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The Crawl, Continued from Page 7Somewhere in between the mega CircleCraft show and the tiny Toque show lies theannual Vancouver East Side Culture Crawl(www.eastsideculturecrawl.com) with JinnyWhitehead a keen participant. Jinny feels thisevent is popular and well attended for severalreasons: it’s free (no admission price), it has ahuge selection and variety of work, it allowsvisitors to see inside the artists’ studios, andpeople can “make a day of it”. The smallercraft shows, in Jinny’s opinion, have not had ahuge impact on her success at the Crawl. Shefeels that the audience at the Crawl changes,and that it’s varied, too. There are collectorsand fine arts aficionados, and also the “craftfair” types of shoppers who are less discerning.Many visitors recognise quality, and are awarethat the work they see is not always availablein galleries, though frequently of gallerystandard.So would Jinny Whitehead considerparticipating in Circle Craft or One-of-a-Kind? Apparently not. She feels she doesn’tproduce a high enough volume of work,and also enjoys the fact that, having theCrawl in her own studio, there’s no issuewith transporting work, and there’s plenty ofspace. Transport and limited display space isdefinitely an issue at the large shows, but thepositives obviously outweigh the drawbacksfor Circle Craft and One-of-a-Kind.We’ve heard from some of the CircleCraft show folks, so let’s hear from a Oneof-a-Kindparticipant. Heather Dahl will beparticipating in One-of-a-Kind for the secondtime this year, having never participated ina Circle Craft show. When asked why sheprefers the “new kid on the block” as opposedto its well-established “rival”, Heather statesthat she feels One-of-a-Kind draws a youngeraudience, and that their marketing is bettersuited to her needs and her work. If you’refresh and new, with no history, One-of-a-Kind is a better fit.Heather also feels that the other artistsin the show have an aesthetic and outlookmore compatible with her own. The timingis preferable too, in her opinion, it’s muchcloser to Christmas; it’s a good time to shop.Heather states that the organisers are verysupportive of her and her work, and shebenefited enormously from their marketing,which frequently showcased her work. Theformidable reputation (“phenomenal”,according to Heather!) of One-of-a-Kind inToronto (where the show began) was alsoinfluential in Heather’s decision to participate.One-of-a-Kind has come under fire for beingtoo big, too corporate and not local, butapparently it was started in Toronto by twoCanadians, and has subsequently been takenover by an American company. Its roots are inthe right place!In some ways, Heather Dahl feels that CircleCraft works better for the established artists(Cathi Jefferson has been participating for 25years) and that it’s harder for newcomers to jointhe fold. She’s never applied, though. She feelsthat Circle Craft may be a bit traditional forher. At One-of-a-Kind, Heather welcomes theopportunity to speak to the young shoppers,many of whom are IKEA customers, and toopen their eyes to the beauty and value of thehand-made. She feels there’s an educationalrole to play, and it’s important to take that on.“Older people are lovely,” she says, “but theydon’t have any room in their cupboards!”From the consumer’s perspective, I enjoyall the shows, and I go to them all. I like thevariety and diversity in terms of each show’sunique personality, each one appeals to me fordifferent reasons. The only drawback, and thisis an accusation that I level equally at all theshows, is that they severely bankrupt me everyyear without fail!CreteMoroccoBurmaOct. 8-23, 2012 Nov. 5-26, 2012 January 2013PotteryDiscussionGroupHello all you pot freaks…oh, I meanPottery Freaks :)….At our last meetingit was decided that it would be better tohave our next meeting in December ratherthan January as then our Christmas craftfairs and studio sales would be fresh in ourminds…all the better for the annual postmortem of what worked and what didn't.So we will be meeting on Dec. 11 at 1p.m. As it's pre-Christmas we thoughtwe might celebrate with one another andso bringing food treats would be mostwelcome.If you've been thinking about joiningus but haven't yet, don't be bashful, we'rea welcoming group.Potterly yours,—Mary Fox, maryfox@shaw.caPotters Guild of BC Newsletter . December/January 2011/128
The NWCF Thrown Panel By Debra Sloan120 artisansFrom Across CanadaShow hoursFriday - Sunday 10am - 6pmMonday 10am - 5pmCall ForArtist SubmissionApplications on-lineDeadline for submissionFebruary 10, 2012On Friday, Sept. 9, the North-WestCeramics Foundation sponsored a paneldiscussion at Emily Carr University on therecently-published book Thrown: BritishColumbia’s Apprentices of Bernard Leach andtheir Contemporaries. The book was edited byScott Watson, Naomi Sawada and Jana Tynerand published in 2011 by the Morris andHelen Belkin Art Gallery at the Universityof British Columbia. The well-attended eventwas chaired by NWCF President Ron Vallis,and the panel consisted of Belkin curatorScott Watson, Emily Carr faculty memberPaul Mathieu and retired faculty member andlong-time potter Tam Irving.The book grew out of a very successfulexhibition held at the Belkin in 2004 thatincluded some 600 studio pots made byLeach apprentices Glenn Lewis, John Reeve,Michael Henry and Ian Steele as well as byBC ceramists influenced by these apprenticesincluding Charmian Johnson, Gathie Falk,Wayne Ngan and others. Works for theexhibition were selected from collectionsaround BC and Canada, with some literallybeing taken out of their owners’ dishwashers.Archival photographs, letters and othermaterials contributed to the understandingand context of the exhibition and thesubsequent publication.Heated discussionAn especially interesting and heateddiscussion arose among the participantsregarding whether or not ceramics should becollected by museums. Scott Watson expressedthe opinion that pottery is kept alive throughuse, and museums are a sort of tomb for thework. Paul Mathieu keenly disagreed, statingthat it is in museums and galleries that ceramicsbecome valued additions to the artistic lexicon,and that by collecting ceramics, museums andgalleries contribute to the value and contextof these works. Tam Irving brought in adifferent perspective, suggesting that ceramicsgo through different stages of function,beginning with use and then finding a newrole to play in being displayed, especially asthe work gains provenance. Julie York askedwhether or not museums dedicated to craft orceramics are perhaps more appropriate placesto preserve these collections, and she alsosuggested that ceramics could spend moretime developing the sort of discourse the artworld admires and through which museumsjustify their collections of art.Interesting EveningIt was a very interesting evening wheredifferent schools of thought about art andthe material arts crossed paths. Watson, whohas long experience with the contemporaryart world, was attracted to this particulargroup of potters on account of the socialand political principles that created theircommunity and propelled their art practice.He is also intrigued by the abstract nature ofthe life of these objects, their making and theiruse. While this is a challenging position forceramists to absorb, it is a very interesting andprovocative point, one that we hope potters inour guild and beyond will contemplate.Check out the blogIf you have an opinion about whether ornot pots should be collected by museums orleft out to be used by the people who treasurethem, or if you attended the panel but did notget a chance to express your point of view, logon to our BC-in-a-box blog (which is usuallyreserved for stories about our exhibitionas it travels in Alberta and B.C., see:www.bcinabox.blogspot.com) and have yoursay. It would be very interesting to hear fromour members—if we get some interestingideas, we’ll print them in the next newsletter.Potters Guild of BC Newsletter . December/January 2011/129
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