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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-08-24, Page 10d•1 • A.tdvance,Tumea. August 24,51,977 'IA*40lit, Germany, Italy and a few other European countries, when someone wants a pot, mug, plate or whatever,'he goes to his local patter. It worked that way years ago in Canada as well. Michael Ward, a potter working and liviig in Blyth would like to see a return to that system. "I think small industries employing one or two people can be the backbone of a country," Mr. Ward says. "We are too con- cerned with the mass produced article." Not that he is condemning the mass produced article, as he sae he has many in his home, but feels the small cottage indu ' could receive more encourage- ment from people and the gov- ernment. "I don't want subsidies from the government," he stresses, "But I do want encouragement — making materials available in Canada so importing is not ne- cessary for instance or raising tariffs on imported articles." Mr. Ward has been Blyth's potter for two years now, but his story is longer and crosses more territory than that. Originally from Lancashire, England, Mr. Ward took all his potter creates ctional stoneware education there. He firmly be- lieves that art instruction in Brit- ain is far suPerior to what is of- fered in Canada. "Art instruction is very intense in Britain," he says, "the emphasis in schools in Canada is on the wrong things. British Schools give time to de- velop talent." BASIC DISCIPLINE He explains that art in Canada is taught in the schools as a re- cess, not .seriously. "Art is a basic discipline; it is very im- portant to express yourself in basic visual forms." "They just don't teach the basics in school. Art is a lot of hard work. I can remember when 'math was easier," he says. Mr. Ward believes everyone can develop an artistic talent if they have the will to do so. "It is purely an environmental thing, then the will to do it," he says. "Some people do have an advan- tage -- better eye and hand co- ordination." Some people find it easier and learn faster he says. Although he definitely has what could be called an artistic talent, Mr. Ward 'says he wants to be "regarded as someone producing another article: I produce func- tional pieces of pottery." "If you do. something dif- FIRING .POTTERY—Michael Ward places a teapot in one of the two,Mins he has in his pottery workshop. The first firing reaches 900degrees centigrade and the second reaches` 1280 degrees centigrade. The firings help mold the clay.molecules together and dry out any water in the clay. ferent," Mr. Ward says, "You are regarded with an air of suspicion. People think artists live a Bohe- mian way of life, Lots of artists I know are the most bourgeois peo, ple I have met." Before coming to Canada to a job seven years ago, Mr. Ward spent five years in school studyiig art. Two years were in a college where' the basic work in just about everything is taught. Experience in all forms of media was offered and then specialization in two or three disciplines was continued for three years in a university. When Mr. Ward says all forms of media were taught, he really means all forms. He has held a job as machinist in Canada be- cause of his education. The young, blonde haired man says, "I guess I was destined to be a potter. Clay sort of held a fascination for me." .. When he first came to Canada he worked as an industrial de- signer, in decorative service de- sign. He has designed table cov- erings, shower curtains, carpets and furniture. To keep his own first pleasure' from being lost, Mr. Ward attended pottery class- es at the Doon School of Fine Art, outside of Kitchener. He wasn't there very long before he was teaching the craft, rather than studying it. OWN BUSINESS How he ended up in Blyth is not a long story, he explains. His mother was in Canada for a visit and they had gone for a drive to see The Old Mill. Across the street, he and his 'wife noticed a for sale sign on a house and were immediately interested. He had been wanting out of his present job and wanted to start' his own business. "I was sick of working for people. I was tired of corporate politics, it lost its en- chantment for me," he com- ments. A workshop for the kilns and potter's wheel was built. on to the house plus a room for display. It is located across from The Old Mill and is called, simply "The Pottery". In the display room are coffee mugs, dinner plates — he makes complete settings, flower pots, a cider keg, tea sets with creaM and sugar, wall plaques, pie plates, candle holders, trays, bowls of all sizes, flower vases, wine glasses and more. All are functional, not pieces that will collect dust from non-use. All the products are stoneware, oven proof and dishwasher proof. They are hand decorated with a glaze in attractive shades of blues, browns and greens. The clay comes from Alberta but Mr. Ward has experimented with earthenware from tie yards in' the area. The stoneware is a better quality clay as earthen- ware is not as durable. It arrives