Canadian Ceramics

Name:
Tutors Name:
Student Name:
Date:
Canadian Ceramics
It seems that Canada often struggles in striving to establish a concrete identity within the realms of ceramics. Our country’s extensive geography yet relatively small population has been seen to act as both an obstacle and an opportunity in this pursuit. The vast and diverse Canadian setting has been known as an obstacle in determining a concrete ceramics identity; yet, it also acts as an inspiration as personal and creative interpretations of our environment to foster a sense of national pride.
This paper will focus on how Canada’s landscape acts to mould its ceramics identity by exploring how it both hinders and drives its development. In using artist Mark Jaroszewicz’ work as a paradigm, the paper will also address the questions of:
How specifically living in Canada, geographic location or cultural background impact a work
How the Canadian landscape play a role in both the process (materials used) and end result (what is depicted) of ceramics
In terms of the identity of Canadian ceramics what is its future
Canadian Geographic location or cultural background and its impact on ceramics
First off, the paper will analyze the obstacles faced when formulating a Canadian ceramics identity. The Canadian cultural background dates back to the Aboriginal people of North America. Their structural homes were not included in the surveys of Canadian architecture simply because their culture differed from the European norm. The aboriginal people showed genius in adapting necessary materials for building purposes. They were involved in hunting and gathering as opposed to curving stones or ceramics. They used wood as their building materials from tree barks and leaves as finishing materials. Canadian forest and its species were endangered from time to time as many of these people opt to cut down trees to be used for building purposes.
Canada’s picturesque landscape was originally owned by the First Nations in Canada later on it was replaced by the French and both groups were subject to colonization under the British Empire (Tyler 48). Studies have emphasized that the landscape is a social construction and that it needs to be recognized in terms not only of individuality but also contextuality, as a product both of nature and of nurture. The Canadian ceramic industry is still growing because it emerged from a small scale of potteries, the poor technological know-how of the ceramists, poor market strategy and the lack of mechanization. The Canadian production of ceramics at that time was on high demand since the countries she had relied upon for imports such as the United States and England were experiencing the industrial age which emphasized on aggressive marketing and high volume production. With limited tradition and history to draw from, Canadian ceramists have often relied on foreign expertise and technical knowledge for assistance.
Canadian ceramics hugely rely upon supplies from Britain and/or the United States for the bulk production of clay material such as glaze and stoneware materials thus imports are only limited to the finished ceramic product. This has greatly affected the Canadian economy because much of the income incurred from selling of ceramics goes to compensate for payment to the foreign countries. Most of the ceramists have opted to look for greener pastures overseas in order to cater for their standard of living and increase their income purchasing power. The limited supply of resources available to Canadian ceramists such as the access to residency programs or the latest technology, gives reason as to why a large majority of them choose to study abroad. In addition, within such vast land, most of them work in isolation, with little notoriety other than on the local level. Ceramists are not well known and not all Canadians appreciate their art work. Thus the ceramist art work goes unnoticed and little attention is paid on both the ceramist and his work.
Canadian landscape and roles it plays in processes (material used) and end result (imagery depicted) of ceramics
Despite the variety of obstacles faced by Canadian ceramists, living in such a diverse landscape (both socially and physically) can offer a myriad of inspiration to draw from. As Canadians, we are a discreetly proud community. Our identity is built on our multiculturalism, and this diversity is reflected in the artwork portrayed. Canada not being an epicenter of art like the United States or Europe allows for artists to be less likely influenced by current trends and instead more capable to develop independently. Much of Canadian pottery revolves around our exceptional landscape that is both “of the land and depicts the land”. The Canadian picturesque is combined by an air of romantic wilderness view which emphasize on untouched spaces of reverence much symbolic to paradise on earth (Tyler 54). Such images of landscape have attracted tourists from different parts of the world thus boosting the country’s economy with foreign taxes and revenues. Guests experience the diverse landscape and enjoy the culture of the country returning home with positive images of the region. The revenue is then later on converted to assist in boosting of the ceramic industry.
The use of local supplies such as clay materials is not just out of convenience but instead fosters a sense of national pride (Clifford 42). Ceramic details are kept as reminders of the immigrants and the way the human race started in the early years. These pictures of ceramic art show the forced removals and intrusion practices of immigration process. Ceramic images that are delicately colored also depict a scene of disturbing pictures that illustrates how the Canadian land was colonized. They also depicted an imperialist image of Canada as a region that i...