How Medalta's Ceramic Residency Inspires Creativity

Join host Brian Konrad as we explore the unique international ceramics residency program at Medalta, featuring insights from coordinators and students about their experiences, techniques, and the creative process in ceramics.(Part One of Two)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Medalta's Ceramic Residency Program
01:02 Application Process and Selection of Students
02:13 Student Engagement and Learning Experiences
03:15 Unique Aspects of Medalta's Program in Canada
04:08 Living and Working in the Residency
05:09 Student Projects and Artistic Development
07:31 Elizabeth Yus's Experience at Medalta
09:35 Clay as a Medium: Creativity and Transformation
12:03 Firing Techniques: Pit Firing and Soda Firing
15:25 Inspiration from Medalta's Heritage and Artifacts
16:35 Future Plans and Continued Engagement with Medalta


When you are studying ceramics, gaining hands-on experience is invaluable. If you’re a student or an aspiring artist in this field, you might be wondering how to elevate your craft. Today, we’ll dive into the unique residency program at Medalta, where students immerse themselves in the art of ceramics while collaborating with peers and industry experts. 

The Medalta residency program is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for ceramics students in Canada. It aims to foster creativity and technical skill through immersive experiences in a collaborative environment. This program accepts students through a juried application process twice a year, allowing them to engage in various firing methods and artistic techniques that are essential in ceramics.

Tomo Ingalls, the residency coordinator, plays a crucial role in facilitating this program. She organizes the residency, ensuring students have the resources they need to succeed. Tomo emphasizes the importance of experimentation, stating that it is vital for students to discover their unique artistic voices. Her passion for ceramics and the students' energy create an inspiring environment for everyone involved.

The Student Experience
For students, the Medalta residency offers more than just technical training; it’s an opportunity to grow as artists. Elizabeth Yus, a student from Emily Carr University, shared her experience of transitioning from a gap year to a full-time ceramics program. Her journey reflects the program’s goal of nurturing talent and passion in ceramics.

What makes this program stand out is that it is the only one of its kind in Canada. Students not only gain practical skills but also build a network of connections that can benefit their careers in the long run. Many alumni return as artists in residence, contributing to the program and mentoring the next generation of ceramic artists.

In Part 2, we will meet with additional students from the program. They will share their experiences and work, demonstrating what they have created and how Medalta has fostered growth in their art and other aspects of their lives.

Resources

Medalta Museum - https://medalta.org
Emily Carr University of Art + Design - https://www.ecuad.ca

