by Carole Epp | Sep 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
@font-face { font-family: “Calibri”; }@font-face { font-family: “HelveticaNeue Condensed”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Medicine Hat – From 11:00am – 3:00pm on Saturday, September 18, the Historic Clay District is holding a fundraiser while making the museum, Squared Gallery and Shaw Centre open to the public at no charge. All proceeds from this event will go directly to Friends of Medalta Society. Food and refreshments will also be available. For Alberta Arts Days 2010, some of Medicine Hat’s potters have come together to create bowls and figurines which visitors will be able to glaze before being fired in a raku kiln. Raku is a historical pottery technique that originated in Japan. The pots are heated up to 1,000 degrees celsius relatively quickly (45 minutes). Once the pots reach this temperature they are taken from the kiln and plunged into combustible material such as sawdust. This produces smoke that reacts with the glaze to create truly unique surfaces that highlight the mysterious marks of the fire. The costs of this event have been generously covered by Cancarb Ltd. and Crescent Heights Safeway. Historic Clay District Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator is pleased with the community support. “Events like this really showcase the support we have in the community. Whether it is Medicine Hat’s potters coming together to volunteer their time to create pots or organizations like Cancarb and Safeway who are happy to help us with our fundraisers, we have a strong network of people dedicated to seeing the Historic Clay District come to life.” Alberta Arts Days also marks the final weekend of ceramic artist Jim Etzkorn’s exhibition in Medalta’s Squared Gallery. The show is a culmination of Etzkorn’s one year residency at Medalta’s Shaw Centre, where he focused on the salt and soda firing processes. Free half-day pottery classes will be taught by one of Medalta’s new resident artists to people who have pre-registered. Everyone is welcome to participate in the Historic Clay District’s festivities. The Historic Clay District is one of eight tourism attractors in the Canadian Badlands, featured in AMA’s “Alberta 100 Journeys” and is Western Canada’s largest National Historic Site. The museum – in the Medalta Potteries National Historic Site – provides visitors a unique opportunity to visit a restored 1912 pottery factory, which once produced three-quarters of all stoneware in Canada. It is operated under the stewardship of the Friends of Medalta Society. For more information, interviews or visuals, contact:
by Carole Epp | Aug 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
Ceramic art show opens in Medalta’s Squared Gallery, August 13
Medicine Hat – On Friday, Aug. 13, 2010 at 7:00pm, an exhibit of new work by ceramic artist Jim Etzkorn will open in Medalta’s Squared Gallery. The show is named SaltLik.
Etzkorn initially arrived in Medicine Hat to take part in a four month ceramic art residency in fall 2009. He quickly grew to enjoy the city and expanded his time here from four months to twelve, with plans to become a permanent resident.
Etzkorn’s primary focus during his residency was to explore the salt glazing process, which inspired the show’s name. Salt glazing is an atmospheric process, which produces unique effects on clay. When the kiln reaches its maximum temperature, salt is introduced, which turns to a vapour and reacts with the silica in the clay. In many cases, it produces an uneven, orange peel-like effect. Etzkorn prefers to use glazes which react with the atmospheric salt to produce subtle variations in colour and texture, producing pots with extraordinary visual and tactile depth.
The most prominent historical use of salt glazing in Medicine Hat lies with the Alberta Clay Products factory, which was a major clay sewer pipe manufacturer prior to a devastating fire in the early 1960’s.
The show will be the last in the current Squared Gallery. In the fall, the Historic Clay District will undergo a major excavation of Medalta’s former Kiln Room, which currently houses the gallery.
Anyone who wishes to attend the show should contact Medalta and ask to be added to the invitation list. Attendance to the event is free of charge, with all donations going to the continued restoration of the Historic Clay District.
The Historic Clay District is one of eight tourism attractors in the Canadian Badlands, featured in AMA’s “Alberta 100 Journeys” and is Western Canada’s largest National Historic Site. The museum – in the Medalta Potteries National Historic Site – provides visitors a unique opportunity to visit a restored 1912 pottery factory, which once produced three-quarters of all stoneware in Canada. It is operated under the stewardship of the Friends of Medalta Society.
For more information, interviews or visuals, contact:
Quentin Randall 403.529.1070 [email protected]
www.medalta.org
www.etzkornpottery.com
by Carole Epp | Jul 29, 2010 | Uncategorized
Don’t spend a minute contemplating it, just jump in the car and come out to the Medalta Open House tonight at 7pm and see in person what everyone here has been working on all month. We’d love to see you there if you can make it.
Medalta International Artists in Residence Program
713 Medalta Avenue SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, T1A 3K9
Telephone: (403) 529–1070
Fax: (403) 580–5868 www.medalta.org
by Carole Epp | Jul 20, 2010 | Uncategorized
The amazing potter Jim Etzkorn opened his salt firing today to some exquisite results. Hmmm makes me rethink my aversion to salt firing….
Check out more of Jim’s work here on his website.
by Carole Epp | Jul 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
LIVE ON AIR
Wanna check out what we’re up to? We’ll Mr. Brendan Tang at least? Brendan has set up a Ustream channel so that you can watch the magic that is ceramic art in production.
Check it out here.
