Lesley McInally Ceramic Art

New Ceramics for 2012

2011-12-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

In the last few months of 2011 I reintroduced my old printmaking techniques onto clay.
Clay has a memory and every mark is never lost. The metaphorical potency of clay can be powerfully suggestive, it is my perfect medium.
Recently I have been developing ceramic pigments and hand coloured porcelain engobes. Building up layer upon layer and constantly reworking the surface over periods of time thus creating a history of events.
2012 will begin with a new series of sculptures and wall pieces involving these new techniques..........

Bounty Harbourfront

2010-09-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

For September I will be creating a new group of ceramic work for Bounty Gallery on Harbourfront Totonto. The focus will mainly include my abstract landscape vessels and cups as well as my new range of abstract remnant bowls and vases. Here is a snippet of what you can find there by the end of September......

Remnants: something left over, a remainder, a surviving trace.

2010-08-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

With my first solo show recently finished and a few summer shows out of the way I can now concentrate on the next few months of 2010.
Here is a snippet of the exhibition at Carnegie Gallery. It was a huge success and I would like to thank Carnegie gallery for their help, Ontario Arts Council for exhibition assistance and my friend Douglas Stuart for coming all the way over from Scotland to help me curate the exhibition and set the show up.

Exhibition: Remnants

2010-04-25T10:44:00.001-07:00

This is the postcard invitation to my coming exhibition The opening is on the 7th and I hope you can make it along.
The details might be hard to read, so just click on the image and it should enlarge it.

Broch of Gurness and Finstown

2010-04-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

2010-04-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Cuween chambered cairn

2010-04-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Orkney

2010-04-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

In February I received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to help me prepare for my coming exhibition at the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas and to have a study trip to Orkney, the place where my recent work has been taking me to over and over again.
The trip was short and sweet. I arrived with a bump on a small plane on a stormy day, horizontal sleet with occasional heavy snow flakes and wind that truly took your breath away if you were stupid enough to open your mouth! Not a horizon in sight, just a bleak grey/blackness through the squint of my eyes and a sign saying: "Welcome to Kirkwall".
I was here!
My accommodation took my blues away. It was an auld kirk revamped into apartments in a beautiful village called Finstown, seconds away from the shore. I had little time to travel round the main island visiting as many cairns, brochs, stones and dwellings as I could fit in,. The weather constantly changed and I was blessed with sunshine during some outings to Scara Brae and the Ring of Brodgar.
I was constantly collecting materiel to use for future work. Walking to the Cureen chambered cairn which was situated on a hill. I found a torch in a box on the outside of a very small and narrow entrance, I realised if I was to proceed it was on my hands and knees through a stone corridor. What I found at the other end was complete blackness. The torch battery had seen better days and the pittance of light that came from it showed little. No words could describe how alone I felt, at least I hoped I was alone. Getting out of the dam cairn would not have been swift! I knew my camera would flash like a strobe light trying to find something to focus on. For the first time I was able to see where I was. A small hive chamber with 3 other chambers leading off, once found with the skulls of 24 dogs and 8 humans. Next time I will take my own torch.

What I loved most of what I found were the traces of many different times. Neolithic stones reused by Picitsh people, carvings and graffiti by the Nords, vandalism by the Victorians and redesign by the Edwardian. People come and gone leaving their mark on the landscape. Objects constantly evolving and giving us clues as to what their formal glory might have been.
We will never know for sure and lets face it, the mystery is much more intriguing.
So here I am back in Canada again, working in the studio trying to touch on some of these ideas.
For my coming exhibition time has run out, the making had ended and sitting in its glazed and final stages.
For me though, I think the story has just begun and the work will flow and evolve with time.

Ontario Crafts Council Biennial Exhibition

2009-11-12T06:17:00.000-08:00

I was lucky to have the 2 vessels selected which I entered into the juried show this year at the Ontario Crafts Council exhibition. The jurors for this years exhibition were Jonathan Bankroft-Snell, Jean Johnson and Shaun Moore. The opening starts on Friday 13th at 5.30 and I am looking forward to seeing the other artists who are in the exhibition. The pieces selected were from my new Orkney series which are both paperclay stretched slabs, double walled and altered.
Hope you can all make a visit to see whats happening for fine craft in Ontario.

