Every three years the North-West Ceramics Foundation hosts a Gala Fundraiser and Award Presentation. This year it was again held at the elegant Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and I treated myself to a ticket. I had been invited to donate a special piece of my work and this year I made a large Puffin jugbird as my Auction contribution to this important BC Ceramics organization.

At this event the NWCF Award of Excellence in the ceramics arts is announced and the winner is invited to give a short presentation. Carol Mayer, Founding President, gave the opening remarks, thanked us all and introduced the winners. This year there were two, Judy Chartrand and Jackie Frioud. Both artists have been working in clay for a number of years. Judy is known for vessels, soup cans and sculptures that address the colonization of Canada’s Native people. Jackie is a salt-glazing potter whose restrained but elegant pieces are collected widely. Both gave brief but informative slide shows of past and current work. There are no strings attached to the Award, the prize is to allow time and finances to further their work.

Renée Van Halm (one of our Raiders) kindly donated two of her ‘coupes’ for the evening’s Auction and then chose to come to the event with me. We sat at a table with her past ECU colleague and my professor Sally Michener, and many of Sally’s neighbours! It was a happy evening with lots of catching-up conversations. While we ate our gourmet buffet meal we had time to check out the Silent Auction display and bid on a fabulous variety of the best ceramics pieces, mostly locally made. To see the online Auction Catalogue go to:

https://north-westceramicsfoundation.weebly.com/uploads/6/2/2/8/62285833/catalogue_2018.pdf

Taking photographs of slide shows is silly, but I tried! I do enjoy seeing these kind of presentations.

Hank Bull was our guest auctioneer and his detailed knowledge about the work of the Live Auction artists made for a lively, anecdote-filled and successful Auction. Renée’s two plates did very well. Then followed the second Silent Auction deadline while a selection of dessert plates was brought to each table. These had all been made by BC potters and donated to the event and there was much excitement about whose plate you could score! Folks seemed happy with my slip-decorated oval ones.

I heard on CBC Radio the following Monday that the successful event had raised $30,000. Apart from the Excellence Awards the funds go to bringing in speakers for free public lectures, Maureen Wright Scholarship funds, publications, exhibitions and starting this year, a new initiative towards funding for Childrens’ Sculpture classes at Arts Umbrella.

My happy moment occurred when I noticed a guest from Beijing loitering near my Puffin, making sure that his was the last bid before bidding closed. So that jugbird is now flying off to a new home in China. There was a table of very enthusiastic and generous guests from Beijing who were in Vancouver to promote a special show of Yixing Teapots at the Poly Art Centre, Vancouver branch.

Today I finally found a day to take transit in to Vancouver to see the show.. but that’s another blog.

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