in boxes wrapped in plastic bags. The first thing Mr. Ward does is wedge the clay. It actually looks like he is kneading it as one would do with bread dough. Wedging tempers the clay, as it gets rid of air bubbles and makes the clay consistent all the way through. A jug of slurry — water and clay, sits by Mr. Ward's electric wheel. It works as a lubricant when he is shaping the clay. He. uses some to clean off the wheel before slapping the clay on to the centre. Moving quickly, Mr. Ward starts the wheel and, dunking his hands in the slurry occasionally, he centres the clay exactly in the middle so all the sides of the vase he is making will be of an even width. POTTER'S WHEEL With his thunbs, he finds the centre of the clay and gently presses ir}pulling the clay out and the clay starts to rise and take shape. It is fascinating to watch the clay rise and fall, form grooves and perfectly rounded shapes under the potter's hands. You almost expect it to flop down at once, it looks so fragile and sup- ple. This part of the work takes only about five to eight minutes. The article is taken off the wheel and left to dry, and then it is cleaned. The first firing at 900 degrees centigrade fasts for about 18 hours. At about 300 to 600 degrees any water in the clay is dried out and the chemical water is burned out., The molecules of the clay fuse together. It is called bisque - ware when finished the first fir- ing and is still porous. The article is next dipped into glaze and can be decorated now or after the second firing. The second firing reaches a tempera- ture of 1280 degrees centigrade• and is called the glost firing.. The molecules of clay are bonded to- gether this time in the 24 hours spent in the kiln. Decoration is done with a glaze, put on the articles with brushes. Mr. Ward proudly says that in five years, he has had only one in- cidence of an article breaking or chipping If someone is looking for a job with lots of money, pottery is not the right choice Mr. Ward says. The materials involved are ex- pensive and because local people don't buy their everyday needs from their potter, but .buy the im- ported articles on store shelves, the prices are high. "I can't com- pete with mass production," Mr. Ward says. Cobalt which gives the blue color is now eight dollars a pound. "If we wtrk at it we can find a substitute,' he says. "Vir- tually allelements have some use in pottery." He believes that his work and other trades and crafts are be- coming more popular. "Life and society areprogressing very fast. I think a lot of people want things around them that they can appre- ciate and understand." Asked if there was such a term as a "master potter", Mr. Ward says the word master is "hog- wash". It's North American vernacular. If you get a guy who is good, he could be a master but I disagree with the idea. To be a master, really good at your job, takes years of experience." Although he wants to be re- garded as someone who is doing a job, Mr. Ward has been told his articles have an expression of his personality. People have come into the shop and commented that they have seen the work some- where before, mentioning some- where Mr. Ward does have arti- cles for sale. One of these places is the Guild Shop, Toronto on Cumberland Street. Mr. Ward taught pottery at the Wingham high school night courses and plans to teach again this year. His wife Karen assists him in the shop and the couple has a four month old daughter. Besides his pottery, Mr. Ward is selling wood burning stoves, similar to the one With which he heats his own home. After he had. bought one himself, friends were asking him to get them one also. I -ie found the stoves to be popiilar mild decided to sell them in his shop:' If . he sticks . with it, (He probably will, as it is easy to see he is doing something he loves. ) perhaps his vision of the local potter as the supplier of people's every day needs will come true for Mr. Ward. POTTER'S WHEEL—Michael Ward sits at his potter's wheel creating a vase with quick movements of his hands. It is fascinating to watch the clay rise and take form from a round lump. Mr. Ward owns a shop in Blyth called The Pottery. BLYTH POTTERY—The community of Blyth has its own pottery with Michael. Ward the owner and operator. Mr. Ward'and his wife Karen, who assists him in his shop, have been in Blyth for two years now: ' AVOW /0 % rr gg • POTTER WORKING—Walking by The Pottery in Blyth it is possible to look into a front' window and see Michael Ward working at his wheel. The Pottery has been in Blyth for two years. WEDGING CLAY—Michael Ward wedges a piece of"clay preparing it for the wheel. Wedging takes out -any air bubbles in the clay, creating a homogenous piece of clay. Mr. Ward gets his clay from Alberta although he has used earthenware from tile yards in the area. DISPLAY ROOM—The display room at The Pottery is filled with functional pieces of stoneware. On these shelves are coffee mugs, dinner plates, tea sets and cream and sugar sets. .wq, gawY.a�.p "�.•.TDa .�Y11•, P:f �1 �M. F�'a�q�Y"ilA��Sfi •