Toronto Potters Sale

2009-10-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

For all those who are in Toronto or not too far away then please come along to the Toronto Potters show and sale at the Japanese cultural centre, 6 Garamond Court.
Thursday 12 - 9, Friday 12 - 9 and I will be there all day Saturday 10 - 6.
This will be the second last show I do in Toronto this year.
hope to see you there.

2009-10-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Fusion Show and sale this weekend

2009-10-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

I will be at the Fusion show and sale this weekend. My shifts will be Thursday afternoon and Sunday all day if anyone wants to meet up and see the latest work!

The Orkney Series

2009-09-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Taking inspiration from my last travels to Scotland I created some new vessels in time for my summer shows. I think this is the beginning of a whole new body of work and I am excited about where it will lead me.
Inspired by the cairns, chambers and monuments discovered around Scotland I have tried to capture the spirit of these ancient dwellings brought to our attention through archaeological digs and in some cases, violent storms which uncovered Neolithic remains.
Brian Reiser was the wonderful photographer for these pieces and I would like to thank him for helping to produce such a stunning portfolio for my recent Orkney Vessels.
"The Entity"
Paperclay.

Whisky Galore

2009-09-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

With all my sculptural ceramics in flow and focusing on NON function, I am finding a nice change of pace making my wee whisky cups yet again.......and they seem to have a new audience.
These wee cups have many different scenes of Scotland on them with the occasional slogan thrown in to captivate......."the angels share"......."scotch mist"........"wee dram".......
Sorry, I just cant help myself and whats great is that they work a treat!
Try for yourself!
Slainte!
(if your Canadian its pronounced slawn-cha)

Best in show: Aaron Milrad award

2009-09-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

The summer has passed by so quickly although with so much rain and thunderstorms I feel that it may never have happened!! My main craft exhibitions in July were wonderful and the dramatic downpours during the shows made them memorable in many ways.
The most memorable thing that happened is that during the T.O.A.E show I was awarded Best in show for Ceramics by juror Gord Thompson. I won the Aaron Milrad purchase award and I have the pleasure of his company for lunch this coming week. Aaron Milrad has an extensive ceramic collection which I hope to learn more about from the man himself. This week he also chooses one of my vessels to add to his collection which is incredibly exciting. But which one I wonder?
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at the TOAE. It couldn't have been a better show, even though the council were on strike during that weekend.

Remnants....

2009-07-08T03:22:00.000-07:00

This is the inside of one of my vessels with portholes. What I love about this piece are the spots of light coming through from the sun while the rest of the inside sits in shade. This recent body of work has been in reference to cairns and abandoned dwellings.
I want to convey a sense of time passing and lives once lived, where communities have came and gone leaving their imprint.
When we enter these dwellings there is a sense of quiet isolation where sunlight touches and moves within the space giving a strong connection to the often isolated environment in which it sits.

2009-07-08T03:20:00.000-07:00

"Empty Chamber Vessel"

Handbuilt paperclay with doublewall.

New vessels from the kiln

2009-07-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

I eagerly awaited the opening of my kiln today. Some very important pieces inside were about to see daylight for the first time since their transformation into Glazed vessels. It is a nerve wracking time when you have shows looming and time is no longer on your hands. The pressure is on and the nerves are fraying at the seams.
My first look into the kiln made me smile. It looked like they survived this transformation successfully.
Here is the first piece I glimpsed.
"Empty chamber" Paperclay vessel with a recessed base. Detail image is of the inside of this piece. Here are another few glimpses of what will be shown at the TOAE this weekend. They were also from my kiln today. I thank the Kiln Goddess for her her input...... you go girl!

2009-07-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been spent burning the candle at both ends concentrating on my paperclay double and treble walled vessels. At this stage I am still eagerly awaiting the results of my first glaze firing. Today I finally get to open the kiln and have been praying to the Kiln goddess for good results. They are fragile pieces with tensions at many different points... so who knows what the results will be! I am excited and afraid all at the same time. They could be wonderful or they could tear apart during the firing. If all goes well i will be able to take them to the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition which opens on Friday (yes, 3 days left) I cant wait to see everyone and catch up on this years events. My events for this year have been trips to Scotland and Spain (thus the inspiration for new work).
I was also asked by the A.G.O to create some new vessels based on their Surreal things exhibition which is on over the summer so if you get a change to go then have a look at the pieces I made.
Will let you know my results soon.

