Last Sunday and Monday I was very pleased to host a workshop with Ernest Eryee. Ernest is a talented potter working in sales at the Shimpo America facility. He was schooled in Ghana, The Netherlands and US. He is a graduate from SIUC whose work is influenced by his travel experiences. His demonstrations include wheelwork for large-scale sculpture and African pottery forms. Read more about Ernest and his International Clay Residency Centre in Ghana http://www.studiomateceramics.com/who_i_am.htm
I was very surprised when so very few showed up. Only three people showed each night. I don’t know if it is because if was free so people thought the workshop had no value? Or because I don’t know many potters in the area and they don’t know me and if was offered in my studio and and not a recognized guild setting? He is such a talent and has a wonderfully clear way of explaining and showing his techniques. He had a number of slides from Africa and his residency in Ghana. It was fun and very informative. I have changed my throwing techniques and they have improved already. I can’t wait to work further and make much bigger pots. People really missed out. He said he is coming back in the fall for another workshop, I heard they were much better attended at the guild studios. I will go there instead.
The gallery still remains slow. I got a call from the local paper saying they received my email and thought there might be something of interest to write about, but one person was out having surgery and the other lady was going on vacation so someone would contact me near the end of July. I wrote the Edmonton Tourist Association, we are members, and gave them an outline of what the studio and gallery were about. We missed the cut off deadline and will come out in the September October issue. I tried to get in touch with Edmonton Where Magazine, a publication that goes in all the hotels and tourist spots in the city, it took some time to get some response and missed the summer issue and might make the September/October issue.?? I met a fellow artisan Shaun O’Brien http://www.murungogallery.com/home/index.php the other day and he asked me to join him and other artists to sell and promote our work July 14 at a Valley Zoo fundraiser.
I will go and promote the gallery and store. He also asked me to join him and another artists to show at the Edmonton Art Gallery in August. http://www.artgalleryalberta.ca/ I will promote the large showy stuff there.
Just keep swimming…. swimming.
Until next time.
Cindy