Flow - Antler Vase #7 from the collection of Regina Art Collective

Flow - Antler Vase #7

C$1,100

Artist Statement

I once visited a friend and was served tea, when I picked up the teapot to refill my cup I found the handle was hot enough to burn me. It had been made hollow and was filled with scalding tea. He soon after received a gift of one of my teapots to replace his. That was the start of the journey to the work exhibited here. You can see the expression in the teapot.

I often contemplate the form and function of handles. Their curves, the way they fit in your hand, whether they assist holding the vessel or make its holding uncomfortable. I have held handles which felt like they would break at the slightest bump, handles that make drinking a full cup of coffee a labour in keeping it from slipping through your grip and tilting sideways and handles with sharp points that would cut you if you were to hold it wrong.

In my work as a production potter, I occasionally used commercially produced bamboo handles on my teapots. They functioned very well, but I never felt comfortable with those handles, that such an essential part of my work, had not come from me nor the materials from the land around my studio.

Most of my life has been lived surrounded by farmland. I see the furrows and disturbing of the earth reflected in the patterns applied to my pottery. When I assessed what materials were native around me, and how to create handles with them.I . Early experiments were with bent caragana, wire and sisal twine. Then a neighbour gave me a box of shed deer antlers and I was hooked. Their curves, colour and strength prompted experiments into how to attach them as handles. Copper wire for attaching came from the renovation of my ninety-year-old studio. The handles on my vessels, and for some of the work the term “handle” is used loosely, take far longer to design and construct than the pots they are attached to.

My initial reaction to what I considered bad form and lack of native materials, and subsequent overreaction in scale and complexity, has resulted in vessels that require thought if they are to be used. The antler tines reside in space that has to be approached carefully in order to grasp them. Filling the vessel requires more effort. Serving tea becomes more thoughtful in respect to the safety and comfort of those being served. There is an uncomfortable imbalance at times between the handle and vessel.

These vessels create a strong reaction. Perhaps they will motivate you to action of your own.

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From Regina Art Collective

Dave Gejdos

Otter and Pup #2 of 5, c. 2021

Bronze

5 x 8 x 14 in

C$2,400
Dave Gejdos

Torro, 2021

Patinated Bronze

10 x 6.5 x 14 in
DeLee Grant

SCARTH STREET STROLL, 2021

Oil On Canvas

36 x 12 in
Shelley McGillivray

Forget About Georgia, 2021

Acrylic, Paper, Art Crayon

16 x 16 x 1.5 in
Dave Gejdos

Moose Head, 2020

Bronze

3 x 5 in
Dave Gejdos

Every Knee Shall Bow, 2019

Cold Cast Resin

6 x 4 x 4 in

C$300
Jeffrey Taylor

Gnarled - Antler Vase #3, 2018

Ceramic, Antler, Metal

C$1,100
Dave Gejdos

Merlin, 2018

Tupelo Wood, Oils

13 x 4 x 5 in

View All Artworks

About the artist

Jeffrey Taylor

Canadian

b. 1971

In 1989, Jeffrey moved from his small home town in Southeast Saskatchewan to Caronport for Grade 12. Taking advantage of the wider class offerings at his new larger school, he picked up every art and design class he could and was introduced to pottery. After graduation and a few years making pots intermittently at the potter’s guild, he decided to pursue pottery full time. This career move involved setting up his first studio in a trailer with six cats and no running water. After a period of time, he realized the need to advance his skills so he enrolled in the Fine Arts program at Red Deer College. In addition to the regular semester classes, their summer residency program enabled him to work alongside many ceramic artists from around the world. Emerging equipped with this fresh insight and invigorated artistic spirit, he ran away and found a job working construction.

In 1997, after working construction for a few years and working in various locations across Canada and the United States, he decided to return to creative life and set up a second pottery studio. He returned to Saskatchewan from Vancouver and started searching for a heritage building. On the advice of friends, he bought and renovated the vacant 1928 schoolhouse in Duval, Saskatchewan and named it Newschool Arts. Creating one of a kind pieces and functional dinnerware has been his focus since then. Jeffrey is joined here with his wife Nadia, who manages the business. He has served on the board of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, has been involved with CARFAC SK as a mentor and as a mentee, and is a founding member of The Last Mountain Artists’ Collective and Regina Art Collective.

Highlights in Jeffrey’s creative practice include; SKarts displaying “Antler Vase” in the rotunda of the provincial legislature building, being commissioned to create a baptismal font that was installed at Luther College, showing an antler handled vase in the 2019 Saskatchewan Craft Council touring exhibition “Dimensions”, having an antler handled vase purchased by the Saskatchewan Arts Board for the provincial permanent collection and participating with Regina Art Collective and Sâkêwêwak in opening the Lobby Gallery at the Regina Performing Arts Centre.

Currently, in addition to his functional wares, Jeffrey is exploring the use of a variety of materials in the creation of one of a kind teapots, vases and urns. Antler, metal, plastic, stone, wood and glass will be featured in upcoming projects.

Additional Artworks

Otter and Pup #2 of 5, c. 2021

Torro, 2021

SCARTH STREET STROLL, 2021

Forget About Georgia, 2021

Moose Head, 2020

Every Knee Shall Bow, 2019

Gnarled - Antler Vase #3, 2018

Merlin, 2018

About the artist

Jeffrey Taylor