A couple of creative potters from the Green Bay area hope to end Newfoundland’s drought for the national craft communities’ most prestigious prize — the Saidye Bronfman Award.
Linda Yates and David Hayashida, who own King’s Point Pottery, were nominated by the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (CCNL).
“It’s a great honour just to nominated and recognized,” said Yates. “Of course we want to win, but it’s also very competitive in that it’s not only clay, it’s other medium as well. So we’re talking about the best of the best in the country.”
The 2011 winner was metalsmith Kye-Yeon Son from Hubley, N.S., while past years winners range from a jeweller to a woodturner.
The award recipient is awarded a cheque for $25,000, and has a piece of their work included in the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.
King’s Point Pottery got its start in 1992. Yates’ father owned a gas station in town, and when he decided to retire, the two turned the garage into a studio.
With a degree in fine art from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Yates had travelled the province helping craftspeople set up small businesses as part of a job with the provincial government.
“I knew what was going on in the craft industry at that time, always wanting to be on the other side doing it myself,” said Yates.
At a workshop out west in 1993, she met Hayashida who was from Ontario and had a background in interior design. The two have been partners in work and life ever since. As far as Bronfman nominees go, the 20-year careers of Yates and Hayashida are still quite young.
“The majority of people that I’m aware of who have been nominated, or are often winners, probably have 30 to 40 or more years’ full-time experience — so we were surprised, but certainly pleased,” said Hayashida.
The couple tries to spend as much time as they can in their natural surroundings, sketching and doing photography. A significant amount of their work seems whale-inspired.
In 2003, they achieved a long-term goal of building Newfoundland’s first salt soda oven — an ancient German pottery technique Yates first learned as a student.
“We heat the oven to 2,300 F and we spray in saltwater and baking soda and that combines with the clay to change the colours and the textures,” said Hayashida.
The use of local materials is part of an organic process that makes use of their surroundings to create the pottery.
“We’re trying to incorporate as many local materials as possible right from the saltwater to taking rocks and grinding them and using them as glaze surfaces,” said Yates.
Hayashida explores the different variations of rocks and beach sands to create new colours.
“He’s the rock hound. He could have been a geologist in his other life,” said Yates.
Later, as part of the firing process, they pile different materials onto the pottery to create desired effects.
“Juniper gives copper sparkles to the glaze. The birch tends to give a light green response,” said Hayashida.
For the Bronfman Award, they created a portfolio of unique pieces — the majority of which use the salt soda technique.
“Their work shows a high level
of technical excellence, but it’s
got a broad scope that ranges from the basic production ... to very
higher-end one-of-a-kind works that exemplify a very personal and distinct style,” said Anne Manuel, executive director of the craft council.
The CCNL also recognized King’s Point Pottery because of its contribution to the development of craft in the province.
The studio has hosted professional development workshops featuring national-level artists, and Yates helped to start up the local heritage society in King’s Point.
For Yates and Hayashida, the opportunity to promote their community of Green Bay remains at the heart of their work.
“These pots could be made anywhere. We’d like to think these pots are made the way they are because we live in an outport in Newfoundland,” said Hayashida.
gregory.michaeld@gmail.com
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