Hey we need your support. Like and subscribe to Bring Back The Porch Podcast

Transcript

0:00

Hey, this is Brian again. And I'd like to ask you to do a favor. We can't do this work without people like you. So if you can, please. Like, share, subscribe, and tell your friends about bring Back the Porch. Yes they are. Most of them are ceramics. Major. Some of the university. Don't have ceramics as a. Major. That could be for without, like, specificity. But they're all. Interested in ceramics. This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by medicine at Monumental Crafting Quality Memorials of Distinction since 1970. Well, we are back here at Medalta again, but in a very different location. And I'm with Tomo Ingalls. What is your position here? I'm a residency coordinator for, International artists and residency program. And this is the building that we're in that they all the students do their work at? Yes. How do they get into the program? The students. So artist in residence is juried the process. They apply April and. September, and we. Have a three door. And we go through with the criterias. And the score and the ranked and and the chosen. That way. And this month. We have a students residency program happening. And that's a. Collaboration with the seven. University across Canada. Seven across Canada. How is the competition where there are lots of applicants? Well, that is, Done within the. University. So each university will open the competitions and the students apply. And I trust the faculty to do that part. Okay. The seven are they, all, interested in, ceramics and pottery as a career? Yes they are. Most of them are ceramics. Major. Some of the university. Don't have ceramics as a. Major. That could be for without, like, specificity. But they're all. Interested in ceramics. How has it been working with the students these past couple of weeks? Oh. It's amazing. It's it's just they're just a ball. Of energy and. Drive it. They're. Go go, go. They come in the morning and they still. To really late at. Night. And they have learned, Many different firing methods. It's it's been great. I saw your face light up when they asked you about the last couple of weeks. You must have enjoyed it. Yes, yes. I love. Their energy. Yes. What? What do you do with the students? I don't do very much. I just organize, like, until they get here. D the. Technician, what lead them to. Do? So the firing. That's something we have. Special specialized. Equipment. Raku firing pit firing. Below is another. A. Gas kiln that we. Specially have. And, she. Organizes them, and. Then they work together. Is this a unique program in Canada, or are there others like it? This is a very unique program. Yes. So we are the only one. So it's quite an honour, I guess, to be selected to come here. Yes. And a. Lot of the students past. Students will come back. Here. As an artist in residence. On the other side. Okay. Explain that program then. That side is. One month to 11 month. Program. You can. Choose when they. Would like to. Come. And we go. Through the jury process. Okay. Now in residence, that seems to imply that they live here. Yes. We have, BMO Artist Lodge. It's across from the old Excel factory. They we have a 13. Rooms to accommodate them. So I imagine there was a lot of collaboration between the students while they're here. Yes. Yeah. They would fire together. We have artist stock that we did three times this month. Everyone here will have to give artist stock. Okay. Are they allowed to experiment? Definitely. That is the most important things. It's in our mandate. So then they discover things about themselves and about, I guess, ceramics and pottery. Yeah. Like every. Fire, a method brings out a different outcome and different. Methods like how you approach. Ceramics would change. So definitely. That's what we. Want to. Provide. And when the students leave here where do they go back to their universities. And do they try to find employment or are they still in their programs. They're still in the program. That's what we look for so that they can talk about their experience. Amongst themselves in the back in the. University. That's one of their responsibility that they give artists back. In the university, too. Okay. Now what happens to the work they've done here, the physical objects? Well, they bring them home. They take them. Yes. Okay. Anything else you wanted to add about, your experience so far with these students? Oh, it's honor. To be here. It's it's it's a dream job for me. I just sit here. And organize. In the in front of the computer, and then the people come. You know, from all over the Canada and the like outside. It's amazing place. Well, I'm. Thank you for spending some time with us. Thank you. Our first student is Elizabeth Hughes. And you are from Emily Carr University? Yes, I am. Where is that? It is in Vancouver, British Columbia. It's quite a small university. It is just an art and design school, and. Yeah, but it's a very famous name in Canadian art history. Is so. Especially when studying and especially like in BC and like car like the artist herself is brought up a ton, so it's quite cool to go to a school named after her. So how did you become involved as a student at Emily Carr University? So actually, I originally after high school, I took a gap year, and then during that gap year, I applied to another school in BC, which is Leng ERA College. And in there you can do a fine arts diploma, which is a two year program. I didn't end up finishing it, but within that I got to try a bunch of art forms that I never got to try. This is actually how I got interested in ceramics and then I think during my second year at linger, I applied just to see if I could transfer over time, like arts, and they accepted me. So I've been going there ever since. And how did you find yourself here at the Delta? Emily Carr has this program partnered with my to end the Northwest Ceramics Foundation that sponsors one student from the ceramics department who is in their third year, going on to their fourth year, and let them come here for a month and share their knowledge and show off their Emily Carr skills. So how is your month been here in medicine at Insanely Busy? It's been so much. I always felt like a month is a lot of time, but when you're actually going through it, it feels like I've been here for like a day. So it's really hectic. But I've made some stuff and I've got to learn a lot. I feel like I've learned an insane amount during this through just like experiencing different things and also meeting all the other artists here. They know so much different things and their skills are a lot different than mine are. So I thought that was so cool. So I guess much like when you're creating a piece of ceramics, your collaboration with the other fellow students and residents here. That recipe has created different things for you. Absolutely. Like there's a lot of things I just either haven't had the opportunity to try back where I am, or I've been kind of scared to. And I feel like this place has given me a lot of confidence to be a little more daring and to experiment with a lot of things. And I've made a lot of things, and some of them have broke. Some of them haven't. Yeah, some of them have been scrapped and some of them have survived. So yeah. What are you most proud of? I feel like I'm actually kind of bad with talking to people, and so I feel like I've really pushed myself to be more social and, like, engage with other artists because I love hearing about other people's art. I love just like seeing their ways of thinking and like their different approaches to things. So I feel like I've made a lot of good friends here, and I've got to see everybody's perspective on art, and it's very inspiring. It's just like, if it wasn't a month, I would still definitely just be like making art here till they kick me out. I was considering it, honestly. So it's hide somewhere in the building again when when they turn out the light to come back out like