Potters' guild offers custom-crafted gift ideas for holiday shoppers
The Saskatoon Potters’ Guild brought out hundreds of holiday shopper for its Christmas sale at the Albert Community Centre on Saturday and Sunday.
Local artists filled tables with their creations and pandemic stockpiles.
This was the first winter sale since the beginning of the pandemic for the group, more than a dozen artists have been hard at work making clay pieces in different mediums.
With plenty of time on their hands for the last two years, the artists’ collections were starting to get full.
“I think a lot of people had saved up a lot,” said Gail Sherwin. “We had a spring sale but not everybody was in it, and we have a lot of new members to the guild and they were really excited and enthused. We’re happy to have them here.”
While most of the artists were selling their work, others were giving demonstrations — and the process of turning a lump of clay into a piece of art was mesmerizing to watch.
“I think the kids are surprised at how slimy it gets, and they’re surprised that clay is actually dirt,” said Tina Morton, who did clay-throwing demonstrations, where the clay spins on a rotating table, formed with the fingers and some water.
While it’s a satisfying process to watch, Morton says there’s a meditative aspect, and even life lessons that can be gained from the hobby.
“If my mind wanders, often the clay goes with it,” said Morton, who didn’t have any pieces to sell this year as she’s busy building a custom kiln to finish her artwork. “So you learn to have a quieter mind while throwing a pot.”
Sherwin says it’s a hobby that forces you to adapt quickly when things go wrong.
“The thing is, you never really know what you’re going to end up with,” Sherwin told CTV News. “You think, I’m going to make a big bowl, and you end up with a salsa dish, you just don’t know.”
Another example is Harm Maathuis and his work with crystalline glaze, which gives off radiating explosions of colour. The crystals form by firing the clay and very gradually reducing the temperature. He says there’s no way of knowing how it will turn out, but he’s usually pleased with the result.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.