Two potters, side by side

Post # 5 about the 2008 Eastside Culture Crawl. Previous posts: Crawling at the Wilder Snail, Sweeping nudes and other mix-ups, Scrambled Birds, and Bugs in the Alley.


"Meditatively simple"; that's how Gailan Ngan's website describes her ceramics.


She creates functional pieces; bowls, cups, platters, vases, in muted colours and fluid shapes. Looking at them, touching a cup or the rim of a bowl (they beg to be touched), I imagine a table set for afternoon coffee in the warm sunlight, the kind of silence that stops time.

I am still dreaming of the set of bowls she placed on the central display space; unornamented, other than by their own dark glaze and their shapes, a roundness just imperfect enough to seem organic. I didn't get a photograph; the studio was crowded, and I moved on to look at the window shelves. When I turned back, the bowls were gone. Sold.

I wrote about her studio last year, describing the wobble pots. They were in evidence again for this Crawl. These are bowls, vases, and cups with rounded bottoms. Not enough to tip over, but just to rock gently when they are touched.

Laurie caught me "wobbling" one. Can't resist.

Gailan's worktable, shoved in a corner to make room for the Crawlers.

Almost next door, Red Iron Studios presents a marked contrast; here, the lines are jagged, the shapes unexpected, the functions sometimes obscure.

Lidded container. Tipped for easy access?

Set of three vases. Shaped from wrapped ribbons of clay.

Detail of a vase.

My favourite piece, already with a red "Sold" sticker on it, is a six-legged, puppy-dog-tailed, antennaed, eyeless, brush-nosed critter:

Name this beastie.

Not everything is a mystery; sometimes the focus is on beauty and grace:

Bowls and lidded jars.

Rod Wuetherick's website has a few more samples. Unfortunately, he has not been as industrious with the site as he has with his ceramics; quite a few of the pages are down. Browse through his Current Work, clicking the back button each time and starting from scratch; I think this is "current" from 2002 - 04. It's interesting to see how his work has evolved.

The studio from outside. Houses across the street are reflected in the window.

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Wobble Pots and Wonky Teapots

Blogging the Culture Crawl: third of a bunch.


I promised to look inside the Paneficio, but London Drugs Photos machine called in sick, so the photos will be ready tomorrow. I hope.

Instead, we'll wander down the street and look at a few ceramics studios.

Our first stop was Gailan Ngan; we had been pressing our noses to her windows every time we were in Strathcona, and never finding her there. This time, we would find her.


A wobble pot. Yes, that is its name. Her website explains;

Her ceramics blend a playful, sculptural energy with crisp, functional design. Her tableware includes an ongoing series of meditatively simple bowls, plates and cups, as well as her new “wobble pots,” footless, kinetic pottery that rocks gently, but safely, on your table. Designed to be stacked, these sets work as a unified sculpture when not in use.

And they do wobble, gently. And right themselves nicely, like one of those tipsy dolls we used to play with. The cups look like they would nestle happily in a hand, but I wouldn't want to fill one too close to the top.

I love to look at other people's work spaces. (Not mine; I always think, "Oh, I've got to clean that up!") So, here is a corner of Gailan's:


On down the street, we found the Red Iron Studios, and the pottery by Rod Wuetherick. Nice mugs, beautiful vases (later I'll post Laurie's photo of his favourite), bowls, and some delightfully wacky teapots:


Laurie calls this one the "Tin Man".


Against the window, the light fights with the pot. But then, this pot fights with reality in general. Imagine trying to pour hot tea out of that spout!

A quote on Rod's site warns us:

"A bunch of pots together is the worst place to view individual pieces--
it's like having all your friends in an elevator"
-Jack Troy, at Hiroshi Ogawa's kiln opening

And he's right. These pots, and the next group, really should be looked at one at a time. Imagine them sitting in state in the centre of your favourite table, maybe with your best cloth on it. See the difference?

And on to the next: Kathleen Murphy. No wobbling here, no jagged lines. Smooth, serene shapes, gentle curves. And vases that seem to stand on a point.



My favourite one, but look at that tiny base!

And something a little more practical, in the blue-y light from the window.


And no, we didn't buy any. Not this time. But we will be back, cash in hand.