Katrina Chaytor's New Teapot arrives in London

It is totally fitting that while Brian is away in Calgary, actually he is on his way back from Red Deer as I type, that a teapot from the indomitable Katrina Chaytor should arrive. Actually yesterday Brian was with Katrina yesterday. The transplanted to Calgary Newfoundlander is up in Red Deer doing a residency.

Katrina Chaytor teapot on trivet

For anyone unfamiliar with her work I can tell you right now: It is fantastic. One of the difficulties of just giving something a cursory glance is that you miss the actual intricacy of what goes into making a piece. Teapots by Katrina are no exception. Actually there is a fantastic article in Ceramic Review, the British publication, by Barbara Tipton, noted Calgary ceramic artist, that outlines the step by step process of a Katrina Chaytor teapot. There are photos and everything you need to understand the process.

Katrina Chaytor teapot with trivet

Actually if you are interested in acquiring a copy of the magazine go to this link: http://www.ceramicreview.com/article.asp?p_article=27907
If you are interested in acquiring the teapot then contact me! We currently have a nice selection of Katrina's work.

Now that you have the source for the authoritative article by Barbara I can give you my layman's view. Essentially Katrina treats the clay like fabric. She cuts and seams until she has a beautifully constructed work that is then intricately decorated. I love Katrina's decoration. The beauty of the decoration with its exquisite colouring is so lush that it is only with prior knowledge that one realises that Katrina is interpreting the visuals of computer circuitry and translating it to the canvas that is her ceramic work. It wasn't until I read about the imagery that I actually realised what it really was that I was looking at.

I think it it takes a special artist to think of melding the technique of a fabric artist with the knowledge of a computer engineer with the skills of a ceramic artist to create one-off works of art. Kristina's teapots are works of art. They are radiant with colour imbued with a quiet strength and at the same time functional. Katrina's employment at the Alberta College of Art means that her wonderfully equipped studio located in her backyard in Calgary does see her spending as much time there as she would like.

If you are interested in seeing more of Katrina's work just shoot me an email jonathon@jonathons.ca and I'll will send you some pictures.

Ruth Gowdy-McKInley Arrives!

It is always exciting when new work arrives but the arrival of some historical pieces by the late Ruth Gowdy-McKinley is truly a momentous moment. As I have mentioned earlier I am writing a book on Ruth "The Exuberant Toast" that will be out in August. The photography session for the book is next week. In talking with Lauren, Ruth's daughter, she mentioned that her mother used to make tiny cups. The wee cups were made for children to buy at the annual Sheridan College year-end show. The show was always around Mother's day. The cups were affordable (25 cents) and Ruth felt that this gave children something they could buy as a gift for their mothers. Lauren has made eleven of them available. regrettably they are no longer 25 cents (current price $125 each) but for anyone wanting a small example of Ruth's work this is a great opportunity. Ruth's teapots are currently selling for $2,500 each. A far cry from the $10 they sold for in the sixties.

These little guys in the traditional Ruth Gowdy-McKinley
Brown and Black are in mint condition approximately 1 1/2"
We have only eleven left $125

It seems like prices for historical Canadian ceramics are beginning to climb. This is especially true for work by Lorenzen, Deichmann and Harlander. This rise in price is a good thing as it indicates and interest and renewed evaluation of Canadian artists important for what they did to advance ceramic appreciation in Canada. I recently acquired for my own collection a wonderful and unusual piece by the Harlanders. It is a dramatic tri-legged sculpture that is an extraordinary example of mid-century modern.

But back to Ruth. I am including some images of what arrived yesterday. Of particular note are the two remarkable flower holders. Lauren told me they are quite rare as they were part of a special commission. Rare or not they are extraordinary. They are really for the advanced collector or museum collection. They are being photographed for inclusion in "The Exuberant Toast".

A side view of an extraordinary floral arranger
Note the incredible flashing bearing in mind that
Ruth exercised total control - she meant it to have this
drama!



A top view of the floral arranger with six cone
structures permanently fixed. A major collector's
item and extremely rare.



A side view of another floral arranger - again
with a fixed 'frog' in a geometric floral design
the bottom image showing a top view of this
exceptional work.





Jamie Jardine

I was just sitting here wondering what is newly in and the doorbell rand. This paining by Jamie Jardine has just arrived this very minute. It is amazing. I mentioned it in an earlier blog that it was coming and here it is! Actually it is still wet!



The latest painting to arrive in the gallery by Jamie Jardine
36" x 48" - Oil on Canvas - This work is currently available

 This is an amazing painting with the subject being a favourite island of Jamie's. The island motif surfaces often and it is fascinating to watch the various incarnations. Monet painted the same haystack numerous times. A trip to the Chicago Institute of Art has a room dedicated to Monet's haystack pictures. Someday soon I will be able to do a room full of Jamie's island paintings. Of course I will have to borrow them back from the various owners.

Later on today or most likely tomorrow I will have images of the latest work to arrive by Ruth Gowdy-McKinley RCA and I am also awaiting the arrival of new work by Walter Dexter of Victoria. It is always nice to have work arriving by Canada's leading ceramic artists. Walter is sending, among other pieces, some historical work. I am really excited about it as one of the pieces is illustrated in my book "Walter Dexter - The Torso Masterworks". As soon as it arrives I will upload an image.

