The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down is coming soon to CBC.
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Hi, Art!

Sunday, November 05, 2023

Hi, Art!

Sunday, November 05, 2023

Hi, art lovers!

 
Cast photo from the Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down. Four people stand in an art studio/workshop.

CBC

 
You could spend all weekend streaming artsy reality shows on CBC Gem: Best in Miniature, Race Against the Tide, Landscape Artist of the Year Canada — plus there’s one more coming soon, and its stars are already kiln it.  

The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down is on its way to CBC, and as the title implies, it’s the homegrown spinoff of The Great Pottery Throw Down, a long-running series that sprung from the same production company as The Great British Bake Off. 

The format is cozily familiar. Hosted by Jennifer Robertson (Schitt’s Creek), the show takes a group of 10 hobbyist potters from across the country, and throws them together in a Vancouver studio. Each episode, they’ll compete in an elimination challenge until one of them wins the ultimate clay-m to fame: the title of Canada’s top potter.

As for the show’s panel of esteemed judges: watch for Brendan Tang, a Sobey Art Award nominee (who starred in this CBC Arts short doc) and Natalie Waddell, a Toronto-based artist who teaches pottery throughout the GTA. (Incidentally, she’s also the latest guest on Brendan’s podcast, The Kiln Sitters, another show that’s all about Canadian ceramic arts.)

And in a development I never would’ve predicted when I wrote this feature article way back in 2019, Seth Rogen — movie star, author and creator of gloopy ceramic homewares — will be appearing on the show as a guest judge. 

The Vancouver-raised star is actually executive producing The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down with his company Point Grey Pictures. And if you’ve somehow slept on his charmingly ceramic-forward Instagram presence, I recommend this (exhaustive!) magazine profile from 2021. There’s some great detail in there about Seth’s passion for pottery (among other things) including his thoughts on the ceramic artist who first inspired him (Ken Price). Or maybe you’re just curious about what sort of art he collects? There are a few snoopy details in there too — though you’d be better off watching this video if you just want a sneaky peek at his museum-worthy haul of vintage ashtrays. 

The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down is slated to appear on CBC in the new year (premiere date TBA). Until then, meet a few of the cast members in this video set tour.
 

And because we promised you eye candy ...

 
Photo of ceramic sculpture on a white plinth in a white room. The sculputre suggests a mutated blue-and-white traditional Chinese vase that has been blended with robotic jets in blue, white and red.

Brendan Tang

Here’s a little something from Throw Down judge Brendan Tang! This piece is from an ongoing series (Manga Ormolu) where he remixes elements of Ming Dynasty-era vessels with manga-style sci-fi. Brendan has some new work showing at C24 Gallery in New York right now, but this particular piece was at Art Toronto last weekend.
 
Photo of a pink ceramic sculpture in an all-white space. It's a pink form covered with uniformly placed pearly droplets. A rough textured pink bundle appears on top like a cherry on top of a sundae. The form rests on a pink furry fringed mat in a flower shape.

Hannah Johnson

Also seen at Art Toronto: Pearl by Hannah Johnson. Hannah was one of Craft Ontario’s Craft Award recipients. 
 
Two pastel ceramic forms on a beige plinth, photographed in a grey-walled room. The two forms suggest balloons filled with heavy matter. One slumps on the other, suggesting crossed legs. The lower form droops off the plinth, suggesting the weighty pull of gravity.

Jocelyn Reid

More ceramics! The Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton is hosting a group exhibition that’s all about ceramic art in the province, and Jocelyn Reid is among the featured artists.
 
Photo of a museum installation of decorative ceramic forms in the colours blue, coral, cream and gold. They're all placed on a vanity dresser. The mirror is illuminated by round vanity lights.

Mariko Paterson

Mariko Paterson is too!
 
Illustrated earthenware bowl. Depicts figures, in black and white, dancing.

Objects and Feelings

Also in Edmonton: the Royal Bison Art and Craft Fair will return for two weekends (Nov. 24 to 26 and Dec. 1 to 3). I love prowling around a craft fair to look for one-of-a-kind functional ceramics. Pictured: the artist/brand Objects and Feelings, who is one of this year’s vendors.
 
 

You've got to see this

 
 
 
Abstracted painting of a crowd of people.
Art Gallery of Burlington

The best kind of family secret

 
Keith Atteck always knew his aunt was an artist — he just didn’t realize she was the Sybil Atteck, one of the greatest painters to come out of Trinidad.
 
Photo of identical twins dressed in long black dresses, seated on a darkened stage.
Ian Douglas

The ‘Silent Twins’ had a language of their own

 
Now, another set of twin sisters, Briana Brown-Tipley and Hilary Brown-Istrefi, are telling the Silent Twins’ tragic story through dance. The choreographers spoke with CBC Arts before their appearance at Workman Arts’ Rendezvous With Madness Festival in Toronto.
 
Still from Dicks: The Musical. Two white men in white tuxedos stand side by side, flanking a third man wearing a holographic jacket and matching hat. The two men in tuxes wear expressions of shock and disgust.

A24

 

If you can handle it, this movie is the most fun you’ll have all year

 
Dicks: The Musical is an unhinged queering of The Parent Trap, and it’s the brainchild of comedians Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson. 
 

Follow this artist

 
 
 
Instagram

Geri Kramer

@gerikramertattoos
Illustration of the CBC Arts logo, rendered in blue and pink with heavy black line work, reminiscent of a tattoo. The geometric shapes that comprise the gem shape of the logo serve as windows to an illustration of a full blooming rose. Script below reads: CBC Arts.

Geri Kramer

Geri runs Tattoo Zoo in downtown Victoria, and the veteran tattooist created this CBC Arts logo for Transgender Awareness Month. Get the story behind her design.
 

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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time!

 
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