The first of many workshops to come was kicked off this weekend with Mel Bolen’s Clay and Glazing workshop, which took place on Jan. 23 and 24. The class was full, the people were enthusiastic, and the results were impressive.
“The workshop was amazing,” said Annah Gullacher, one of the organizers for the workshops. “Mel Bolen has amassed so much knowledge about clay and glazing from both formal training with great ceramic artists like Jack Sures and Joe Fafard, as well as from years spent perfecting his art and developing new techniques. It really was a rare privilege to get to spend two days learning from a world-class artist at the top of his career.”
The workshop began with a shorter workshop on Jan. 23 that was just under two hours and continued the next day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both sessions took place at Bolen’s North Star studio on the outskirts of the city and are the first of many to be put on by the Humboldt & District Museum and Gallery.
In the class itself, individuals ranging from 14 and up participated. They began by first learning the theory and concepts of the techniques before trying to attempt it themselves. They did a lot of handbuilding, coil work, slab work, carving, and sculpting. Of course, creating things was all a part of the process, so if they messed up, they could scrap the clay and start over.
“I was quite impressed with the volume of work that came out of everyone, and people just sort of stuck with it right until the end of class,” said Bolen. “Some were trying to express themselves, others were trying to make (their clay) look like something.”
For 14-year-old Chelsie Koffing, it might have been a bit of both. She was the youngest student in the workshop and her focus was on a specific subject.
“I made five monster faces,” she said. “(The most surprising thing was that) you can make anything. It doesn’t have to be a certain thing; you can create something and turn it into a whole new thing.”
For Koffing and at least one other person, working on the wheel was either the most enjoyable and/or the most challenging part of the day.
“I wasn’t expecting to get to work on the wheel, but we did! I think that was most people’s favourite part,” said Gullacher. “It was even fun just to watch others working on it and of course we had to re-enact the scene from Ghost.”
If there’s one thing Gullacher said people were able to get out of the class, it was the opportunity to see how much work and years of practice go into making beautiful ceramic pieces. The sheer difficulty should have given participants a new understanding and appreciation of the level of skill involved.
“When I or anyone else demonstrated (throwing clay onto the wheel), it looks so simple,” said Bolen. “When I first did it, people were amazed by it, but the next day when they tried to do it, they realized how hard it was.”
While it seems the participants enjoyed this first workshop, it’s only the first of many to come. The Humboldt Museum received funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board in collaboration with SaskCulture and Saskatchewan Lotteries through their Creative Partnerships: Explore and Develop grant. Aside from the just sponsoring the programs themselves, the funding also goes towards providing fair pay for the artists.
As such, all of the workshops are free, although slots for the classes are filling up fast.
“These workshops are part of a project the Humboldt & District Gallery is doing to find out what our community needs and wants for arts programs,” said Gullacher. “The workshops are meant to give participants a taste of a variety of art disciplines so that they have a better idea of what they might like to learn more about in the future.”