a little mouse. Yeah, that's actually that's plan B, you know. Tell me when you first sit down with a lump of clay, what does it say to you? That's a really philosophical question because I don't know if it's necessarily something that it says to me, but I do feel something in it that I want to create something out of it. When you're throwing things at, it very much wants to be a certain thing, and it kind of tells you it's very hard like to tell something to be a teacup if it really doesn't want to. And that's like one thing we express a lot in ceramics is actually has a memory. And it will remember when it was like a lump of clay and stuff like that. And it does want to return to that. So you have to think about that a lot when making it. So what it says to me is that it wants to be part of like a medium it wants to become, or it is part of a medium. It wants to become something new, and it wants to like metamorphosis as like a butterfly or something. I kind of just like kind of feel it in my bones what it wants to be. And if it doesn't want to be something then I'll make it something else. Yeah. I guess that's a nice thing with a lump of clay. If you don't like it, you just start again. That is the cool part is a clay is not fire. You can just reuse it infinitely. And I think that it's like one of my favorite things about it because like, it's just like until you fire it, it isn't permanent at all. So you can do whatever you want with it. What's the biggest memory you're going to take back with you? Was there a moment when you went, oh, like an moment? I really I think it's when I first got here. I've never been in a studio this big and also this clean. So it was really interesting. But one of my favorite parts is actually like looking at the different pieces all throughout the studio and getting to use things, and also getting to meet other people who have the same enthusiasm as me. Because even back at school, the tax department is somewhat small, so it's always nice to meet people who have the same love for ceramics that I do, because there's like this thing called the ceramic bug that ceramicists get where it's like you kind of just become obsessed with making things and I definitely have that. And I feel like most ceramicists do. But, yeah, I really just enjoy doing everything. I don't know if there's necessarily an moment, but it was just like, joy. Did you get to experience different types of firing? Was there one that you really like? I actually got to do a bunch of different firing, some that I have yet to do. One of them was a pit firing. I have a small piece here. Which was like use. I used my friend Silver Ink, who was one of the artists here, and she helped lead a pit firing, which is the type of firing where you have a bunch of combustible material and basically what is a pit and you set it on fire and let the smoke go into the clay and it gets a really interesting effect. There's also that one right there, that little sort of ladybug piece. I plan on partially painting it when I get home, because I also really enjoy painting with ceramics. So the smoke becomes like trapped within the clay. And it gives a really interesting effect. And I always wanted to do it, but I haven't got to. Yeah, and you can't control the smoke, so it's so you don't know what you're going to get until the end it. Yeah. I mean that's basically all ceramics. You have no idea what it's going to look like till it comes out. Yeah. I got to do a bunch of soda firing stuff, which is something I've only done once before. So I got to do it two more times here. And we had somebody who was very experienced in soda firing. So they helped so much with that. So I'm very thankful for that. Explain the soda firing. So it is basically you get your ceramics extremely hot to what is called cone ten, which is like 1500°C. I probably am wrong. Kind of like a summer day in medicine, man. Honestly, it feels like it's the same temperature outside right now. I'm glad there's air conditioning in here. So you put these various types of glazes, and then when it's super hot, you put these things, called soda ash, and like, these, like, you can either spray it or then you can put them in these, like, little burritos. We did the burrito technique. And then you use like this really like ancient looking metal thing to like stick it in while somebody else, like, opens one of the ports and there's, like, fire coming out. It's really intense. You got to like, shove it in there, let it make sure it doesn't catch on fire. And then when that does, it becomes like, almost like a vortex of the ash flying around. And it affects the ceramics in very interesting ways. I have this one here, which is mostly naked clay, but there's glaze in like the crevices and stuff, and you can see how it looks inside. But like for example, this is also a soda firing. Yeah. Now did you throw that. Yes. On a. Wheel. Yes. These are thrown actually most of the functional stuff I've made is thrown, which is something I'm not crazy comfortable with. So I'm definitely been forcing myself to make stuff that I made a very big project that's about this big that is currently still being fired. So I will send photos of that when it's out. But, it's all a bunch of thrown pieces, like stacked on top of each other to create a larger form. And I really want to do something like that because I am quite scared of throwing. I feel like it's quite a frustrating thing to do, and you only see people who can do it so easily, and I'm so jealous of them. So I'm like, that's what I'm going to focus on when I'm here. And I definitely do feel like I've improved him. Being in a historic clay district in my Delta that has over 100 years in history, I have you walk through the displays of you, drawn any inspiration from what you've seen. I really am inspired by like historical items and like. I just love like, vintage things. I'm a huge. I plan on going antiquing on my way home because I'm driving, but, we did a guided tour through middle to museum and seeing all the like, there is a collection of ceramics that was donated by, a collector. And you can just look at all the various different types of wares and stuff, and how much different types of items are used in ceramics. And I thought that was really interesting. And I kind of like, always feel like functional wares, kind of like. Stale to me because, like, I feel like there's only so much you can do with that. But that really inspired me to, like, think differently of it and try to explore, so when I originally did a bunch of these ones, they had like paintings and glaze and then they all, like melted away, so there's no detail in it. So I'm planning on using China paints when I get back, and I'm going to do little paintings on them because I'm a little sad they went away. So what are you going to do when you leave here. You continue your studies. Yes, I am going into my fourth year at Emily Carr. So that is my final year ideally. And I think that I might take a gap year and continue on for my master's. Depends what life goes on. But yeah, for like the rest of the summer in my plans and I don't really know. Yeah, you seem to delve to being a part of your future. I really hope so. If they if they will let me. I really enjoy it here. I met some of the other the not student residents who are coming here for like they go from a month to a year and it just seems so cool to like, make these things with a bigger time, limit, because I felt like I was like a hamster running on a wheels nonstop. Well, being here, which is definitely an interesting feeling. So I think that if I were to come back here, I'd come with, like, more solid plans of what I wanted to make. But yeah, I definitely want to come back here. I also really enjoying that, isn't that. Oh, we're happy to have you here. And thank you for, spending some time with us. Thank you so much. I'm really glad I got to do this interview. And I'm really I'm honored to be here. So thank you so much. Thank you. Elizabeth. I'm.