I am finally back!

2009-06-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it may be June but the year is just beginning! I am now back from my very long break in the studio and getting ready for the summer shows. The first one coming up is the TOAE at Nathan Phillips Square on the 10th - 13th of July.

This photograph is of a detail from my "Silent Dwelling" series.................more to come.

Lesley xxx

Watch this space for updates over the following days.

A.G.O Commission Inspiration.

2008-10-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go I wonder?
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that my last entry was in September. The autumn had been taken up with making new stock for coming shows, teaching classes and sadly closing down my shop in Cookstown. It is a sad sign of the times. Costs are high and everyone is feeling the pinch and usually with that, Art is the first to suffer. When you have bills to pay who needs to buy ceramics? On the other hand isn't it a better investment than the stock market these days? And on top of that you have the pleasure of living with an object you adore! Art always makes me feel better about life and it is one of my true pleasures.....We all need it (we just don't all know it yet!)

Recently I was luck enough to be commissioned by the buyer of the A.G.O shop, Diane Smeding.
The last few weeks have been consumed with making new pieces for their opening in November.
Like most of my work I concentrate on surface. I love the textures of peeling paints and surfaces once used, loved, reused then neglected and exposed to the elements....In time the decaying surface hints of past lives and I often wonder who's story it is telling......
This image is a sneak preview of one of my most recent vessels "Forgotten Pasts"

Opening Success

2008-09-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Opening night was better than expeced!
2 years in the planning and the opening night finally arrived. It was wonderful to see so many friends, fellow artists, curators and buyers mingle in the gallery with one another and enjoying our hard work

I must admit that I couldn't concentrate on anything until i gave my opening speech and said the thank yous publicly. (I was shaking in my shoes) We then presented 6 awards to 6 lucky potters.......Then I hit the bar!!!
In all seriousness though, I think the turn out was huge with many of the artists involved happy with the display of their work and lots of beautiful comments on the art were flying about happily in the air. The Fairy dust worked!
Congratulations to all the artists who won awards (myself included) and I hope that if you have not had a chance to see it then go along as it is on until the 28th of September. More info contact:Toronto Potters.

Many thanks to the following: Ontario Arts Council for a grant which allowed us to have this exhibition, Emma Quinn and her staff at the Ontario Crafts Council for hosting the exhibition and all their generous help, Shauna Cake for her brilliant catalogue design, Janna Hiemstra for all her constant help and support.

Dale Roddick for his photography, Frank Longobardi For constant support to many potters, Gardiner Museum and our sponsors; Tuckers pottery supply, Pottery supply house, Spectrum, Fusion and the Ontario Craft Council.

Set Up for the Exhibition

2008-09-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 2nd we spent the full day setting up the exhibition.
What a daunting task it seemed but as we all discussed what would work where and we began placing the first pieces in the window it all began to flow and come together. By the end of the day we had an exhibition.
I would like to thank the exhibition set up helpers and fellow potters; Cory Pinassi, Wendy Vervoort, Kim Harcourt and Chiho Tokita. I would also like to thank Janna at the OCC for staying late as we sprinkled fairy dust (attention to detail)!!

Toronto Potters Exhibition

2008-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

When I first came to Canada my first point of contact was with the Toronto Potters who had an article written on their 12th Biennial Juried Exhibition in a British magazine "Ceramic Review".
One of my friends (Rachel Rogers) had written to the then president (Brenda Ellenwood) telling her that I was just about to immigrate to Canada and so when I finally arrived here I was welcomed by her. From that day on I made many new friends.

