A long-running pottery show and sale is back this year with 17 craftspeople showing a wide range of work on Sunday, Oct. 29.
The Art of the Fire event will bring together professional potters from Gold River to Quadra Island to Nanaimo and in-between at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Potters will be showing off everything from unique plates and mugs for everyday use to vibrant sculptures, and vessels that walk the line between the two.
Bronwyn Arundel from Nanaimo is showing at Art of the Fire for the first time this year.
Her work focuses on animals from the forest, the farm and even a few mythical ones.
That focus includes decorating her line of mugs, bowls and plates with hand-drawings coloured with glaze, as well as more sculptural vessels where, for example, the entire piece is a sitting fox.
But, no matter how intricate the piece, that doesn’t mean you can’t still serve mashed potatoes from it if you want, she said.
While some potters will create sculptures that are meant to be art only, that’s not the case with Arundel’s work.
“Everything that I make I create a function with it,” she said. “For me, there’s not a lot of point in making something that’s entirely water resistant without using it for something. If you can wash it, you should use it.”
While creating complicated, one-off pieces can provide a relief from doing more repetitive work on more simple mugs or plates, being a potter is about being an artist and a craftsman, said Arundel.
“That’s a big reason why people who are potters are potters, as opposed to straight-up artists. You need to have both qualities to be a potter… You’re making the same thing repetitively, but you need to be able to keep in touch with each piece. If it’s too much the same, you lose a connection with it.”
That’s where Arundel’s hand-drawn animals come in, providing character, personality and uniqueness to each bowl or mug.
While intricate sculptures might attract more attention at shows, there’s also a reward for these less audacious items.
“A lot of people will tell me that they use the same mug everyday for their coffee, or (a bowl for) their cereal in the morning, and it becomes super personal for them.”
Arundel, and the 16 other potters, will be bringing work that spans this spectrum to the Art of the Fire show on Sunday, Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre.
Admission is free. For more information, call 250-758-9403.
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