Carved Ring Binder by Peter Grove

LEATHER 2010: CONTAINMENT

2010 Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft Juried Biennial

Aug. 26 - Sept. 19

Please Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, August 26, 5:30 – 8:30 pm.

CONTAINMENT is a theme in which leather artists often excel at after years of dedication to exploring the creation of work that serves to encase, enclose, and entrap.

CONTAINMENT as an exhibition references historical considerations of costume, myth and social culture. Eye and mind work across taut surfaces emphasizing the full functional potential of leather in works such as boxes, bottles, jewellery, and objects that hold beverages, clocks, waistlines and more. Varied techniques are used including stamping, carving, wet-shaping, lasting, moulding, stitching, lacing, dyeing, skiving.

CONTAINMENT contains work by Nancy Durham, Lauren McPherson, Madeleine Mitchell, Dorothy McPherson, Sean Dalgetty, Paul Kitchener, Peter Grove, David McPherson, Brian Holahan, and Lauchlan Harrison.

CONTAINMENT is part of the successful efforts of the Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft (CSCL) over the past sixty years to retain and preserve the leathercrafting tradition in Canada’s artistic community. The CSCL, Canada’s second oldest arts guild, is now benefiting from a renewed interest in leatherwork.  Besides a country-wide increase in membership, the CSCL now offers an enthusiastic Junior Members’ category for students up to age fifteen.  The CSCL has three skill levels: General, Associate and Fellow with Fellow being the highest who serve as exhibition judges.  Newcomers are welcome as the organization excels in offering mentorship with workshops, demos, and personal instruction. 

Grey with pin stripes, Magdolene Dykstra

The final schedule for the upcoming southwestern traveling exhibition, Masterworks Southwest, has been finalized, and the jury results are set to be released by the end of February. Make sure to drop in and see the show when it's at a stop near you!

• Tour Stop #1

Tom Thomson Gallery

March 28 – April 25, 2010
840 First Avenue West
Owen Sound, ON  N4K 4K4
Reception: Sunday, March 28, 2-4pm
www.tomthomson.org

• Tour Stop #2

Burdette Gallery

May 15 – June 20, 2010
111212 11th Line, R.R. #2
Orton, ON  L0N 1N0
Reception: Saturday, May 29, 6-9pm
www.burdettegallery.com

• Tour Stop #3

Art Gallery of Windsor

July 10 – September 5, 2010
401 Riverside Drive West
Windsor, ON   N9A 7J1
Reception: Friday, August 20, 6-9pm

• Tour Stop #4

Greenwood Quiltery & Gallery

September 17 – October 30, 2010
275 Woolwich Street
Guelph, ON  N1H 3V8
Reception: Saturday, October 16, 1-4pm
www.greenwoodquiltery.com
   

• Tour Stop #5

Station Arts Centre

November 12 – December 17, 2010
41 Bridge Street West,
Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 5P2
Reception: Friday, November 12, 7-9pm
www.stationartscentre.com

The OCC gratefully acknowledges the  Ontario Trillium Foundation, the McLean Foundation and the Henry White Kinnear Foundation for their support of Growing Ontario’s Craft Community.

Stay tuned for the Ontario Craft '11 biennial members' exhibition...the special OCC 35^th anniversary edition!
 

Details of work from Sarah Troper, Anna Lindsay
MacDonald, Laura Kukkee, Pattie Chalmers and Rachael Wong.

Expat Report:

Five Artists Discuss Life Trajectories

September 23 - October 31, 2010

Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, September 23, 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

Through this exhibition, Megan Lafrenière and Lisa Pai, directors of the Lafrenière & Pai Gallery, ask about the effect of uprootedness or transplantation on artists and their artistic practices. 

Pattie Chalmers, (Assistant Ceramics Professor at South Carbondale University in Illinois; MFA University of Minnesota), creates visual narratives by placing the figure in mixed historical modes. 

Laura Kukkee, (Assistant Professor of Art and Head of the Ceramic Department at Northwest Missouri State University; MFA Kent State U), transforms pattern into volumetric form. 

Anna Lindsay MacDonald, (MFA The Art Institute of Chicago; Jewellery Instructor at NSCAD), investigates wearable sign systems, referencing case studies of mental disorders. 

Sarah Troper, (Professor of Jewellery at George Brown College; MFA SUNY at New Paltz, NY), employs existing relationships to the everyday to highlight and examine the politics and mythologies of our times.

Rachael Wong, (MFA, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University at Alfred, NY; current studio in Toronto), tracks lines of communication and non-communication through brightly coloured glass configurations.

As expats or repats, these artists have much to tell us about craft, education, and their home and host countries, and how these factors inform their work.

Expat Report is taking place during Culture Days

January 5 - 31

Please join us for the opening Reception on Wednesday, January 20, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

As a participant in the Toronto International Design Festival, the Ontario Crafts Council is pleased to present Body + Object, an exhibition featuring the work of eighteen artists who explore the relationship between the body and the many forms in which it can ornament, present and represent itself. The body is perhaps today’s most ubiquitous cultural object, especially in its use to announce identity through the ever-changing landscape of apparel. Craft finds its place in this process of disclosure with work designed to adorn, protect, and even introspectively examine the body. Body + Object offers work addressing  the real as well as thematic presence of the body, where traditional craft media appear in new forms and use style as a means to investigation.

Body + Object includes the work of Amanda McCavour & Silke Stadtmuller / Andrea Graham / Annie Thompson / Bebhinn Jennings / Dandi Maestre / David Dunkley / Gillian Batcher / Jessica Beauchemin / Karina Bergmans / Lois Schklar / Marina Dempster / Norah Deacon, Adrian Parks & Yvonne Ng / Tanya Lyons / and Tara Bursey.

For more information on the Toronto International Design Festival see www.tidfonline.com

Images left to right: Norah Deacon, Yvonne Ng & Adrian Parks, Contemporary Dance Paper Costume for Yvonne Ng; Marina Dempster, TITLE: "immune": 1. Having immunity to infection. 2. Exempt, as from obligation or duty. 3. Protected from danger.; Jessica Beauchemin, Hairpin III - Electronic Inspiration; Lois Schklar, Memory Tool #4; Tanya Lyons, Armour.

The video component of Contemporary Dance Paper Costume for Yvonne Ng is supported by:

Susan Watson Ellis & Todd Jeffrey Ellis

February 4 - March 21

Opening Reception on Thursday, February 4, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

An Exhibition of Fine Sterling Silver Objects to Adorn the Home and Body

Susan’s pieces reflect her long time passion and expertise in chain making from the extravagant chainmaille top made from over 40,000 tiny silver links, to the grandiose chain curtain showcasing traditional and her own forged link designs.  A regal gemstone encrusted sterling silver evening bag, and multi- gemstone and sterling fabricated neckpieces pay tribute to her love of natural stones as they take on a central theme in many of her works.  As a studio jeweller for over thirty years this exhibition has given Susan the opportunity to explore much larger and more significant pieces than her normal production work affords.

Jeffrey’s pieces explore many new combinations of the time honored techniques of silversmithing which make up the body of his work. Chasing and repousse have been taken to new levels as he skillfully makes use of them in a sculptural figurative series of fine art pieces. Wax carving expertise is also applied to his figurative work as he crafts figures to be incorporated into candle sticks and a cake plate. His raising abilities are evident in his off-center martini pitcher and a wonderful tea service and wine glass set show his mastery of synclastic and aniclastic forms. Jeffrey’s forms also become organic as they extrude from natural wood specimens encrusted with natural rock formations to become elaborate candle holders, vases and center pieces.

Together the works strive to reflect a longing to create beautiful handmade works that will stand the test of time - a quiet revolution against mass produced soulless objects.

Download the Let Them Eat Cake exhibition booklet:

Let Them Eat Cake (896 KB pdf)

Iced Jade (detail), Greg Abra

CONTROLLED BURN

Sheridan Glass 2010

Wednesday March 25 - April 25

Opening Reception Thursday, April 25, 6 - 9 pm

Sometimes, in an educational setting, it feels like everything you know gets questioned, or even completely destroyed. “Controlled Burn” refers to this process of creation through destruction. Forcing the re-evaluation of goals and justifications is, to the creative process, what a controlled burn is to a forest. It burns away all the dead wood, in order to allow for the forest to be renewed, stronger and healthier than before. Through the critical dialogue we have with our classmates, our work becomes stronger than it ever would have without that relationship.

“Controlled Burn” also applies to physically working with glass: to the observer, glassmaking techniques can seem dramatic and chaotic, but to the maker, the process is a highly technical skill that requires dedication and control to master. It is through refining control of our techniques that we can develop complete ideas and objects.

Controlled Burn includes work by all the members of the Sheridan College Glass Studio’s 2010 graduating class, as well as selected works by first and second year students.

Sheridan Glass Program 2010 Graduates:

Gregory M. Abra
Jesse Bromm
Tommy Cudmore
Carolyn Eves
Ainsley Francis
Michael Kevin Gray
Rebecca Itzkow-Pollard
Toni Johnson
Jeff MacIntosh
Robyn McKay
Amanda Parker
Will Ruppel
Steve Sentanoe
Christina Lee Tatarnic
David Thompson
Jessie Trott
Jen Van Herten

Plain Jane Monument: She's Had This Burden for Many Years by Micah Adams

It’s a Big Deal!

May 6 – May 28, 2010

Please join us for the Opening Reception on Thursday, May 6, 5:30 – 8:30 pm.


Micah Adams
Alisha Marie Boyd
Norah Deacon
Niko Dimitrijevic
Margaret Lim
Shuyu Lu
Amanda McCavour
Adriana McNeely
Rose-Angeli Ringor
Johanna Schmidt
Patrycja Zwierzynska

Curated by Melanie Egan, Head of Craft and Patrick Macaulay, Head of Visual Arts at Harbourfront Centre.

This exhibition strives to communicate new ideas and shape perceptions about contemporary craft. It is about the opportunity to take risks, to experiment; to investigate and to push an art practice. To venture and to gain! To boldly go!

How Big is Big?   What is Big?   Is it Big Enough?

The works in this exhibition are about the expansion or extension of ideas.
The ‘acceptable limits of the craft object’ are presented in attention-grabbing ways. The works are bold, gutsy, exuberant, prominent and consequential. The everyday activities and objects in our lives are exalted, celebrated and amplified through ornament, scale or volume.
Yes indeed, It’s a Big Deal.

Nick Chase, Untitled, Blown and sandblasted glass

 Award Winners 2010

June 2 - July 25

Please join us for the opening reception on Wednesday, June 2, 6:30 - 9:00 pm

The Awards & Scholarships Program is a cornerstone of the Ontario Craft Council’s commitment to fostering excellence in craft, and every year the Award Winners exhibition presents a mix of work from the community’s best and brightest emerging and established craftspeople.

This year's Awards & Scholarships winners are:  Brad Turner, Bebhinn Jennings, Charlene Stallard, Judith Martin, Brenda Roy, Amanda McCavour, Arounna Khounnoraj, Elizabeth Aston, Annie Tung, Aislinn Caron, Nick Chase, Vivian Lee, Noelle Hamlyn-Snell, Michelle Mendlowitz, Robert Wu, Jared Hicks, Lois Schklar, Kasia Czarnota, Magdolene Dykstra, Jean Willoughby, Shuyu Lu, Alain Belanger, Shoshana Farber, Nicole Horlor, Patrycja Zwierzynska, Dylan Mckinnon, and Monica Hayward.

Muffy Bed (detail), Catherine Telford-Keogh

January 20 – March 1, 2009
Opening Reception:
Thursday, February 5th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

DIY can be traced back to several historical moments: the Arts and Craft movement of the 1900’s, the 1970’s craft movement, and third-wave feminism alongside the 80’s punk, zine and Riot Grrrl movements.

However, despite these connections, pinning down exactly what DIY is and what it looks like, especially in the realm of craft, remains a challenging task at best. There is no common definition for DIY, and as it becomes increasingly mainstream, the act of distinguishing a particular mode of making according to “do it yourself”, is an issue that continues to be raised.

As such, the OCC is pleased to present in partnership with Toronto Craft Alert, DIwhy?, an exhibition exploring the many different facets of ‘doing it yourself’.

DIwhy? includes the work of Amanda McCavour, Andrea Graham, Becky Johnson, Brooke Pickett, Catherine Trelford-Keogh, Frances Mahon, Heather Bain, Inbred Hybrid Collective, Katie Muth, Katie Sorrell, Lauren Hortie, Maura Meng, Miriam Grenville, and Shannon Gerard.

Check out Toronto Craft Alert at:
www.torontocraftalert.ca

Walking Chair, Ryan Legassicke

Elemental Connections

An Exhibition of Sustainable Craft

January 5 - February 22, 2009

At the Saskatchewan Crafts Council
Curator: Arlene Gehring

Environmental issues have become a pressing concern across the globe, yet discussions of art and culture are often missing from movements that promote sustainability. Craft has a unique role to play in this regard, for its special quality is the “beauty of intimacy”. Craft provides a connection between art and nature by being aware of a material’s source and season, and this creates a meaningful relation between one’s self and the work that has a depth beyond representation.

The point where earth and art meet must deal with the need to use renewable resources, as well as develop immediate relationships between local environments and the public. The twenty-two craftspeople showing in Elemental Connections are selected from throughout Canada so that the link between sustainability and craft is explored in the context of both our regional and national communities. Essentially, the exhibit brings home the importance and possibilities of craft. 

Talking Earth and Flying Fish

March 5th to 29th, 2009
Opening Reception, Thursday, March 5th
5:30 – 8:30 pm

Bud Henry (Onondaga), John Sabourin (Dene), Mark Dorey (Mi’Kmaq), Michael Robinson (Metis), Steve Smith (Mohawk), and Willy Skye (Seneca).

People need to listen to Mother Earth and the artists who give her voice. In Talking Earth and Flying Fish the eloquent voices of six First Nations Ontario artists present their vision in sculptures, jewellery, paintings, prints and clay.

The artists’ images of the Earth and her creatures come from the traditions of storytelling in the aboriginal clans. These stories embody important beliefs that are relevant to the present and connect us to the past.

In Honour of Fish

In this world fish are the elders, the ancient travellers, the keepers of history, since they have been around the longest.  They have watched history turn like pages in a book, since the beginning of time.  But as time goes on they become more distant from man, and we (mankind) treat them with less and less respect.  Ironically, they are the one window to the future or the possibility of a future and we have failed to realize this.  

- Michael Robinson

Exhibition curated by Blandina Makkik
Director, Inuit and Native Gallery
The Guild Shop, Toronto

Facet, Barstools, Darryl Ferretti

Human Forum: Sheridan Furniture and Textiles

April 2 - May 2, 2009
Opening Reception, Thursday, April 2, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

The historical relationship between textiles and furniture has always been close, both being primary elements of domestic interiors for centuries. Clothing the body, and the interior, textiles are the original structure; crossed fibres support each other, stronger than the constituent parts and infinitely versatile. In its negative quotation of the human form, furniture evokes the user, just as textiles exhibit the imprint of the designer and the culture that contains them both.
 
This exhibition of selected works by graduating students from the Sheridan Craft and Design Textiles and Furniture studios demonstrates an inquiring spirit, an exceptional level of craft, and a desire on the part of the students to become part of the historical continuum relating the body to the interior, and the interior to the contemporary world around us.

Symphony:
2009 Ottawa Guild of Potters Juried Exhibition

May 7 - May 31, 2009
Opening Reception, Thursday May 7, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

A symphony can be defined as "a harmonious combination of elements". In the life of any composer, the writing of a symphony is a musical peak which requires the synthesis of raw materials (notes, instruments, musical notation) into a musically artistic and structured tour de force. Similarly, a potter's symphony requires the ability to synthesize raw materials (earth, water and fire) into a uniquely creative whole. This theme can be further understood as the synergy of a group of potters working together to create and mount a show. However, the motivation for choosing this term as the title for this exhibition (to paraphrase Marshall McLuhan's memorable statement) is ultimately that, 'The symphony is the show'!

After more than 30 years in the landscape of Ottawa's artistic community, the Ottawa Guild of Potters (OGP) has come together to create this ceramic, symphonic work, displaying the vast array of talents brought to the Guild. The OGP is made up of professional and part-time potters, students, scholars, sages, award winners and admirers of the craft. It continues to elevate the profile of pottery in the Nation's Capital through the growth and development of pottery and ceramic art, the education of potters and public alike, and by setting high standards of expression and craftsmanship for sales and public displays. This exhibition reflects the symphony, the harmonious combination of elements that the Guild has become!

Ottawa Guild of Potters - Awards
Juror, Judith Graham

Best in Show:
Iben Vedel, From The Sea

Best Functional:
Jennifer Kamerads, Whiskey Cup

Best Non-functional:
Cynthia O’Brien, Cornu Libia

Best Decorated:
Marie Paquette, Echo

Fusion Clay and Glass Design Award:
Joan Bakker Stark, Babes in the Woods

OCC Design Award:
Jane Snider, Lidded Jar

Jurors Choice:
Erika Ferrarin, Porta

Industrial Cloud #15, Micah Adams

Award Winners 2009

June 3 – July 11
Opening Reception Wednesday, June 3rd, 6:30-8:30 pm

The Awards & Scholarships Program is a cornerstone of the Ontario Craft Council’s commitment to fostering excellence in craft, and every year the winners’ work is exhibited to present a mix of the craft community’s best and brightest. The OCC has been helping build craft careers through awards of ex¬cellence for over 30 years, with over 400 craftspeople benefiting from a grant or award. The 2009 Awards & Scholar¬ships winners are: Micah Adams, Carolyn Barnett, Alain Belanger, Sylvia Nan Cheng*, Kasia Czarnota*, Amanda DelaCruz*, Caitlin Erskine-Smith*, Darryl Ferretti, Andrea  Graham, Noelle Hamlyn-Snell*, William  Hampton, Jong Hyuk Jang*, Left Right Design , Amanda McCavour*, Michelle Mendlowitz, Julie Moon, Tiana Roebuck, Robin Tieu, Sarah Troper, Annie Tung*, Brad Turner*, Pattie Walker, Patrick Yeung, and Patrycja Zwierzynska*.

*Indicates winners who are also had their work accepted into the Cheongju International Craft Biennale national exhibition Unity and Diversity.

Vase With Snails, Greg Payce

Seduced by Clay

July 16 – August 29
Reception: Thursday, July 16^th, 5:30-8:30 pm

Experience a wealth of interpretations in clay, where the expressiveness of the medium is discovered in everything from the politically relevant to the playfully innovative.

Seduced by Clay presents a selection of work chosen by curators Gail Crawford and Jonathan Smith from the Burlington Art Centre’s Permanent Collection. Acting as a mini survey of the contemporary Canadian ceramics scene, a rich variety of forms are displayed including the functional, decorative and sculptural.  

Produced by the Burlington Art Centre, Seduced by Clay is a touring exhibition that celebrates its Permanent Collection through the history of Canadian studio ceramics. Including only a few dozen works from over two thousand in the Collection, Seduced by Clay showcases some of the most distinguished ceramic award winners in Canada: Paul Mathieu (BC), John Chalke (AB), Robert Archambeau (MB), Robin Hopper (BC) Steven Heinemann (ON), Harlan House (ON), Léopold Foulem (QC), Walter Ostrom (NS), and Peter Powning (NB). At the same time there is an exciting  taste of the experimental with work from Laurie Rolland (BC), Enid le Gros-Wise (QC), Joe Fafard (SK), Ann Roberts (ON), Reid Weir (NF), and Kinishi Shigeno (BC).

As part of the exhibition’s statement, Jonathan Smith states that “Today the choice of the direction open to clay artists is wider than it has ever been. Since the rise of the artist craftsperson in the 1950s, ceramicists have faced the dilemma of where to concentrate their aesthetic concerns.” The implications of this dilemma are reflected in Seduced by Clay, and you are invited to discover a range of enticing results at the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery July 16 to August 29.

Downloadable exhibition pamphlet with curator statements:

Seduced by Clay pdf 261 KB

Natural Edge Vase in Mesquite Burl, Doug Magrath

Turning 60 Naturally

Works by Doug Magrath
September 2 - September 25
Reception: Thursday, September 10^th, 5:30-8:30 pm

Turning 60 Naturally is a timely culmination of Doug Magrath’s work, and pays tribute to his ability in teasing out each piece of wood’s potential for beautiful and balanced form.

