CASTING & SLUMPING & BLOWING…OH MY

June 13th 2-5pm. Artist Talks at 1pm.

The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery opens “CASTING & SLUMPING & BLOWING…OH MY!” with three distinct shows featuring giant ceramic sculptures, mysterious meerkats, and elements of a real glass studio. June 13th 2-5pm.

LUCID DREAMING, by acclaimed local artist Bruce Taylor, is inspired by children’s toys and computer games. Taylor’s latest series of large-scale ceramic sculptures use the crucible as a metaphor for self-definition and realization on personal, community, and societal levels. These works also reference the impersonal ideals of contemporary industrial efficiency while looking back to Victorian-era machinery that was built to last yet was ornamented with such details as lion’s feet. Bruce Taylor is a Professor of Fine Art at the University of Waterloo and an award winning artist whose many honours and recognitions include the Canada Council’s Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, the Prix d’Excellence at the National Biennial of Ceramics in Trois-Rivières, and the Grand Prize at the 1989 International Ceramics Exhibition in Mino Japan. Exhibiting internationally, in 2004, he represented Canada at the International Olympic Park of Ceramics and Sculpture in Athens. His work can be found in some of the finest ceramic museum collections world-wide.

Visitors may have the sense of stepping into an actual glass studio when visiting AN “ALFRED” EXPERIENCE. Elements of Alfred Engerer’s glass studio will actually be installed in the Gallery. The exhibition will explore various processes of glass making including blowing, casting, and slumping. This exhibition explores what kinds of moulds are used, the various options available, and how a variety of artists are using unique approaches to create work. Engerer’s own work, including some of his moulds and technical examples showing the creation process from start to finish, will be complemented by photos and videos. These will illustrate Engerer, and other artists, in action with hot glass. The intrepid artist’s passion for glass is infectious. Alfred Engerer has been a major figure in the Canadian glass scene for years. Born in Malta, the Toronto-based glass sculptor and installation artist has been working primarily in hot glass for the last 30 years. He co-founded the hot glass studio co-op, Geisterblitz & Studio, and was a founding member of the installation art group Skunkworks - Outlaw Neon. This group was known for making hand-blown neon tubes for use in creating massive site-specific installations – often unsanctioned.

Also on the exhibition roster this summer we are entering realms of mysterious sensory consciousness with MEERKATS. Through her cast ceramic works, Joni Moriyama has captured a potent moment in a clan of meerkats – one of the most cooperative societies in the animal kingdom. These highly socialized beings are staring and intently focused on something they have just heard or seen, but what they are sensing is beyond our awareness. Moriyama is Assistant Professor at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and completed her MFA at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her artworks are in numerous collections including the Burlington Art Centre, the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, and the Icheon World Ceramic Centre in South Korea. She is also this year’s adjudicator for

EARTHBORN 2010

Waterloo Potters’ Workshop (WPW) is opening EARTHBORN 2010 at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery this summer June 13th and closing August 22nd. The exhibition features the best works by members of the WPW and is juried by ceramic artist Joni Moriyama. This is the time to celebrate excellence in our local ceramics community with the best of the best this organization has to offer in the artistry and craft of pottery making. The WPW is a not-for-profit co-operative organization whose aim is to encourage an interest in and knowledge of pottery making. They also present EMPTY BOWLS, an annual fundraising event for the local food bank.