I was so lucky….I got to go to Medicine Hat for 10 days to attend a master class with renowned ceramic artist Brendan Tang for a Ceramic Master Class..There were 10 of us in the class-all experienced and we each worked on our own projects with Brendan guiding each of us. Brendan teaches at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. Check out his work-you will be amazed at his work. http://www.brendantang.com/
Each of us came with an idea of what we wanted to work on…I don’t think anyone expected what happened in the end.I came with some vase drawings on cards, about a dozen of them. Brendan liked them and said do more..then he said make them bigger..I decided to make a collage of them, I color printed them and collaged them on a 22 inch sheet.
These are 4″ x 5″ cards that I drew and colored with coptic pens. On a 22″ cardstock sheet, I made a larger vase by making a collage of some of the cards. Still drawing more cards and doing research but I was itchy to get my hands in the clay so I decided to make the above flat vase. That was making one of the cards bigger, using my lino block for the added pattern. The handles, feet and added motifs are from a press mold at the studio.
We had access to lots of molds as Medalta is known for using molds for making their pottery.. I was looking at my cards and thought….I could make this double necked vase!
I made it but didn’t exactly make it…Looking at it closel, so I decided to make it again Much better…more rounded and a different pattern on the surface. So now I’m excited to keep making these flat vases…I looked for textures to use for the sides.
This is one of my favorite cards so here it is in person…raw clay of course. Not quite finished but close.Remember this card…Thought I would try it in clay…You can see Louise in the background…We shared a table.I made a smaller one combining these two cards. My last chance..the days were running out..We worked most evenings too….I decided to make one that had torn edges…I didn’t have a card for this one.Here’s a process shot…I used slabs and cut out the shape of the vase and 3″ strips which I textured for the sides and added a bottom and sometimes extra clay on the rim.Last one…a paddled shape…I did a lot of paddling on all the vases to get them to their desired shapesMeanwhile theres lots going on…Dan gave a tour of the studios…Here he is showing us their glaze mixer…And on the right it a picture of Rob Froeses’ work.Lots of old metal around to get ideas for texture and pattern. Brendan doing a demo..a chinese fortune cookie!…Ceramic panties in the girls washroom on the floor. Annette showing us her metal that she makes cutters out of..Brendan talking to Jean..Angie talking about her pierced piece and the tools she made out of hack saw blades.Ruth-Ann, Donna, Karen, Leandra, Sheena and Louise showing their ideas of what they want to work on half way through the ten days..Rob Froese was unloading a very successful soda firing.Brendan doing a demo, drawings of different types of vases, Donna drapping her figure with cheesecloth dipped in slip. Louise working on her sculpture and Angie’s 2nd piece in progress.A Tour of the Interpretive Center at MedaltaA tour of the archives. The conservator showing us the glue she uses to restore pieces.Several pieces in the archives. I should have taken a picture of the rows and rows of medalta past work-they have 10 to 20 of each item which she wants to cut back to three. Looking into the studio, ideas for more vase shapes, Jeans solution for hanging her tile. Two pictures of our residence.Annettes Show at the Esplanade-Down Town Medicine HatRuth Ann’s workLast Day-My table full of Vases. Ready for the CritLast Day-Crit of Everyone’s WorkAmy Duval, Residency Coordinator Medalta International Artists in Residence Program and Brendan handing in our tags. And we did try out a few places to eat in Medicine Hat. Donna showing off her pretzel..it was delicious.Back in my studio in High River I Dried all the vases slowly,, then stained them and glazed them.Fired!!Fired!Thanks Brendan for a fantastic 10 days. Brendan posted a video on his instagram site…Brendan TangAnd I made 7 more a bit larger!!!
