Vol. 8 No. 1

Spring / Summer 2013

There’s never a dull moment in the planning and shaping of each issue of Studio. Hands slap foreheads sometimes in familiar dismay, sometimes in pleasant surprise. Discussion points often seem based on well-worn ground, but just wait a minute... have we really found something striking and new? Invariably, the answer is yes! The same indefinable issues that keep us up and in our studios and workshops and at our desks are always returning. And in their returning, we keep stepping out onto new earth.

That’s how 2013 Saidye Bronfman award-winner Greg Payce works, of course, making his work define both the space it contains and the space it occupies. And that is the point of our discussion – what can we learn from seeing and being in all places? Whether it’s family or spirituality, curatorship or education, festival or feast, once again we return to the known, to discover a new true. That’s how we find our surprises. And our foreheads will be just fine.

Il n’y a jamais de temps mort pendant la planification et la con-ception d’un numéro de Studio. On se tape sur le front, parfois dans des moments de désarroi familier, parfois dans des moments d’agréable sur- prise. Les sujets d’articles semblent souvent éculés, et on se demande si on a vraiment trouvé quelque chose de nouveau et d’original. Et la réponse est invariablement oui. Les mêmes questions indéfinissables qui nous empêchent de dormir et de quitter nos studios, nos ateliers et nos bureaux reviennent sans cesse. Et à chaque fois, nous foulons de nouveaux territoires.

C’est de cette façon, bien sûr, que travaille le lauréat du prix Saidye-Bronfman 2013, en laissant son travail définir l’espace qu’il contient et celui qu’il occupe. C’est aussi l’objet de notre propos – que pouvons-nous apprendre en voyant tout et en étant partout? Qu’il s’agisse de la famille ou de la spiritualité, d’organisation d’expositions ou d’éducation, de festivals ou de fêtes, nous revenons sans cesse à ce que nous connaissons pour découvrir une nouvelle vérité. Et c’est ainsi que nous trouvons des surprises. Et nos fronts ne s’en portent que mieux...

Leopold Kowolik, Jenn Neufeld, Gord Thompson

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REGULARS:

Comment
Anne Manuel reflects on the last issue of Studio, Craft and the New Economy.

Slice
Congratulations and announcements.

Did You Know?
Michael Prokopow celebrates the surfboard.

Under the Radar
Spotting fresh work and talent.

Portfolio
Edible craftsmanship from around the country.

Review: Not So Fast
Ellyn Walker on the recent ON exhibition.

Review: Felt Translation
Amy Gogarty on Joanne Circle’s BC Exhibition.

Review: Jane Kidd and Negotiating Tradition
Virginia Stephen on two AB Exhibitions.

Postcards
From Fredericton, NB.

FRESH:

The 2013 Saidye Bronfman Award Winner Greg Payce
Mireille Perron offers analysis and congratulations to the 2013 recipient whose celebrated ceramic practice turns material heads.

Sinking Ships and Rising Prices
Janna Hiemstra considers Garth Clark’s keynote to SNAG 2012.

Speaking Across Difference
When a curator from one cultural background engages with work from another, what becomes of this ‘Othering.’ Ellyn Walker wrestles.

The Stigma of Craft
Kathleen Morris looks at the place of craft in contemporary academic and higher educational settings.

Mastering Fine Craft in Canada
A proposed MFA in Craft media at ACAD has many people excited and wondering. Mary-Beth Laviolette shares the buzz.

Spirituality in the Making
Les Potter reflects on the presence of spirituality in making.

Tradition in Transition
Canada was the guest country at the most recent Carréfour Européen du Patchwork, an annual celebration of quilting in Alsace, France. Sandra Reford takes us there.

Toronto’s Summer of Jewellery
Barbara Isherwood prepares Canada to host the next SNAG conference and the first TIJF, in summer 2013.

Chips and Blocks
Bettina Matzkuhn traces the craft gene from parents to children, looking at three families who are all in it together.