Jeffrey Oestrich Workshop

The North Mount Pleasant Arts Centre Studio Members and The North Mount Pleasant Arts Centre are partnering to bring Jeffrey Oestrich one of the most influential potters in North America to Calgary. Jeffrey will be sharing his wealth of wisdom over the weekend of May 28th and 29th with the studio members as well as students from the Alberta College of Art. Jeffrey will be throwing , dialoguing and interacting with the audience.

Artist Statement: "My early pottery training at the Leach Pottery in England in the late 1960's was heavily influenced by Japanese pottery, due to the fact that Bernard spent many years making work in Japan. Since that experience my work has slowly moved away from this direct influence. Although there are still the underpinnings of the pottery of Japan, China and Korea in my work, that being simplicity, directness of approach, I am currently doing salt glazing, which has its origins in Germany. I have one foot in Japan, one in Germany, and an interest in Art Deco architecture. All things considered, my approach is American, borrowing from as many sources that speak to me.

I work under the umbrella of utilitarian pottery, exploring and rearranging the boundaries I have set up for what I believe constitutes function. My current work is thrown and altered, either by faceting, stretching, or cutting and rejoining. Being fond of glaze and not willing to give up this surface altogether, I play with the ratio of glaze to clay surface. My consuming interest over the past dozen years has been the beaked pitcher. Each series provides an opportunity to refine older ideas as well as introduce new information."