Who would have thought that 2 years on (2006)I would take on the task of organising the 14th exhibition for the Toronto Potters. It has been 2 years in the making and finally the opening night will be on September 4th. PHEW!
Our Jurors were Alex Yeung and Jonathan Smith and I was lucky enough to have 3 pieces of my work selected for the exhibition at the Ontario Craft Council.
This image is of a 12 part wall piece called "Last of the rain". The inspiration of this piece is from my last visit to Scotland in march of this year......all it did was rain!!!
I want to take this opportunity to thank Chiho Tokita a fellow Toronto potter for all her help during the organising of this event, without her help I would have been in big trouble!
Come along to see the show, Chiho also had work selected and the pieces are just beautiful.

Silent Voices

2008-08-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave for a trip up to some friends cottage in the Bruce peninsular. I have never ventured that far west. I am so excited to go and be on the beach which apparently is very rocky, (oh no, I will end up with pockets full of stones!) I will be taking the camera and shooting as much of the scenery as poss. Hoping that a wee canoe trip will happen and a well earned break, this usually charges me up to making again.

This photo is of 2 pieces which came out of the kiln bisqued. I don't often like my work whilst they sit in this stage, waiting for their "skin" to be applied but when the sun came through my studio window the light flooded into the pieces showing the circles that had been cut when the clay was still wet. These pieces are now finished and have set off to their new home (fellow potter Cam Fisher) who has promised to photograph them for me as I never managed to do it in time. I look forward to seeing the photos of the finished vessels but still enjoy their quiet haunting voices after bisque.
I would like to work on more openings within the vessel in order to play with light.
Perhaps the trip will trigger something....

And so it begins again.

2008-08-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well, after all the shows in the summer its time to get back into making stock for the next shows coming up in September, working on the commissions from customers and giving a fresh supply of ceramics to the galleries in Toronto.....Just when you think you can take a breath..... it starts all over again!
Still, I love getting back into the studio and playing with all my new ideas.
As most of you will know i love Surface. I have 2 different ways of working: I love to make marks in the clay then stretch the clay until it is incredibly thin, this way of working lets the clay "Speak for itself". Textures appear on the surface that no human hand could have created. Only the gravitational pull of the thrown slab and the clay body can create this. There is such a sense of freedom in the slabs and each one has its own voice... this is when I am able to have a conversation with each piece of clay and reconstruct the slab into a finished piece of work.
My other way of working is to use the surface of the clay as a canvas. Here my printmaking days come back to me when I etch markings and drawings into the clay then build up the image and story with layers of oxides, stains and slips. The finished result is a vessel with a story, and as always it is about places, times and weather!

New Work

2008-08-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hers is a taste of the new work which I had been developing for the summer.

These pieces were thrown on the wheel. Porcelain slip has been built up in layers then worked back into with ceramic stains, oxides and glazes. This is a time consuming process that is worth the wait.

The summer craft shows

2008-08-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

I survived the summer shows! First was the Toronto Outdoor art exhibition at Nathan Phillips square, then Muskoka and finally Haliburton. I am totally exhausted but so happy that everything survived despite the thunderstorms throughout!

Toronto brought back some loyal customers and I had the pleasure of meeting people who had been buying my work from the Gardiner Museum. It was fantastic to see familiar faces coming back to see new work and collect more pieces. I feel that as an artist this is a very important part of my career and thank all for their support throughout this last month.

Phew!

thunderstorms galore

2008-06-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

The weather is still thundery and there is still too much moisture in the air. The kiln has been on though to bisque and to help dry out the studio and pots. I finally managed to get the pieces painted but it took me 4 times as long. I have some wall pillows to make next then its down to glazing. I job I avoid to the last as I have to wear mask, gloves, goggles all day long.
Its a glam job!

2008-06-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

The weather here in canada has been really mixed for June. right now it is very wet which means my work is taking forever to dry out. I often build up several layers of slip on my work and it is taking many hours for the layers to dry: the problem? I have my biggest show coming up in 2 weeks time. The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition and I am still making work!!!!! The weather is not helping, too much moisture in the air which has slowed the process down to a stop.

When the sun comes out, so does the work. here I am trying to dry the bowls during the sunny spells outside my studio.

Lesley McInally

2008-06-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Lesley McInally

2008-06-28T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am in the gallery Drift on a wet and thundery saturday afternoon trying to get to grips with the new blog: here goes.