We’ve just returned from 4 exciting days in Seattle attending NCECA, the biggest Ceramics Conference on the Continent. My Medalta friend Brenda Sullivan flew out from Port Hope, Ontario to drive down with us. We heard that some 400 Canadians joined the roughly 6,000 Ceramic artists attending and certainly lots of BC and Alberta folks drove or flew down. It was a such fun to keep running into TriCity Potters, BC Potters Guild members and the Medalta crew. As usual there was a vast room set aside for promoting College and University courses, Community Centres, Ceramic suppliers offering glazes, tools, wheels, kilns, what-have-you and there were tours to consider and piles of paper: posters, brochures, invitations galore.
In ballrooms one could listen to discussions, watch slide shows and watch demonstrators. I found myself unable to move from watching British potter Walter Keeler throwing and assembling his unique teapots and jugs. In 1990, a year before I decided to go to Emily Carr U I so enjoyed attending a workshop he gave there on a hot August weekend. At that time he was already making his recognizable metal-like jugs and teapots but he also made several of the large oval vessels with outrageous loopy handles. The assembled work dried so quickly!
Later, in 2005, Alan and I arranged for our little tour group of potters to drive up the Wye Valley to his studio. He was so welcoming and talked to us while sitting at his kick wheel as if we were a group of his students. While we admired some of his work and the collection of old pots, cans and found objects that inspire him he was watching his kiln, waiting for the moment to start salting. If only we could have been there 3 days later to see the results of the firing!
On this week’s occasion he shared the stage with marvellous Tip Toland. As I don’t do sculpture of figures I hadn’t expected to enjoy her side of the stage but she entranced us with her petite energy and unfailing confidence in creating an enormous head. Sharing 3 hours side by side gives the presenters time to work while the other person speaks and the audience can see both types of work inching towards completion, helped by enormous screens behind the two.
I took photos from way back in the audience but with iPhoto enhancements they aren’t too bad. This is a link to the Picasa/Google album and includes photos of finished WK pots on display at Pottery Northwest.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112208740085943894765/WalterKeelerAtNCECASeattle2012
Next Saturday, April 7th, Walter will be in Vancouver, speaking at the Museum of Anthropology. Details are in my next post. Basically Walter will speak at 3pm and there will be time beforehand to learn more about MOA’s Ceramics collection.
When I have time I’ll post another album of all the other Ceramic work we saw in and around Seattle.
