Oct 21, 2010
Photo: Bill Reddick and MERA's Jean Dunning
Internationally recognized potter Bill Reddick, who lives and works in North Port in Prince Edward County, gave an in-depth talk and slide show at the McMartin House in Perth on Oct. 17. It was the second of a series of lectures called “Creative Sparks” presented by MERA (McDonalds Corners Elphin Recreation & Arts) and was made possible by a generous grant from the Ontario Arts Council.
Bill, who is self-taught, has been potting for 33 years. He spoke first of the ongoing inspiration he derives from Chinese ceramics, particularly work from the Song Dynasty (965-1265). Bill took up porcelain after making a personal pact with himself, in his words, “to be doing what I wanted to do by the age of 40”. With that goal in mind he discontinued his previous successful line of functional stoneware pottery and has since been exploring the world of porcelain. “When the first step you take in trying something new and different is exciting, you can usually trust that the second step will also be.”
That was 14 years ago and many steps later, the change has gained him considerable recognition at home and abroad. The Burlington Cultural Centre held a retrospective of his work recently and in 2001 he won best new artist award at the One of a Kind Show In Toronto.
Perhaps his most renowned commission to date is the Maple Leaf Service which can be viewed at his website www.billreddick.com. It was commissioned by the former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul and now sits permanently at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. It was used when President Barack Obama made his first visit to Canada in 2009.
The service's 24 porcelain dinnerware plates can only be described as the regalist of Canadiana. Each boasts a deep copper red glazed centre surrounded by a transparent green celadon rim decorated with textured maple leaves. Unbeknownst to many is the fact that porcelain and these glazes in particular are a very tricky business for even for the most accomplished of potters. The 24-plate commission was three years in the making and took Bill no less than 300 tries to finally get right.
For the second half of his presentation Bill showed slides of his most recent trip to South Korea, where he was invited to participate in the Cheong-Ju International Craft Biennale 2009. There he had the pleasure of presenting and speaking about his work and in his spare time he visited numerous historical and cultural sights which he shared in his slides. On his return to Canada he was invited to give a talk titled, “Cogit Sum Korean: I think I am Korean” at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto.
Bill also brought to the MERA lecture a selection of the work for which he is best known, including a plate styled like those in the maple leaf service, a selection of his large, graceful vases and a few his larger, colourful platters.
Of those pieces perhaps the most telling of his evolution as an artist were those comprised of separate sections, some made in porcelain and others in stoneware, but taken together forming a single object. Not only do these pieces like the teapots exemplify Reddick’s willingness to tackles various aesthetic and technical challenges that most other potters would shy away from but they also seem to marry his roots together with his current explorations into new territory, the results of which seem to be inviting him to take another exciting step forward.
The final lecture in the series will be a lecture by Jerry Grey of Ottawa, painter, portraitist, muralist and teacher, on Oct.31 at McMartin House, 125 Gore St. East. For more information visit www.meraschoolhouse.org
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