by Carole Epp | Feb 7, 2013 | Uncategorized
New exhibit offers women who have faced adversity a voice
TORONTO – February 7, 2013 –
Beginning today, and running through April 28, 2013 women whose lives
have been touched by violence are offered a place to tell their stories
their own ways in Transformation by Fire, a groundbreaking exhibition
originated by the Gardiner Museum in partnership with the Barbra
Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. The culmination of the last 10 years,
this landmark exhibit features clay as the medium for storytelling,
personal statements and video to provide real life examples of how to be
strong and grow in the face of adversity
.
Where: The Gardiner Museum
When: February 7, 2013 – running through April 28, 2013
Cost: FREE (funded by public donations)
What’s On Throughout the Exhibit?
Hands-on Workshop: February 9, 2013, 1-4 p.m.
Instructors Suzanne Thomson, art
therapist, and Susan Low-Beer, ceramic artist, invite you to transform
your experience through clay, while working through a series of guided
exercises to create your own clay sculptures. No art experience
necessary. Cost: $45.
One Billion Rising: February 14, 2013, 12:30 p.m.
In honour of the new landmark exhibit Transformation by Fire, be a part
of a special Flash Mob on the front steps of the Gardiner Museum, and
help us raise public awareness of violence against women. Partnering
with us to lead the dance is Nia Trainer, Martha Randall. Meet at
12:15p.m. in front of the museum, dance to begin at 12:30 p.m. Cost: Free!
Susan Low-Beer, Fragments of Self: February 26, 2013, 6:30-8 p.m.
Ceramic
Artist Susan Low-Beer discusses her work and her preoccupation with the
mind and body. Cost: $15 general admission, $10 for members.
International Women’s Day Dance Performance: March 8, 2013 6-8:30 p.m.
The
Gardiner Museum celebrates International Women’s Day with a free dance
performance by Performance Artist Julie Lassonde. Cost:
Free!
Human Rights Watch: April 18, 2013, 12-1:30 p.m.
Too many women all over the world continue to live in unsafe and
insecure environments as a result of armed conflict, violent political
processes, and communal violence. Join us for an in-depth discussion
about sexual violence around the world. Cost: $25.
Body/Mind Expressive Arts Approach to Art Therapy: April 11, 2013, 6:30-8 p.m.
Art
Therapist Suzanne Thomson, and Director of Counseling Services for the
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, Lynne Jenkins, will reflect on the
transformative powers of art therapy to create social change and the
unique attributes of clay as a tool to heal the complex effects of
trauma. Cost: $15 general admission, $10 for members.
About Transformation by Fire
Transformation by Fire is organized by the Gardiner Museum and the Barbra Schlifer Clinic.
It showcases clay sculptures by clients of the Barbra Schlifer clinic
who participated in art therapy workshops in the Gardiner Museum’s clay
studios, as well as work by Susan Low Beer, a Canadian ceramic artist
who worked with art therapist Susan Thomson and the women for the last
decade. The hastag for this exhibit is #TransformationByFire and #VAW
(Violence Against Women).
About the Gardiner Museum
The Gardiner Museum connects people,
art and ideas by offering an intimate look at one of the world’s oldest
and most universal art forms – ceramics. The Museum’s collections span
continents and time, giving a glimpse into the development of ceramic
processes, decoration and form. Year-round, the Museum mounts special
exhibitions, events, lectures and clay classes to complement its
permanent collection.
The
Museum also features a casual café that serves delicious fare, and the
Gardiner Shop, which specializes in artist-designed, artist-made
merchandise. More information about the museum and its exhibitions can
be found online at www.gardinermuseum.com. Members of the media can register to access the Gardiner Museum’s online media room (
www.gardinermuseum.com/mediaroom) where they may download images and additional media materials. Follow us on Twitter @gardinermuseum.
About the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
The
Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic provides free legal, counseling,
interpretation, information, and referral services for women who are
experiencing or have experienced violence including intimate partner
assault, incest/childhood sexual abuse, and adult sexual assault and
other forms of violence. In Barbra Schlifer’s memory, the Clinic is
committed to the belief that a response to the issue of violence against
women must address the individual needs of women, systemic change, and
social justice. The Clinic currently receives referrals from countless
community-based agencies, as well as medical, legal and criminal justice
professionals, religious organizations and individuals concerned about
violence against women, and more than 3,600 women were helped last year.
For more information please contact:
Lisa Raffaele
PUNCH Canada
o. 416.360.6522 x239
c. 647.896.0743
[email protected]
by Carole Epp | Feb 1, 2013 | Uncategorized
Location: Ceramics Studio, 219 Western Ave, Allston
How to get tickets:

Thursday 2/28 10:00 AM
Performance Detail:
Download the workshop registration form here.
Thursday, February 28th
Workshop: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Slide Presentation: 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Internationally recognized for her mastery and reinterpretation of historical ceramic technique, Michelle Erickson
joins us for a day of demonstration and slide presentation of her work.
Her contemporary work makes use of arcane ceramic techniques to create
historical narratives about political, social and environmental issues –
both past and present. Regardless of time frame, Erickson’s works are
distinguished by insightful commentary on the universal character of the
human spirit. Recently returned from a three-month, artist residency
at The Victoria and Albert Museum, Erickson will share her experience in working amongst 5000 years of clay traditions represented as documented in her
blog.
Her highly sought creations are in the collections of major museums in
America and England and documented in several volumes of the annual
journal Ceramics In America.
“Endeavoring to rediscover the techniques once used by these potters
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries has spurred years of
experimentation. In the course of this technological investigation, I
also develop an awareness of the broader historical contexts surrounding
these potting traditions. My approach has always challenged
traditional explanations and conceptions about pre-industrial ceramics
and the methods used to create them. I have sought to find the original
language of the artifact itself to make a tangible connection to the
present. Physically recreating these lost processes reinforces the
irreplaceable significance of the hand even in the technological
landscape of the twenty-first century.”
Related Events
February 20th, 2013 – July 14, 2013
Exhibiting artist at the “New Blue and White” Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Foster Gallery, 158.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Featured speaker at “Two-Point Perspective Gallery Talk” entitled,
Influence and History: Blue and White Chinese Ceramics with Robert D.
Mowry, Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art, Division of Asian and
Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums and Melissa A. Moy, Cunningham Assistant Curator of Asian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums.
Ongoing
Erickson’s work has been represented by the Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA and the Lacoste Gallery in Concord, MA.
Artist’s Bio
Michelle Erickson is a graduate of The College of William and Mary
with a B.F.A. in Fine and Performing Arts. In addition to her
considerable contemporary ceramic work, Erickson has over twenty years
experience in working with 17th and 18th century reproduction pottery.
As owner of Michelle Erickson Pottery, Inc.,
she reproduces ceramics from archeological and acquired collections for
organizations such as Colonial Williamsburg, the National Park Service,
Parks Canada, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts,
Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Historic Deerfield. She has lectured and
demonstrated her work widely for scholarly groups and institutions.
Examples of her contemporary work are in the collections of the Mint Museum of Craft and Design; The Museum of Art and Design, NY;
The Peabody Essex; The Long Beach Museum of Art;
the Milwaukee Art Museum; The Chipstone Foundation;
The New-York Historical Society; the
Potteries Museums, Stoke on Trent;
Yale University Art Gallery;
The Carnegie Museum of Art; and the
Victoria & Albert Museum, London. She has consulted on and designed ceramics for several major motion pictures such as The Patriot, The Time Machine, The New World and the recent HBO series John Adams.
Also Ms. Erickson has co-authored a series of articles Illustrating her
seminal work in the rediscovery of arcane ceramic techniques in the
prestigious annual journal
Ceramics in America edited by Robert Hunter and published by
The Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee WI.
For more information on Michelle Erickson, please visit her website and
blog.
Download the workshop registration form here.
http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/cal/details.php?ID=43704
by Carole Epp | Feb 1, 2013 | Uncategorized

February 2–April 6, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 2, 6–8 pm
North Gallery
Free and open to the public
The Bray is proud to announce the opening of our fifth annual juried exhibition Beyond the Brickyard. Please join us for a great celebration of these artists and their artwork.
Juror Andrea Gill, 2012 Voulkos Fellow, chose 40 pieces which showcase the diversity and exploration possible in the medium of ceramic.

Congratulations
to our participating artists and Juror’s and Director’s Award winners. A
People’s Choice Award will be chosen the night of the opening
reception.
Unable to attend? View the full exhibition online at in our Sales Gallery or click https://gallery.archiebray.org/catalog/ beginning Saturday, February 2 at 6 pm MST.

Participating artists:
Merry
Arttoones, Andrew Avakian, Jim Busby, Eva Champagne, Jim Connell,
Allison Craver, Jennifer DePaolo, Katriona Drijber, Chris Dufala, Thomas
Edwards, Jacob Foran, Jon Glabus, Kim Louise Glidden, Magda Gluszek,
Steven Gorman, Guillermo Guardia, Perry Haas, Brian Harper, Ross
Hilgers, Amanda Jaffe, Kelly Justice, Brett Kern, Kristen Kieffer, Tim
Kowalczyk, Bethany Krull, Stephanie Lanter, Carrie Longley, Kate Maury,
Hannah Meredith, Louis Reilly, Jesse Ring, George Rodriguez, Grace
Sheese, Jose Sierra, Scott Steder, Kwok-Pong Tso, John Utgaard, Katie
White, Dane Youngren and Adam Yungbluth.

Juror’s Award:
John Utgaard

Recurrent Relic, 2012, glazed earthenware, 27″ x 26″ x 25″

Director’s Award:
Kristen Kieffer

Flower Vessel (Corset Series), 2012, porcelain, 9″ x 10″ x 6″

People’s Choice Award:
One $100 People’s Choice Award will be announced at the end of the opening reception. Those in attendance of the opening reception will have the opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice Award. Votes will be accepted between 6–8 pm on Saturday night.
www.archiebray.org
by Carole Epp | Jan 31, 2013 | Uncategorized
Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico
MARCH 27-28, 2013
Students will learn about screen-printing and how to set up shop.
Demonstrations will include a Photoshop introduction to alter images and
drawings, how to create multiple stencils using silkscreens, and
additional surface design decorations such as decals and lusters.
Students will discover the process of slip and newsprint transfer
application and various decoration demos to create rich layered
surfaces. Audiovisual presentations will offer extensive examples of
print implementations in contemporary ceramics . At the end of the
course students will have all the skills and information needed to make
their own successful transfers.
JASON BIGE BURNETT GRADUATED FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY IN
2009 WITH A BFA IN CERAMICS AND BA’S IN BOTH PRINTMAKING AND GRAPHIC
DESIGN. AFTER COLLEGE JASON CONTINUED HIS EDUCATION AT PENLAND SCHOOL OF
CRAFTS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AS A CORE FELLOWSHIP STUDENT FOR TWO
YEARS. SINCE THEN HE HAS EXHIBITED NATIONALLY, BEEN FEATURED IN CERAMICS
MONTHLY AND POTTERY MAKING ILLUSTRATED. MOST RECENTLY JASON HAS BEEN
ACCEPTED AS AN ARROWMONT SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CRAFTS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
IN GATLINBURG, TENNESSEE FOR THE 2012-2013 YEAR.