The Village Squire, 1981-06, Page 20by Rob Tetu
Stratford has long been recognized as a
centre for some of the greatest talent in
Canada. Yet, one of our most innovative,
dynamic artists in this country was not
being showcased at the famous Festival
Stage but in a small, poorly -lit room at
the Gallery Stratford.
Robin Hopper is a potter, and pottery
isn't generally accepted as an art form.
More often, it is thought of as earthy
tableware produced by quaint craftsmen
in a damp. dusty basement studio. But
Hopper is a master. He has left his
production days far behind, elevated
humble clay to stunning heights, and was
the first recipient of the $10.000 Saidye
Bronfman Award for Excellence in the
Crafts.
His background is as colorful and
complex as his pottery. He studied
etching, lithography. wood engraving
and ceramics in his native England,
worked as a stage designer, actor and
carpenter in London and as a travel guide
in Europe. Three years after opening his
own studio in England. Hopper emi-
grated to Canada, teaching, writing
technical articles, and establishing a
thriving studio in Hillsdale, Ontario.
In 1977, he left for Victoria B.C., where
he now makes his home and studio. It was
the B.C. move which inspired the work
featured in this exhibition, "Explorations
Within a Landscape", for all his pottery
reflects some aspect of his new environ-
ment.
Hopper's technical mastery of glazes is
shown time and again on magnificent
porcelain pots decorated with layer upon
layer of colours, poured, dipped, splash-
ed, squirted, brushed; brilliant colors,
subdued colors; glossy glazes, or matt, or
cratered. And, like magic, they all work
together to create rich landscapes.
One large plate entitled, "Night
Forest" uses this multiple -glaze tech-
nique to project a brilliant woodscape's
sentinel pines backlit by a silvery full
moon. The impression has a dream-like
quality of a mystic magical forest at
midnight. To highlight and strengthen
areas on the piece, Hopper has etched
away some of the base clay and inlaid
another color. The over -poured glazes
change shade over the inlays heightening
the effect of haze over the tree tops.
The potter has also turned to ancient
techniques to create landscape effects.
Neriage is an old Chinese method using
multiple laminations of contrasting clays,
pressed into a single sheet, then draped
over a form. A bowl on display, "Aurora
Borealis #1" presents a swirling skyline,
mountains in the distance and dancing
lights in the North sky.
Agateware is a third technique Hopper
uses masterfully. He carefully joins
different colored pieces of porcelain, then
works them together; just a little. The
effect is like marble, and the clay is used
in neriage pieces or thrown on a potter's
(cont. on page 23)
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VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1981 PG 19