WORKSHOPS

Statement:
Reflection entails sifting through experiences – personal and other. This sorting process of memory often separates the bad from the good, the weak from the strong. The result is a compilation of images - once lost, now recovered, some invented to represent one’s past. It is an imaginary and personal reality re-configured. Memory then consists of a parade of events pieced together, made up of many textures, colours and passions.

My large wall plates represent an encounter with a perceived memory of my history. Recollection of personal experiences prompted by familiar objects is bonded to a constructed memory of objects discarded or lost by others. My response is tactile, emotional and visual. Clay is physically manipulated onto the surfaces of found objects such as discarded plaster moulds, old toys, machine parts and domestic items. Empathetic connection with each object determines its location and colour on the finished piece. Brilliant colours signal changes of meaning – my own interpretation layered onto the existing narrative of the discarded or lost object.

Wendy Walgate has hosted many workshops at Canadian and American locations, such as:

  • - Cranbrook’s Brookside High School, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
  • - Burlington Potters Guild, Burlington, Ontario
  • - Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York,
  • - George Brown College, Toronto, Ontario
  • - Sheridan College School of Craft & Design, Toronto, Ontario
  • - Moderator and Workshop, International Ceramics, Alberta College of Art & Design

Fees for workshops are negotiable depending on length and location.

Workshop Formats:

Instructor Demos:

  • Cup and Saucer
  • Teapot
  • Vase
  • Wall Plate
  • Tiles

Slide Presentation:

  • Personal background and work
  • History of Ornamentation
  • Cranbrook Academy of Art

Group Discussions: History, Ritual, Colour, Surface, Content, Technical

Individual Talks: 1/2 hour talks with each participant about individual work

Making Work: Depending on length of workshop, each participant will construct a teapot, lidded container, vase, plate, teacup, saucer, platter, candlestick, tray, bowl or jardinière

Suggested Materials: White earthenware clay, personal and commercial glazes for Cone 04

Moulds for clay additions: jello moulds, toys, ashtrays, pastry tins, utensils, antique kitchen items, pipes, chains, mechanical and industrial cast-offs and textures, plastics

Moulds for forming shapes: cardboard boxes, floral containers, wooden cornices, tubes, metal forms