From Friday May 25 to Sunday the 26th
the Museum is hosting «Agua » an exhibition of works by three
outstanding Cuban ceramic artists and four well-known area potters. The
show has been organized by Saskia Praamsma, manager of the Almonte
Potters Guild.
Marie-Pierre Drolet, Quebec, Canada
Through visual and tactile experiences, Drolet connects the viewer or
user with the forces that exist in matter and with the alchemy at work
during the creation of ceramics. Clay, water, fire, glazes, and air
interact to create microcosms where elements become tangible and the
power of cosmos, the ocean, the volcano, and even vegetation can be
transmitted to the public in a cup or sculpture.
Marie-Pierre learned ceramics from her father, Claude Drolet. After
studying art, she perfected her skills and attended a seminar at Alfred
University (NY) given by Korean Master Kang Hyo-Lee. Her sculptural
exploration was developed during artist-in-residence programs at the
Farrellton place for artists (2017) and at the Scott Fairview House
(2018). She has received many grants and awards from the MAMROT, the
CALQ , the City Of Gatineau, and is a member of the Conseil des métiers
d'arts du Québec.
Denise Fournier, Quebec, Canada
Fournier’s unique ceramic works celebrate food, combining the ephemeral
art of cooking with the permanence of clay. Some forms are shaped
expressly to serve a particular dish or integrate recycled materials.
The fusion of rich and diversified enamels is key to the final
expression of the work. Her “cooking methods” include raku, smoke,
reduction, or oxidation.
Denise learned ceramics at the Cultural Center in Timmins, Ontario and
trained with masters at Alfred University (NY) and Haliburton College of
Arts and Design. She has a studio-boutique in Lochaber in Petite-Nation
(QC).
Sandra Navarro, Camagüey ,Cuba
Navarro is a trained engineer and has been making ceramics since 1996.
She has participated in several collective projects and is a member of
the Cuban Association of Artists and Craftsmen.
Her work integrates various industrial materials a process in which
futuristic animals are born, a marriage of the mechanical universe to
their bodily architecture.
Coki Santander, Trinidad, Cuba
Neydis Mesa (Coki) Santander has worked with clay since she was a
little girl. She is now the only woman in her family working on pottery.
When she was five, her grandfather taught her to mold clay on a tiny
potter’s wheel that her father designed exclusively for her.
In her workshop, La Casita del Barro, she specializes in
pottery murals in relief, hand-polished with metallic oxides, plates
decorated with pre-Columbian designs, reproductions of the façades and
streets of Trinidad, and some unique utilitarian and decorative objects.
Coki is a member of the Cuban Association of Craftsmen and Artists. Her
creations are shown and sold through galleries in Trinidad. Some of her
masterpieces are included in private collections in Cuba and the rest of
the world. She has participated in international events such as The
Milan Fair in Italy and The Wind Festival in Holstebro, Denmark.
Antonio Gómez Santiago, Cuba
Gomez graduated from the Professional Academy of Plastic Arts of
Trinidad, Cuba and has a Bachelor of Sociocultural Studies from the
Central University of Las Villas, Cuba. He is a professor of visual arts
and a graphic designer.
His work deals with issues related to identity and self-recognition, as
well as the processes of transculturation from an animistic stance and
an anthropological approach.
Sietze Praamsma, Clayton, Ontario, Canada
Sietze is primarily a functional potter with a professional background
in geochemistry and mineralogy. Self-taught, he worked as a technician
for Don Reitz in Madison, Wisconsin and for Angela Fina at the Sheridan
School of Design in Ontario. He played a substantial role in the
establishment of the Harbourfront Craft Studios in Toronto and also
worked on pottery projects in Thamaga, Botswana and Kabul, Afghanistan.
In Mississippi Mills, Ontario he maintains a studio (Clayton Clay
Works), teaches at the Almonte Potters Guild, and is a long-time
participant in the Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour.
Besides producing utilitarian ware, he also enjoys expressing himself
through platters formed by means of accidental and largely uncontrolled
processes.
Saskia Praamsma
Saskia began working with clay when she was six. Her mother was a potter
and had an attic studio overlooking the rooftops and chimneys of
Amsterdam. She later studied with Don Reitz at the University of
Wisconsin, USA. Saskia worked with her husband, Sietze, at pottery
projects in Thamaga, Botswana and Kabul, Afghanistan. She worked as
technician and instructor in the pottery studio of Dovercourt Recreation
Centre in Ottawa and currently works at the Almonte Potters Guild as
manager and instructor.
She love smearing, pinching and rolling clay. She loves its soothing
feel as she puts one coil on top of the other, impressing different
textures in it.
