40 years of ceramic art: Weeden holds retrospective

Published: 11 Jun 2009 03:47:54

Judy Weeden was sitting on an Alaskan hillside when a herd of 5,000 caribou suddenly flooded the scene and ran past her.Lp7BestCeramic

Almost 40 years later, the caribou of Fairbanks still travel through her hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind ceramic work, which will be included in her retrospective collection at this year’s ArtCraft summer exhibition opening June 12 at Mahon Hall.Lp7BestCeramic

Once a research biologist with small children and unable to escape escalating career demands, Weeden went on a sabbatical from teaching to take a refresher course in biology. She tried to register for pottery class, but according to Weeden, the back-to-earth movement stifled those plans — until pottery teacher Al Johnson of the University of California in Santa Cruz told her if she could find a wheel to use, he could find her a corner.Lp7BestCeramic

“So I showed up with a wheel and he found a corner,” Weeden said.Lp7BestCeramic

With her newfound skill and wheel, Weeden set off for Alaska, where she and a group of friends hired pottery teacher Dean Schwarz from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa to come up north and impart his knowledge to them.Lp7BestCeramic

Along Weeden’s travels up and down the coast, she stopped into Armstrong Redwoods Park and a small pottery studio. Inside was Marguerite Wildenhain, renowned ceramic artist, who emigrated to the U.S. during World War II. Weeden and fellow potters later also hired Wildenhain to teach them a workshop, making her the third gifted potter to guide Weeden to her new career.Lp7BestCeramic

Funny thing was, Johnson and Schwarz were both proteges of Wildenhain’s, whose knowledge of long-standing European traditions was invaluable.Lp7BestCeramic

“She was trained in Bauhaus tradition to counteract the industrial revolution,” she said. “The work is not only functional but beautiful.”Lp7BestCeramic

Wildenhain has since passed away, but Weeden has continued to study and work with Schwarz, between her home and his in Iowa, throughout her 37-year career as an artisan. Lp7BestCeramic

Weeden, who says she’s most comfortable and centred in her studio, admits the Wildenhain influence from all directions might have underscored her calling to pottery.Lp7BestCeramic

“It did seem like such a serendipitous thing,” she said.Lp7BestCeramic

Weeden’s experience with clay since leaving biology has allowed the artist to run the gamut of unique designs on each piece. From abstract and geometric, to elephants and plant life, she achieves the looks in bright purples and greens or by contrasting blacks with whites and every shade in between. Weeden, like her mentors, marries beauty with function and never creates exactly the same piece twice. Lp7BestCeramic

Inside her Primrose Lane gallery, an ebony and tan vase stands tall with the likeness of three Salt Spring herons carved on its sides. Beside the herons, ravens appear etched into clay — and should your eyes wander out the nearby window, perhaps you’ll catch a glimpse of her inspiration in the raw. Lp7BestCeramic

ArtCraft’s opening artist has received major acclaim for her work, including winning NICHE Awards in 2006 and 2008, but she doesn’t take her process too seriously.Lp7BestCeramic

“In the beginning I carved them just to make them lighter,” Weeden jokes.Lp7BestCeramic

The delicate carvings make up her most time-consuming and favourite part of the process. Her methods have evolved over the years and now the detailing is most often created through black slips and hand carving leather-hard surfaces, before glazing or smoking in saggar.Lp7BestCeramic

The genesis of her craft will be showcased at ArtCraft, including a collection inspired by the Alaskan seasons. Since a move to jurying of artisans, Weeden is pleased with the high calibre of work at the annual event.Lp7BestCeramic

“I feel really honoured to be included in this show at ArtCraft,” she said. “I think there’s a real opportunity for emerging artists.”Lp7BestCeramic