Of course there is always great work arriving and now that Brian and I have decided to also handle historical work we expect that it will get even more exciting. the demand for work by some of the early greats of Canadian ceramics will also fuel interest in contemporary work.

Recently I acquired a wonderful avant-garde sculpture by Theo and Sue Harlander of Brooklin, Ontario. If people are interested in seeing these pieces please send a comment and I will start uploading images of work that Brian and I acquire for our personal collections.  We will also keep you apprised of work on hand in the gallery for sale. Currently we have some excellent pieces by the late Ruth Gowdy-McKinley as well as an excellent footed pedestal by Bailey Leslie, one of the Five Potters that I spoke of yesterday in my blog. Last year I purchased a wonderful large vase by Bailey for my personal collection. e also sold some early crystalline pieces by her.

Also if you are looking to downsize and wondering what to do with your Canadian ceramics please get in touch.

This view is of Deb Taylor's "Erratic" closed

People are always asking us how we go about selecting an artist. The reality is that we chose someone based on three characteristics. First we have to like it. Secondly it has to be good. Third we have to like the artist. The truth of the matter is Brian and I spend more time in the gallery than we do at our respective homes. We pretty well live and breathe the gallery so we like to surround ourselves with beautiful work by nice people, after all if you are going to immerse yourself in something it may as well be a pleasurable experience. Sometimes an artist recommends someone.

With the 'erratic' open one one can the various components
as well as the intricacy of the glazing. The small ball on the
right is actually hand-dyed silk fibre

Today the work that I am featuring is by an artist recommended by another artist that we represent. Meira Mathison recommended Deb Taylor. Deb lives on Hornby Island and does some exquisite work in miniature  as is evident by the 'erratic' pictured here. Deb's 'erratics' entrance the viewer. They are wonderful miniature sculptures that can be viewed from any angle adding a delightful interactive aspect to the work. I don't even want to hazard a guess at how long it takes her to create one. I do know that for anyone contemplating a collection of miniatures that Deb is an artist that should be represented. We also have a selection of small boxes by Deb that are equally enchanting. If you are interested please contact us and we will forward images to you. 

Another interior view, note the complex glaze pattern on the
'cut-away egg' in the foreground.

I mentioned the criteria and above have spoken of two of them. Good work that we liked. Thirdly is Deb herself. I have yet to meet her having only spoken to her on the phone but the warmth in her voice and the excitement with which she talked about her work made me realise that all three criteria had been met. I hope to meet her when I am in Victoria at the end of this month. 

It is a glorious day out and here I am just in and ready to keep up my determination to add to the blog each day. Today we have images of some amazing Anita Rocamora work that arrived recently. These are essentially little bottles in that the headgear is detachable. Anita is a wonderful Saskatchewan artist whose work I have loved for a long time. Here are just three of the sculptures but we do have more so feel free to contact us and we would be delighted to send you additional images of work on hand. I also can't resist adding an image of one of her fauns. I bought one at the Canadian Clay and Glass gallery's exhibition in 2009 titled "Prairie Clay". It is nice to now have some excellent examples in my gallery! There are another three available.

Brian is busy getting things ready for the exhibition at the end of May. This piece by Keith Campbell has just arrived and it is wonderful. For the royalty buff, teapot fan or Keith Campbell groupie here is the pot that keeps on pouring!

Matter of Clay III August 4 - Sept 2 2011

Over one hundred artists are participating in this years Matter of Clay III, an exhibition of incredible ceramic works by incredible ceramic artists from all over Canada. Watch this section over the next six weeks as we start uploading images of the work that will be going on sale at &PM on Thursday August 4th at the gallery.

I am blown away by the creativity and quality of the pieces that have been submitted for inclusion in the Matter of Clay III. One of the criteria was the work had not been exhibited before consequently there will be over 300 new pieces entering the marketplace with this exhibition. Another exciting aspect of this year's exhibition is the number of experimental works where the artist has stretched the limits of the material and taken risks. There are also works where the kiln has been particularly kind touching the work in an unique way resulting in a remarkable glaze. An example of this would be a bird sculpture that arrived today by Pat Webber of Salt Spring Island, BC. A remarkable sculpture from her bird series has truly been blessed by the kiln gods in the way that the flames and ash have conspired to turn something wonderful into something spectacular, a "once in every fifteen years', as Pat put it,  tour de force. Watch for an image in the near future.

Mahmoud Baghaeian of Montreal, participant in Matter of Clay in 2001, and his work has just arrived. It was a pleasure to once again see his Persian inspired wax relief designs in the gallery. There is a wonderful 'pillow jar' that would bring a gleam to the eye of any collector.

The gallery is awash with crates and boxes from all over Canada and Brian and I are looking forward to opening them to see what treasures await. Jackie Noble of Noble Concepts will be photographing the work for the catalogue. Jackie has been photographing work for the gallery since we opened so I know the catalogue will be great.

Watch this section! Images will start to appear in the not too distant future!