Should be a great exhibition worth the drive to see it. My former prof Jack Sures, who is one of the reasons i’m a ceramicst today, will have work alongside so many artists for whom Saskatchewan ceramics are known. The list includes: Gisele Amantea, Victor Cicansky, David Gilhooly, Marilyn Levine, Jeannie Mah, and Zane Wilcox.

Ever since I spent 2 years living and making work in Australia it seems that all things Australian and in particular Australian craft have been on my radar so it was no surpise to run across an article about the work of Patsy Hely, a PHD student at the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University. While I was a student there I was lucky to have the opportunity to meet Patsy and see her amazing work first hand. The article, PASTORALIA – The Work of Patsy Hely, is published online at Craft Victoria’s Craft Culture site www.craftculture.org and is written by another dear friend of mine, Sarah Rice, a ceramic artist, art theorist, writer and instructor in the art theory department of the ANU.

Here is an image of Patsy’s work from the exhibition and another vase form from an exhibition held at Beaver Galleries in Canberra.

As their website states:
“New Craft – Future Voices is an international conference and exhibition organised to encourage debate surrounding the future of craft. It seeks to expose and articulate craft issues currently being investigated via doctoral research, post-doctoral research and craft practitioners, and to document new ways of questioning and disseminating the dialogue of craft practice.
New Craft – Future Voices will explore the relation between skills, intellect and culture within the individual vision of crafts practitioners.”

I’m lucky to be participating in the conference’s exhibition and it’s worth checking out their website at www.newcraftfuturevoices.com as they had an interesting submissions process wherein you had to post your submission to their website and undergo a very public review process. While it was a bit unsettling, it was a great experience to participate in as you were able to read the other submissions and gain valuable insight into the range of theorectical research being undertaken internationally. Should be a great conference as a result.

The conference will be held July 4th to 6th, 2007 at the University of Dundee in Scotland. There is also a related blog site – www.craftresearch.blogspot.com worth a read.

The Saskatchewan Craft Council is currently hosting an exhibition of work from Saskterra, which is a Saskatchewan based Ceramics collective. The exhibition showcases work from members of the organization over the last 10 years. The exhibition can be viewed online at www.saskcraftcouncil.org

Here’s some pics of my work from the exhibition.

Cahiers métiers d’art * Craft Journal is a non-profit organisation that encourages and publishes critical, historical and technical research on local and international craft.

They are looking for essays, reviews and artist profiles. The first issue to be out in July 2007. Their site details all the submission info and how to sign up to receive the online mag.

craftjournal.ca

NeoCraft Conference is going to be held at NSCAD in Nova Scotia next November.

An International Conference on the Crafts and Modernity.
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University is pleased to be hosting the NeoCraft conference, 23 – 25 November, 2007, as part of the Canadian Crafts Federation’s Craft Year 2007/Année des métiers d’art.

The NeoCraft conference has been designed with the objective of further developing critical thinking, theory and history in relation to the crafts. It is the intention of NeoCraft to not only acknowledge the vital role the crafts play in our culture and economy, but to challenge the position of craft by creating a forum for lively exchange and debate.

Check out their site at neocraft.ca to see a full list of speakers and papers to be presented.