For Duncan artist Cathi Jefferson, turning clay pots into unique works of art demands a certain quality of effort, but also courage to accept some risks.
“I’m always hopeful,” Jefferson said in an interview. “I’m hoping for rich tones and certain surfaces.
“But my kiln keeps me honest,” she said. “Things can come out of my kiln that just amaze me, way better than I had ever expected, and other pieces aren’t what I had hoped for.”
Jefferson is one of three noted B.C. potter/artists whose work will be featured in the Out of Hand Artisans Fair this weekend at the Crystal Garden. The others are Mary Fox of Ladysmith and Gordon Hutchens of Denman Island.
This year is the 25th annual Out of Hand Artisan Fair. Besides pottery, it will include 110 vendors offering clothing, artwork, jewelry, paper products, metalwork, home decor, furniture and even cosmetic products.
Jefferson, 59, has been working with clay and glazes since 1974, creating functional works as well as sculptural pieces.
She has taught pottery techniques at the University of Victoria and in 2010 won the B.C. Achievement Award for Fine Crafts. The Cowichan Valley Arts Council recently awarded her a month-long residency in Tokyo to study and exhibit.
Originally from the Lower Mainland, Jefferson moved to Duncan seven years ago to set up her studio on the bank of the Cowichan River. She lives there with her husband, Parker, who enjoys the area’s fly-fishing.
She said her work is largely inspired by nature — resulting in lots of greens and oranges. But once on Vancouver Island, Jefferson said local fawn lilies and the western trillium started to make appearances in her work.
Jefferson said she was very early drawn to the texture and look resulting from “salt firing.”
She said it dates back to 16th century Germany. It’s believed people preserving meat in barrels of brine would burn the barrel staves afterwards for fuel and noticed the salt was forming a kind of glaze, leading to using it in the pottery kiln.
Jefferson said in her kiln the salt actually vapourizes. The flame then carries the vapour, where the sodium in the salt combines with the silica in the clay to make for a unique surface, colour and texture.
“I don’t load my kiln up,” she said. “I have to always keep in mind how the flame will go through and import the salt onto the pieces.”
“I’m not sure I really understand it but I just love what happens to it,” said Jefferson.
Ramona Froehle-Schacht, producer of the annual Out of Hand Artisans Fair, said she is thrilled to be able to attract potter/artists of Jefferson’s calibre.
“They are three of the best potters in B.C.,” said Froehle-Schacht. “They are potters with international reputations who sell to collectors around the world.”
The Out of Hand Artisans Fair has always tried to stay true to a notion of showcasing local works and products made by people who maintain a sense of sustainability and singular pride in their own craftsmanship.
It also gives the buyers a chance to meet the creators of the work and perhaps even learn a story behind the articles they purchase.
“If you are buying clothing, jewelry, home decor, tableware, any kind of personal item, it’s an option to buy it from someone who makes it locally,” said Froehle-Schacht.
“You don’t have to go to a big box store and buy something that has been shipped in,” she said. “We get people who want to buy gifts that are personal, unique, a self expression.”
Out of Hand runs Friday to Sunday at the Crystal Garden, 713 Douglas St.
For more information about times and fair offerings, go to outofhand.ca.
