Potters Place Gallery -May Feature Artist/Guest

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Thursday, May 17th, 2018
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Ellen Statz

Born and raised in Campbell River, Ellen is a true Island girl. Her father was a commercial fisherman which speaks to her long and direct connection with the sea and with nature.

In a happy bit of serendipity, Ellen took her first pottery class while pursing a Fine Art Diploma at Malaspina College (now VIU) in Nanaimo. After college, she balanced work, family and pottery until 2006, when she made the decision to work in her studio full time.

Crocodiles, Alligators and Eggs …

The work in this show revives the alligator fascination from Ellen’s early days as a raku potter. Her work has travelled down a number of different roads since then, but in 2015 she had the opportunity to try soda firing for the first time. Ellen was captivated by the unique and textural way that soda touches each piece in the kiln, and suddenly, the alligator addiction was back! Grouped together, she imagines them as naughty children ... plotting, scheming, and generally up to no good. And maybe just a little bit devilish! They make her smile, a she hopes they make you smile too!

Naked Raku …

Ellen has also been enjoying her work with naked raku, where smoke and fire create random patterns. Some are later enhanced with cold finishes and then waxed and polished. The sinuous, lustrous shapes feel calming and contemplative, and invite touch. Both touch and playfulness add rich dimension to our daily lives. Ellen feels very fortunate to have a job she loves, and the opportunity to share her passion with others.

Carol Harris

Carol is the Potters Place Gallery Guest Artist for May. Carol started her journey with clay in 1987, initially learning the wheel and then moving into hand building which is now her primary focus. She loves the endless possibilities that the medium provides and is never at a loss for ideas of what she wants to make next. Sometimes she has a hard time keeping up with herself!

Her work is mainly stiff and soft slab construction with details being hand modeled. The form itself is important, but the real joy for her comes in decorating her work. She uses stamps which she creates, as well as carving, and clay slip to add detail.

She is inspired by nature and has a strong sense that she is being led along the way. She starts planning the form without knowing how it will end up which is most of the fun. “Whimsically elegant” and “like something you would find in a fairy forest” are some of the comments that she has received on her work. She loves these kinds of comments because they make her want to go even more in that direction. Working with clay is pure joy for her and she hopes that others can experience some of what she feels and is trying to express.