Sarah Granskou, Folk Artist-in-Residence 2013, invites us
into the wash house to sit by the hearth as she plays, sings and tells us one of her original Norwegian Folktale.
You wont want to miss Sarah at this year's Heart & Hand Festival at
Joseph Schneider Haus Saturday, September 21! Admission is free! Enjoy activities and hands-on opportunities for the entire family!
Meet potter and pottery instructor Sally Pfeiffer. We ask Sally what it is about pottery that excites and inspires her.
1.Why Pottery? What is it about this art form that excites you most?
What excites me about pottery is that I can make something that is beautiful, creative as well as functional at the same time. For example, I have tulip goblettes. Can you imagine drinking a glass of white wine out of a tulip? Or imagine a bud vase that looks like leaves are growing out of it!
2. How did you get your start? Do you remember the first piece you made?
I got my start through the Waterloo Potters' Workshop Guild. I went to one of their sales at the Waterloo Recreation Centre, picked up a business card and took my first class. My first piece was a vase that went wonky and was super bottom heavy! It's now in the home of a friend who loved the blue glaze decoration!
3.What is the most difficult aspect of creating with clay
The most difficult aspect of working with clay is working on the wheel and getting it centred in the middle. Once you learn this foundational skill, the rest is smooth sailing!
4.Can anyone learn to create with clay?
You don't have to be super artistic to learn to create with clay! Clay is wonderfully impressionable, there are so many ways to create interesting texture using found objects, fabrics and stamps. This coating of glaze that gets applied then plays with this texture in the firing process - chemical reactions by the high heat of the kiln produce fascinating, colourful results! I lead my students with step-by-step guided projects until they have the building blocks to create their own projects. No one leaves my classes without a ceramic piece to be proud of!
5. What’s next for you?Any large projects you are looking forward to tackling?
I'm looking forward to going bigger in the next year. Creating pieces focusing even more on sculpture "meeting" function in my work.
To learn more about ongoing pottery classes taught by Sally please go to www.sculption.ca/class.htm
Watch as Sally works on the potting wheel. This short clip was taken at last years Heart & Hand Festival!
Meet Nii Addico, a renowned artist and woodcarver originally from Ghana. Together with his wife Bronwyn they run Creation Africa, a small company based in waterloo, created to showcase Nii’s work and raise awareness for the rich African culture here in Canada. Visit www.creationafrica.com to learn more about Nii, his process and his works.
Nii will be joining us for Heart & Hand 2012 at Joseph Schneider Haus as both a carver and a drummer, demonstrating his traditional carving techniques as well as displaying and selling his beautifully hand carved pieces. Nii will also be leading twodynamic drum circles on the day. Join in between 10:30 and 11 a.m. or from 3 to 4 p.m. Bring your own drum or borrow one of the many instruments Nii will be bringing along with him. It’s fun and therapeutic, you won’t want to miss!
Sarah Granskou, Folk Artist-in-Residence 2013, invites us
into the wash house to sit by the hearth as she plays, sings and tells us one of her original Norwegian Folktale. 
