On my way into Vancouver for the opening of Tam Irving’s show at VisualSpace I stopped at the studios of two ‘Raiders’. Eric Metcalfe and Renée Van Halm are two artists who have been regular attendees at plate-painting ‘Raids’ at our Port Moody house. Each had kindly agreed to donate a piece of their work to the upcoming fund-raising auction being arranged by and for the NorthWest Ceramics Foundation. This non-profit organization exists to promote the understanding of and education about all things ceramic, here in BC. Funds raised provide for workshop opportunities, public lectures, and awards to emerging and established clay artists.
This year, in view of uncertain regulations regarding numbers of people we may invite to our usual celebration, award presentation, fine dinner and art auction ‘Oven and Kiln’, we have planned a smaller event ‘That Pottery Thing’. There will be a reception with a small number of attendees which will be shared via Zoom, during which you will be able to watch the last hour or so of the current auction, learn about NWCF’s activities and watch a presentation by this year’s winner of the Mayer Wosk Award, all hosted by CBC’s Sheryl MacKay. Everybody else who would like to watch can do so free. We are suggesting that a group of friends might like to organize a watching party and we plan to present each gathering with a surprise gift! If you plan a Zoom get-together for Saturday evening, September 30th please notify Debra Sloan ahead of time. (her contact can be found at the end of the link below).
Eric Metcalfe selected a fine lunch-size plate that he had painted in my studio on one of our ‘Raids’ back in 2018. With a guitar reference and jazzy shapes he has titled it ‘Django Jazz’. I picked it up from his abode at the Western Front.
Next stop was at Renée Van Halm’s studio nearby. She had suggested I might like to come in and see her most recent paintings.
I’m happy to know that following several intermittent days spent painting with underglazes on slab plates in my studio, she has become fascinated with what clay can do. Now she has acquired a kiln, wheel, slab roller, clay and underglazes and a determination to learn everything about clay, glazes and firing.
In her studio I found that she has been working on several large paintings for an upcoming show at Equinox Gallery, and there are many smaller paintings and some interesting clay sculptures. She has begun using a potter’s wheel, but as with the slab constructions, the sections are assembled into larger, non-functional sculptures and painted with underglazes.
What a lovely surprise it was to be given one of her smaller paintings. She has written on the back: ‘To Gillian In acknowledgement of years of painting plates & your guidance & support’. Thank you Renée!
oil & acrylic on canvas
Renée has donated one of her meticulously formed and painted sculptures ‘Stacked’ to our TPT auction.
My own donation is one of my soda-fired jugbirds.
To see all the donations and to register as a bidder (bidding has begun!), click on this link:
