Sean O'Connell Workshop

Digital Photo-Documentation Workshop

Upcoming Events

Sunday, February 2 from 10:00 to 5:00

Throw-a-thon @ RDC

Come out and make some pots to help us raise funds for 1000 Miles Apart.  Throw to your heart’s content, and join us for a potluck lunch around noon in the Patch!  Clay for this event will be provided.

Friday, February 14 from 9:00 to 4:00

Sean O’Connell Workshop @ RDC

Sean O’Connell will be visiting the college to present a demonstration workshop for students.  Come check it out from 9:00 - 12:00 and then again from 1:00 - 4:00 in the ceramics classroom.

Sunday, February 23 from 12:00 - 5:00

Photo-documentation Workshop @ the Recreation Centre

Paul Leathers will be teaching a four hour workshop on the photo-documentation of two and three-dimensional work that can be done in your own home!  He will explain different cameras and choices, proper lighting for your art object, and backdrops. Emphasis will be placed on keeping the process simple, inexpensive, and fun - otherwise it's not likely to get done!  For more info contact Debbie Wilson (403.340.2726 or kdwilson@telusplanet.net) or Karen Brodie (403.347.0600). $25 for students.

THROW-DOWN!

What's a Throw-down?  Well, it's a trendy way of saying 'Throw-a-thon'; and it's a chance for you to come out, enjoy some throwing, food, and fellowship, all while helping to raise money for the Ceramics Club.  As you may or may not know, RDC will be hosting the 1000 Miles Apart Ceramics Conference this fall and we need to raise some funds to do so.  Come out on Sunday, February 2nd from 10AM-5PM to throw your hands up like you just don't care… and throw pots down, um, like you do.  At noon we will have a bit of a pot-luck in the Patch, so feel free to bring an item, or items for that as well.

Deets:

Who: Ceramics Club

What: Throw-a-thon

Where: Ceramics Classroom

When: Feb. 2 from 10:00 - 17:00

Why: So we can run an amazing 1000 Miles Apart this fall

Snow Catcher Arch

Here is the snow catcher arch just outside of the classroom (with the pizza over just behind it).  With all of the snow that we've had lately, it is certainly doing its job.

In other news, we bid a fond farewell to Leanna Carlson today.  She is off to work at Medalta, and will eventually make her way back to her home in BC.  Rumour has it she is looking to employ a student over the summer to help her out in her studio…  Huge thanks go out to her for the work she did in our studio as our artist in residence, and the help she gave to the ceramics students.

Undersea Garden

Wondering what an undersea garden done up in ceramic materials might look like?  Until Wednesday, stop by the College and check out the Learning Gallery to see the second-year ceramics class's take on this project.  We used a quarter-section mould to create the amazing creatures you see.

Come collect your Tiles!

First, the tile exhibition is down from the Learning Gallery.  So... if you were one of the students that was involved, please come by the ceramics studio to pick up your tiles.  We do have extra boxes and wrapping material around so it will be easy enough to package up your piece.

Next, the ceramics studio is happy to host Leanna Carlson as our resident artist.  She is working on developing interesting clay bodies using unique local and international materials.  Be sure to drop by and say hello.

The next artist talk for ART 101 will be on October 21 at 7:00 in the Margaret Parsons Theatre.  The visiting artist will be Jason deHaan.  This lecture is free and open to the public.

Finally, the APA has an online survey, and if you complete it you can enter to win one of four memberships for this upcoming year:

"WIN 4 FREE MEMBERSHIPS
The Alberta Potters’ Association has been representing the interests of Alberta clay artists since 1968. Since that time the industry has undergone many changes. We have heard from some of our members that some of these changes are good and some are not, so now we want to hear from everyone involved in ceramics, from clay artists of every persuasion: functional, sculptural and everything in between; teachers, educators and administrators involved in ceramics; gallery owners, clay suppliers and retail businesses. We want to hear from you!
Tell us what you think and what you need to make this a successful industry in Alberta.
Our strategies for 2014 and beyond will be based on your answers. This survey is seeking general information initially to determine broad stroke needs, and then with further discussion with you, focus in on detailed strategies.
PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY " - APA

Really? Summer is over?

Alas... it is that time of year again, the trees are changing colours, the days are colder and shorter, and most of us are back in class or the studio.  It is going to be a full fall, and here are some events worth taking in:

Alberta Art and Culture Days - For this year's events, the ceramics department at the college has put together a recreation of the tile exhibition that went on this summer for Red Deer's Centennial at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre.  The small show is presently set up in the Learning Gallery, which is located on the East side of campus in the Centre for Visual Art.  If you did not get a chance to see the show when it was at the Kerry Wood, here is your chance to see what the second year students put together as their Centennial Project.  Also, downtown at the City Centre Stage, Larry Reese has a display of his paintings in the Gallery.

(Look at the cool shadows!)

If you are free tonight at seven (Sept. 30th), there will be an artist talk given by Ronald Kostyniuk as part of the visiting artist lecture series at the College.  He is a sculptor and a faculty member at the University of Calgary.  This talk is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Margret Parsons Theatre at RDC.

This upcoming weekend is the annual 1000 Miles Apart Ceramics Conference!  This year the event is being hosted by ACAD and thus will take place in Calgary.  If you are interested it is open to the public and runs Thursday through Saturday.

And lastly Daniel Anhorn has a show going on at the Harris-Warke Gallery downtown.  Dan is one of our studio technicians at the College, and this is a great chance to see the kinds of work he creates.  His show, Brave New Worlds, Bold New Plans, will have its opening reception on Friday, October 4, from 6-8.

ART in the GARDEN, Summertime!

The Summer Edition of the ART in the Garden Show & Sale is upon us.  The exhibition will run on Saturday, July 27, from 2:00 - 7:00 PM.  It will be held at 58 College Park Drive, in Red Deer (note: this is near the intersection of Timoty Drive and 30th Avenue).

There is free admission to the event, and you are welcome to come and enjoy fine art and craft in a lovely garden setting.  If you have any questions about the event, they can be directed to Marlene Kallstrom-Barritt (403-346-6235).

Our esteemed graduates....

Here's some quick tidbits on our recent grads from the two-year visual art department at Red Deer College:

Emily Thompson made the front page of the paper on Monday with a project working to combat negative vandalism in downtown Red Deer.  She is working to paint murals on buildings in hopes to discourage vandals from tagging walls.

Mia Riley is being featured in the Alberta Craft Councils' Coming up Next show.  The show runs from June 20-July 27.  Leah Spagrud and Janet Peters (past students from RDC) are in the show, and a previous technician/visiting artist/student from the College, Julia Rayne Shumacher is also displaying some of her work.  You can check out the exhibition in an online form here.

We also have Summer Series going on at the College for the month of July, and a bit of August.  I know of quite a few students lucky enough to attend.  I am incredibly jealous of those taking part in Julia Galloway's class.  If you are interested in taking part, there is more information available here.

If you hear of anyone else that should be featured here, please pass along the information.  I would be happy to do a quick write-up and post it on the site.

Tiles!

Hopefully this will make it out to most of the students that were in the second-year ceramics class who produced tiles.  Please feel free to pass this post along to anyone else you can think of.  The Centennial Show for Red Deer, Points of View, has come down.  Above you can see a lovely panoramic picture that I tried to take of all the tiles.  Well, most of them.  There were a few sets that we had on the walls as complete sets by themselves.  The tiles are now all at the College, waiting to be collected.  There was some interest from the public in purchasing some of the sets, but I have yet to hear back with any definitive requests.

If you would like to collect the tiles before September when the College is open for regular hours, please let me know via email (carlene.larue@gmail.com), otherwise they will hang out there until you can pick them up in the fall.  I have extra postcards for the exhibition, as well, if you are interested in collecting one of those for your C.V. or personal scrapbook... if you have one of those... because it would be totally cool if you did.

Ann-Charlotte Ohlsson update

In the most recent issue of Ceramics: TECHNICAL (#36), Paul Leathers details Ann-Charlotte Ohlsson's recent residency at Red Deer College.  We were very fortunate to have her work at the college last year as she was generous in sharing her wood-firing knowledge and time with students.

The article documents some of her pieces made using the quarter-mould technique, as well as the firings that took place.  Paul Leathers has his photography of her works accompany the article that he wrote.  This is definitely worth a pick-up if possible.  I know that the Red Deer Chapters store does carry this magazine on occasion.  You can also purchase it online as a digital copy at a discounted rate here.

Points of View: River of Light Show

Hey, remember that tile project?  Or for those of you in the design fundamentals class, the barrel project?  It's up and on display at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre in the Marjorie Wood Gallery!  Neato!  We put together an exhibition consisting of the tiles, the barrels, photos of the maquettes of barrel sculptures, as well as a powerpoint given to us by the Creatmosphere Team documenting the progression of the River of Light project.

It's on now until July 6th.  There will be a closing ceremony on July 5th from 6:00-8:00PM.  There will be some attendees from the Centennial Committee, and there will be refreshments served.  It will be a really good event.  It is also a great chance to see your work in a professional show.  This really is an opening for the Ceramics and Design classes, so it would be great to see all of the artists out for the evening.

We will be packing up the tiles and pieces on the 7th, and bringing them back to the college.  If you need to collect them immediately, email me at carlene(dot)larue(at)gmail(dot)com.  I can try to help arrange a pick-up.  Otherwise I think that we can store them at the college until classes start up in September.

Hope to see you all there!

The Works Festival in Edmonton

I'm terrible at updating this thing, my sincere apologies.  So this week, and right up until July 4th, the Works Festival is happening in Edmonton in the downtown/Churchill Square area.  It's a great place to visit, lots of good art, okay art, and um.... shopping carts?  (You'll have to visit to see that piece).  But this year is really special as Mia helped the Ceramics Club team up with VASA (the University of Alberta's Visual Art Society) to create a show for this year's Works festival, entitled 'Human Energy: A Capacity for Fellowship'.  If you are interested in seeing some amazing ceramic pieces from a few of this year's grads, and, um... me, then check it out in the Stanley A. Milner Library, Site #5, in the Edmonton Room.  If you head down the stairs on the right-hand side once you come in the main doors and turn left at the bottom, you should see it.

Our Red Deer College students participating include, Mia Riley, K.T. Furness, Kaleb Romano, and Carlene La Rue.  Above I've attached a picture of Kaleb's piece.

The Works is one of MANY festivals that happen in Edmonton over the summer.  It's a great chance to attend and support the arts community, gather some ideas and inspiration, and absolutely support collaborations between our College and other post-secondary institutions.

Off Centre Show

If you are interested in attending for free, there are some new opportunities of working a few hours towards publicizing the event around town and earning your admission.  For more information about the symposium and being about to get in for free, please contact me through this blog at rdcceramicsclub@gmail.com.

Medalta

So... short notice, but if you are interested in doing a residency at Medalta... now is your chance!  The application process is pretty simple, and will need to have your submission postmarked by April 15th (Monday!).  You can find out more about the residency and opportunities on Medalta's website.  Here is some information from Aaron Nelson:

APPLY! Spring is here, the snow is gone and our residency deadline is days away.  April 15th is the deadline to apply for the Medalta International Artists in Residence Program. There are so many things happening in the studio in the upcoming year that you will not want to miss out.

We have already confirmed visiting artists coming from the US, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Scotland, and Australia. These artists will supplement our core group of full year and permanent artists in residence.

2013 RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE 
There are four opportunities that are available. Click on the links below for more information.
Full Year Residencies  
June @ Medalta
July/August @ Medalta
Flex Residency 

If you're ready to apply, fill out the application form.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
Aaron Nelson
 
Artistic Director
Medalta International Artists in Residence Program
aaron@medalta.org
403.529.1070 

Aaron NelsonArtistic Director
Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District
713 Medalta Avenue SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada T1A 3K9
p. 403.529.1070                e. aaron@medalta.org                 f. 403.580.5868

Art in the Garden

Phew... there is a lot going on this week.  So the last event is the Art in the Garden Show and Sale happening this Saturday, April the 13th, at Parkland Garden Centre.  Some more information from Suzanne Le Beau:

Art in The Garden 
Spring Show and Sale
9am-5pm
Located at
Parkland Garden Centre
(3 miles East of 30th Ave. on Hwy 11, Red Deer)

Enjoy shopping amongst the sights and smells of Spring, come see the Artisan's captivating paintings, ceramics, photography, jewelry and more. While listening to the rhythmic sounds of musicians.

For more information contact:
Suzanne Le Beau at 403-342-6344
or Email "Spirit of Art Group" at artgroup@hotmail.ca

Typecast @ the MAG

Please come out to the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery tomorrow night (April 11th), at 7:00, for the opening of this year's Visual Art Show!  It looks pretty fantastic, (I did labels... so if they are crooked.... um...) and there is a lot of strong work in the show this year.  The new space was slightly smaller than that of previous years, but it has been well used and the show is very cohesive.  And there is food!  It's being catered by Red Deer College students in the culinary arts program.  There is also a new exhibition for Red Deer's Centennial, which will be opening on Sunday, April 14th at 2:00.  The opening evening is always a great time, and it's a fantastic chance to come out and support all of the hard work that has been put in by students over this past year.  Many students are continuing on to other institutions, so this may be your last opportunity to see some of these gifted artists.

Ceramics Courses at the University of Manitoba

Here is another update about some great courses going on at the University of Manitoba.  These classes are non-credit and will be taught by Robin Dupont (who is a crazy-good thrower and wood-firer).   The classes go throughout May and have a class limit of eight.  This would be an amazing experience, and with the small class sizes, you would have a lot of time to work with the instructor.  You can get more information on the courses through email fine art@cc.umanitoba.ca, or by calling 204-474-9367.

Off Centre at ACAD

Just a little bit more info, the Off Centre show and seminar at ACAD will be going on May 10 and 11.  If you are interested in going you can still email me a five hundred word essay on spreading ceramic arts within Red Deer, or you can purchase tickets here.  Tickets are 65/student for the weekend, and 120/non-student.  You can find more information about the show and events here.