement for Franklin Silverstone’s Gallery on nearby Sherbrooke West, and Jtm and I quickly headed over there before it closed. The work of Patrick Amiot, Walter Dexter, Connie Glover, Gordon Hutchens, Charmian Johnson, Da- ruel Materna, Kinichi Shigeno and Kathryn Youngs represents about 80% of the ceramic “L‘Art canadien contemporain” in the Gallery. A blissful half-hourwas spent taking photos of the familiar strong and vibrant work,

In the heart of the old town I also visited the Gallery of the large cooperative and teaching centre, “de Ceram- ics Bonsecours”, which is funded in part by the Province. Although representing a wide spectrum of techniques and styles, I found the work not nearly as exciting as what I had seen in the other corner of town. {Am I biased?)

The new Museum of Civilization in Hull, across the Ottawa River from the Parliament Buildings, has a setting and architecture that are spectacular, It also has a Fine Crafts Gallery that ts exhibiting until October 31st the work of the first ten rectplents (1977 - 1986) of the Bronfman Award . This “Masters of the Crafts” feature includes the work of Wayne Ngan, Robin Hopper and the team of Doucet-Saito as crafts- men in clay, Joanna Staniszkis and Micheline Beauchemin in weaving, and Bill Reid in silver or gold work. I came away feeling the west coast was very well represented! Wayne's work spoke eloquently for itself; Robin's display included extensive technical and experiential material. Not a bad balance of show and tell!

The remainder of my trip cast was a more scattered sampling of my favourite craft spots and several new ones. No visit to Toronto would be complete without a quick hello at Prime, the small shop on Queen West where you may find Kathryn Youngs’ and Jeannie Mah's work from B.C., Walter Ostrom's from Nova Scotia, and a number of strong Ontario and Quebec ceramic artists’ work displayed.

The small central Ontario town of Elora has become home to at least four potters, the majority doing lively functional ware, and seemingly finding the town and its visitors to be appreciative and supportive of their work,

A quick stop on the long road back to Vancouver was made at the Minneapolis Renaissance Fair in Minne- sota, out of which State the old functional centres of Redwing, for example, arose. It would appear that this

tradition carries om, if the 20 or so potters who were selling their work at the fair were representative, An

acquaintance and one of the potters noted the impact and influence of mal teachers such as Warren MacKenzie on the continued emphasis on functional work, (See the September Ceramics Monthly for a feature on Mackenzie) In any case, | think I remember seeing probably two quite unique displays: one, hand-built and carved terra cotta garden vessels, plaques and sculpture: the other, subtle stone-like wall murals that were almost geological in character. The rest of it was pretty at your 60's stoneware. Don't get me wrong: we need good functional stone- ware at least aS Much as we need contemporary art work, and it's very interesting to compare the focus in each region.

The summer's exploration was a wonderful reassur- ance to me of the vitality of the ceramic work being produced in this province.

Jan Kidnie

SURE FIRE!!

Having worked with clay for 20 years and more, I feel confident that some of my ideas for clay objects are valid. If you are a beginning potter, there arc two pieces that have been successful in the past, and have great possibility for the future. Believe me, trust me, their success is unavoidable.

What this province needs is a new covered jar for leeches. Think of a large honey pot, with handles; a lid perforated so the ttle suckers won't suffocate, and you've got a business. If the Wedgewood factory of a couple hundred years ago could make them , why not you revive their use? If they weren't immediately bought out by local doctors, athletes and pharma- cists, they might be sold to kids for their collections of tadpoles, slugs or piranhas.

The second suggested item also existed in the 18th century European ceramic industry, and is really due fora revival. We need them. Irefertowigstands. You have no idea what number of men in our society have paid good money for the scalp doily. And what do they do with them at night? It ts too discomforting to hang the piece up on the clothes rack next to, under, or on top of the underwear. I mean, in the least it's unsanitary, We need some potters who want to make money on an existing subculture in need of practical sanitary wares.

Make wig stands. Different sizes for different heads, and different st a for different needs, Fancy deco- rated porcelain for the foppish business manile): clean whiteware for the dentist who lives with the fear of his wig falling down some patient's throat; and solid black burnished pit-fired earthenware for the sexually dis- organized biker.

Bob Kingsmill