by Carole Epp | Jul 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
Proposed U.S. tariffs may significantly impact Canadian artists and craftspeople.
The U.S. administration has announced plans to impose an additional 50% tariff on a wide range of Canadian goods.
While these tariffs are not currently in effect and could still be changed or withdrawn, the published list is a serious concern for Canada’s craft and visual arts communities.
The list includes:
- Paintings, drawings, pastels and collages
- Original prints and lithographs
- Sculptures and jewellery
- Textiles, wood products and other handmade works
- Raw furskins, fur products, hides and skins
- Bone, whalebone, horn, antler, hooves, claws and beaks
These are not simply unusual product categories.
Fur, hide, bone, horn, antler and other natural materials are used within many Indigenous cultural and artistic practices.
Threatened tariffs on these materials – and the works made from them – could disproportionately affect Indigenous artists and makers, particularly those in Northern and remote communities.
Such measures disrupt livelihoods, cultural production and the transmission of knowledge.
Canadian makers are already been navigating:
- Tariff uncertainty
- stricter customs requirements
- higher shipping costs
- disruptions to cross-border sales.
Even before implementation, the threat of another major tariff adds further uncertainty for artists, businesses, galleries, and buyers.
The Canadian Crafts Federation / Fédération canadienne des métiers d’art has been working on cross-border tariff issues for more than two years.
We are reviewing the announcements and product lists closely. Should these measures come into effect, we will update our tariff toolkit and continue advocating for meaningful support for Canadian craftspeople, visual artists and Indigenous makers.
Current CCF/FCMA tariff information and resources:
https://canadiancraftsfederation.ca/resources/tariffs/
CBC coverage:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-canada-us-trade-tariffs-cusma-usmca-9.7276973
U.S. proclamations and full product list:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamations/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANNEX-I-3.pdf
by Carole Epp | Jul 24, 2026 | exhibition
Deadline: September 1, 2026
Greenwich House Pottery has held exhibitions of ceramics almost since the day it was established in 1905, though it was not until 1970 that Jane Hartsook (Director, Greenwich House Pottery 1945-1982) created a permanent exhibition space on the second floor of the Pottery. Upon her retirement in 1982, the gallery was renamed the Jane Hartsook Gallery in her honor.
The Jane Hartsook Gallery echoes the Pottery’s commitment to supporting emerging and established ceramic artists who have demonstrated an innovative level of excellence within the medium. The Gallery also promotes an educational mission to share historical and contemporary works in clay with a diverse community. The Gallery accepts proposals from artists or curators where clay/ceramics is the primary medium. We aim to represent the wide-ranging capabilities of clay as a material and are interested in work that approaches the medium from art, craft, and/or design perspectives.
Exhibitions will take place during January–June 2028. Each exhibition will be on view for approximately 5-6 weeks.
Find more info and apply
HERE.
This program contains:
- Forms (2)
- Attachments (2)
- Media (up to 10)
Preview Full Application
by Carole Epp | Jul 6, 2026 | workshops
Parallel Play is a 1.5-day workshop in Toronto’s east end built around the joy of pure experimentation. Through terra sigillata, slips, engobes, symbolic imagery, narrative mark-making, and low-fire glazes, you’ll shake up your surface language and rediscover what makes making fun.
Jenny Mendes is a full-time studio artist and educator from Chesterland, Ohio, whose practice has been shaped by residencies across Europe and Asia — we are so excited to welcome her to Toronto! Annie McDonald has been running a low-fire ceramics practice in Brighton, Ontario since 2003, and as a former art teacher, FUSION mentorship alumni, and recipient of our Best in Clay award, she brings warmth, expertise, and a whole lot of heart.
As longtime friends and collaborators, Jenny and Annie bring something to the learning environment that goes beyond a typical workshop. It’s a genuine creative exchange, and you’re invited in.
📅 August 8–9
📍 MUD The Clay Studio, Toronto
www.clayandglass.on.ca/workshops-parallel-play
by Carole Epp | Jul 4, 2026 | Uncategorized
Join us next Friday, July 10, 2026, at NOON/ET right here on Instagram for a live conversation with Shikha Joshi, moderated by Antra Sinha.
Shikha Joshi: “My creative process results from the interplay between form and function. I like to create pots with strong shapes with the guiding principle of good functionality. I am drawn to the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. Loosely translated, it means beauty in imperfection. I strive to create pieces that echo the earthy landscape reflecting the austere beauty of the natural world.
Experimenting with the chemistry of ceramic material in an electric kiln is the bedrock of my practice. My process consists of layering multiple glazes, incorporating a variety of soils and crushed rock, collected in my travels, directly on the surface of my pots. The results evoke the same natural elements that inform and inspire my work. Reimagining possibilities from electric firing continues to guide my journey and evolution as a potter.”
Shikha Joshi is a studio potter based in Round Rock, Texas. Born and raised in New Delhi, India, she began ceramics through community classes and workshops in the United States. Her work has been featured at galleries, Companion, Charlie Cummings Gallery, and ClayAKAR, and is included in permanent collection of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. Joshi has been published in Ceramics Monthly, Surface Design for Ceramics, and 500 Platters. She has taught workshops nationally and internationally and serves on the board of The Studio Potter and on the advisory board of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
Join us on Instagram Live on July 10!
by Carole Epp | Jun 15, 2026 | call for entry
Gordon Baldwin’s exhibition “Little hard clouds becoming vessels”
Applications are now open for the sixth edition of the Officine Saffi Award, the international prize dedicated to the promotion of contemporary ceramics in the work of artists, designers, and craftspeople committed to this medium.
Participation is free of charge and offers the opportunity to be selected for the Main Prize of €10,000, seven Residency Prizes developed in collaboration with leading international institutions, a Young Artists acquisition Prize as well as the chance to exhibit one’s work in the finalists’ exhibition.
For its 6th edition, Officine Saffi Award invites the submission of works inspired by the theme Forms of Belonging. The theme explores the human need for belonging, questioning how—within an increasingly aggressive social and political context—the material world can become a space of recognition, generate a sense of proximity, and make us feel part of a shared human community. Due to its intimate, everyday, and relational nature, ceramics emerge as a privileged language for this investigation: a silent presence that inhabits the time of our lives.