Ranging from the sensibly functional to the stunningly decorative, Magrath’s woodturned bowls are elegantly formed while preserving each piece’s natural characteristics. Magrath’s process for both decorative and functional work is the same, yet the final outcome is determined by his relationship with the material. Beginning with shaping a hollow form, Magrath follows the design and colour of the wood, often leaving a distinctive rim echoing its organic source. Likewise, Magrath carries out his attention to the natural through gathering his own wood, and employing a special coring technique that uses as much material from each piece as possible.

Turning 60 Naturally Booklet (1.23 MB)

Made of Wood Show 2009 Juried Exhibition

September 12 - 27 at the Dufferin County Museum and Archives

2009 marks the first year that the Made of Wood Show will include an exhibition of work from across Ontario and beyond, and chosen by a jury of professional woodworkers including Stephen Hogbin, Jim Lorriman and Ray Prince.

Organized by the Ontario Crafts Council and Made of Wood Show, and displayed at the Dufferin County Museum, the exhibition will contribute a diverse and exciting display of professional work to the event’s celebration of “all things wood”.

For more information on the Made of Wood Show see: www.madeofwoodshow.com

For directions to the Dufferin County Museum and Archives see: www.dufferinmuseum.com/about/contact.html

Multiplicity

Five artists propelled by process, form and the nuances of repetition

October 3 - November 7
Reception: Thursday, October 8^th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

Allan Bell / Unexpected compositions in wood, metal and other found materials.

Carolynn Bloomer / Translucent porcelain vessels and wall works that incorporate clay and other materials.

Vivienne Jones / Metal and resin forms explore scale, repetition and fundamental shapes of natural growth and expenditure.

Valerie Knapp / Hand embroidered drawing in textile and paper assemblages.

Karli Sears / Complex, botanically-inspired objects from multiple blown glass elements.

Multiplicity brings together the work of five artists thematically linked by independent meditations on repetition and process. Each endeavours to establish subtle yet coherent relationships, eliciting this nuanced rationale  by delving into recurrence and variation, and through conversations in form, function, scale and colour. In all, the juxtaposition of similarity and difference emphasizes the unique gesture each work brings on its own terms, as well as in conjunction with the complex whole.

Multiplicity Booklet 361 kb

Alexander Wood-Gay Pioneer (1772 - 1844, Canadian Amphora Series, Keith Campbell

Ontario Craft '09

November 12 - December 31

Reception: Friday, November 13, 5:30 - 8:30 pm

One of the ways in which the OCC supports the development of contemporary craft is through a biennial juried exhibition showing the best of our members’ work. Since 1975 the OCC has held juried exhibitions in order to celebrate, examine and assess the state of Ontario craft, and this year will be our second time renewing this tradition on a larger scale through the Queen St. W. Gallery. 

Ontario Craft ’09 was juried by Jean Johnson, Jonathon Bancroft-Snell and Shaun Moore, and offers a selection of our province’s most creative and talented makers.

Jean Johnson is a passionate advocate of contemporary craft, and has served in various capacities at Harbourfront Centre since 1971. Among others, Jean has been awarded the Order of Canada (1993) for her work with the craft community, and an Honorary Doctorate from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design (2000).

Jonathon Bancroft-Snell runs the Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery (London, ON), the largest Contemporary Ceramic Gallery in the country featuring Canada's leading ceramic artists. The gallery also represents many of Canada's prominent silversmiths. Jonathon was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Mather award.

Shaun Moore is a partner in MADE, a Toronto retail gallery dedicated to the promotion of exceptional emerging Canadian craft & design talent. Since 2006 MADE has showcased handmade works and small production pieces by industrial designers, craftsmen, architects, designers and artists.

Download the Catalogue:

  Ontario Craft '09 2.6 MB

Ontario Craft '09 Award Winners are:

Award of Excellence: Keith Campbell for his Alexander Wood-Gay Pioneer (1772-1884), Canadian Amphora Series

Best in Show: Kasia Czarnota for A Home of Our Own

Honorable Mention: Annie Tung for Love Spoons