Best in show: Aaron Milrad award

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....

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.

"Empty Chamber Vessel"

Handbuilt paperclay with doublewall.

New vessels from the kiln

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!

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!

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.

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"