Where do you sit on the technological continuum in your ceramic
practice? Are you forging ahead, finding new and exciting ways to use
modern digital technologies in the creation or marketing of your work…
or hunkering down and finding ways to continue to explore your making in
traditional ways?
R:evolution – tradition – technology is a one
day ceramics symposium exploring the ways contemporary ceramic artists
interact with and employ new digital technologies; as a tool for making
work, in their artistic enquiry, or as a means to connect with peers and
their market. Attendees will also have the opportunity to investigate
the relevance and role of traditional methods in contemporary society.

The Canadian Clay Symposium will feature ten national and international
artists who have been invited to share their expertise with ceramic
arts students and professionals. Through numerous simultaneous
presentations of images, lectures, demonstrations, critiques, panel
discussions and a topical keynote address, the topics of presentation
cover theoretical topics, as well as practical techniques in areas such
as sculpture, hand-building, wheel-throwing, glaze and firing technology
and clay bodies.

Over the next months we will share through
this newsletter some information about each of the ten Symposium
presenters as well as report about other events and workshops that will
run in conjunction with the Symposium.

Currently Aaron Nelson is
the Associate Director at Medalta, a museum, residency, research and
education centre in Medicine Hat Alberta. In addition to his work as an
arts administrator, consultant and technical educator, Aaron also
maintains an active studio practice. Currently Aaron’s studio research
focuses on the intersection of digital technology and traditional
ceramic practice. He has lectured on this topic throughout Canada and
his research has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, The
Alberta Foundation of the Arts, and the National Research Council.

In his “Connectivity” project, Aaron’s handmade traditional tea cups,
platters, vases and porcelain chandeliers are connected, sometimes by
way of their decorative gold luster, with electrical and electronic
circuitry, telephones, iPods, generators, light bulbs and audio
speakers. The gilded decoration works as a simple circuit board – the
surfaces of the ceramics become energized with flowing electrons as they
transmit electrical current and data. Visitors are invited to ‘turn on’
and interact with the pieces physically or through their electronic
devices.

Learn more about Aaron and his work at these links:
• www.aaronnelson.ca
• “The Big Idea” video http://www.aaronnelson.ca/video
• Colour changing chandelier video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9eHBEG-1M

Gwendolyn Yoppolo uses words, ceramic objects, and food to stretch
boundaries and transform perception. She creates sensuous kitchen- and
table-wares that use the physical experience of hunger and satiation to
allude to larger issues of human desire and relationship. Her visionary
designs challenge us to rethink the ways we nourish ourselves and others
within contemporary food culture. “The pieces I make are questions, and
they remain open-ended until fulfilled through use.”
Gwendolyn
earned an MFA in Ceramics from Penn State University, has been a
resident artist at the Penland School of Crafts, the Anderson Ranch Arts
Center, and the Archie Bray Foundation. Gwendolyn has taught at Ohio
University, The Ohio State University, and Juniata College, as well as
at art centers such as Arrowmont School of Crafts and Anderson Ranch
Arts Center. A passionate educator and thinker as well as a maker, her
writing can be found in Studio Potter, Pottery Making Illustrated, and
Passion and Pedagogy.

Learn more about Gwendolyn and her work at www.gwendolynyoppolo.com
Learn More!

For full symposium information, please visit http://www.canadianclaysymposium.com
• All participants must be pre-registered.
• Registration is now open. Early Bird Registration is $125 for Adults
or $110 for Seniors (plus GST) until January 15th, after that date
Registration will be $150 for Adults or $131.25 for Seniors (plus GST).
• Seniors Discount is only available through phone, in-person and mail-in registration,
on-line registration includes only the pricing option for regular Adult registration.
• All Fees include lunch.
• Register by mail (cheque payable to the City of Burnaby) or by phone to set up a new account: 604-291-6864.
• Those previously registered in Burnaby programs can access webreg online at: www.burnaby.ca/webreg