| Collection Room | 
| Featured Item - March 2011
Medicine Hat Potteries lamp bases are seldom seen and quite hard to find. This is presently the only known example of one finished in a variegated glaze. This unique piece is a recent donation to the Friends of Medalta Society from the collection of Tony Slotboom. For information on our other items, visit our Collection Room online. |
| MEDALTA ODDS & ENDS | - Sabi Noodle House is still closed. Things are progressing well, albiet slower than they expected. Stay posted - we're as anxious as you are.
- Even though the museum is closed (construction), Our gift shop is still open.
- Senior Artist in Residence Les Manning is preparing work for an exhibition at the Esplanade in May.
- Lots of Medalta artists have created their own websites, including Xanthe Isbister, Koi Neng Liew and Aaron Nelson. |
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| The Hive | 
| On March 28, The Hive is launching its retail space, featuring Hive artist Chelsea Scott.
From March 21 - 26, Visual Communications students are showing a week long photography exhibition.
There are three workshops planned for this spring.
Knit Happens: March 12
Fee: $5 (drop-in)
This is a basic introduction to knitting and is part of the Hive's Second Saturdayworkshop series.
Drawn to Paper:
March 30 - Still Life
April 6 - Figure Drawing
April 13 - Collage Study
April 20 - Intuitive
Fee: $25/class or all for $80
This is a four week exploratory drawing workshop with Hive artist Kelsie Risling.
Register: hivehub.ca
Design a Dish: April 27
Fee: $25 + $5 (for ceramic item. Or bring your own)
This workshop takes already-existing dishes and spices them up with decoration. This workshop is lead by Hive artist Bronwyn Schuster.
Register: hivehub.ca
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ESPLANADE | 
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Until April 17, Chance Operations Squared - a collaborative exhibition by Rodney Konopaki and Rhonda Neufeld - is on display at the Esplanade.
According to the Esplanade's website, both artists took turns responding, guiding and interfering with each other's work in the studio and while walking in a variety of outdoor settings.
Sharing space with that gallery is Medicine Hat's 2011 School Art - a showcase of our local youth talent and creativity.
Remember, Medalta Members get free access to the Esplanade's art gallery so we encourage you to go see the exhibitions for yourself.
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| MONARCH THEATRE | 
| Last week, the Monarch Theatre played the King's Speech - 2011 Oscar winner for Best Picture and Leading Actor (Colin Firth).
Up next is Black Swan, which was a Best Picture nominee and won the Oscar for Lead Actress (Natalie Portman).
Medalta Members get two free tickets to the Monarch Theatre.
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INSPIRE STUDIO. GALLERY. CAFE! | 
| Inspire Cafe is now open for business! If you need proof that this opening was highly anticipated in Medicine Hat, you should know that on the first day they cautiously opened their doors to close friends, it was hard to get a seat.
Since then, it hasn't slowed down. All food is freshly made and if you're looking for a recommendation for a delicious dessert, try A Taste of Heaven. Aside from being fun to order, it's really, really good.
Inspire also has probably the best selection of local art, including Harvey Fix, Angie Cramer and - of course - Maureen Newton, who is one of the owners.
And again, if you're a Medalta Member, show your card. You'll receive a 15% discount on meals, art or art classes.
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MEDICINE HAT FOLK MUSIC CLUB | 
| On Friday, March 4, Danny Michel performed at Medalta and by all accounts, the show was excellent.
Following closely on the heels of that show is Suzie Vinnick and Rick Fines on Friday, April 1. This club always puts on a great concert and finds excellent talent.
On Friday, March 18, Rob Hudec is leading Singer Songwriter Night.
For more information, visit their website. |
MEDICINE HAT JAZZ SOCIETY | 
| Medicine Hat's Jazz Society has a couple dates to keep in mind. They do an excellent job of keeping the setting intimate and giving you the freedom to soak in the atmosphere of a wonderful Jazz show.
Elizabeth Shepherd Trio
Monday April 4. 7:30pm
Mauro's - 439 5th Ave SE
No charge
Jay Clayton & Sheila Jordan
Saturday, May 7. 8:00pm
Cultural Centre Black Box Theatre
$18 or $15 - Jazz Society & Medalta Members.
$5 - Students
FREE - JazzFest 2010 Pass Holders
Tickets available at the door.
For more information, call 403.529.4807. |
WHAT IS MEDICINE HAT? | 
| Medicine Hat's Tourism Branding Project is wrapping up its first phase with a Resident Survey.
If you live in Medicine Hat, we encourage all of you to fill out the survey which only takes about 10 minutes.
It will provide valuable information which will help move the tourism industry in a positive direction.
The survey will be open until the end of this week (March 13).
There are prizes available which will be drawn once the survey closes. The prizes were donated by:
Medalta, in the Historic Clay District
Paradise Valley Par 3
Track Side Liquor Store
Elkwater Lake Lodge
Cypress Hills
Tourism Medicine Hat
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MEDALTA, IN THE HISTORIC CLAY DISTRICT
MARCH 2011 |
Coffee & FlowersOn Saturday, April 9, Medicine Hat's finest coffee shop - the Mad Hatter Roastery - is coming to Medalta run a Coffee Cupping event. Basically, it's like wine tasting but with coffee instead. Then on Saturday, May 7, Medicine Hat's finest flower shop - Fresh Flowers & Gifts - will be showing you how to arrange flowers in our crocks. The timing is perfect since it's the day before Mothers' Day. These are two of the half-day workshops we have begun running this year, which is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Friends of Medalta Society. Last week, we also released our first ever program guide, which showcases these programs along with others (Bean Recipes, Pickling and Slipcasting) in the fall. In that guide is our annual calendar of events, childrens' summer clay camps, adult pottery classes and membership information. Response to our programs has been excellent with some of them already over half-full. So if you want to get involved with anything we're offering, please sign up. We're also doing a lot of other things including a Grand Opening of our new Reception Gallery in August and first annual Black & White Gala (wine pairing & auction) in October. And our friends elsewhere in Medicine Hat have been busy as well. Inspire Cafe is now serving delicious, home-made food downtown, Suzie Vinnick & Rick Fines are performing here on April 1, thanks to Medicine Hat's Folk Music Club and the Jazz Society has two shows planned for April 4 & May 7. We'll get to the details in this letter so please read on.
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COFFEE CUPPING
Through most of its industrial life, Medalta made coffee mugs. Their shape and stoneware colour has become an iconic image of diners across Canada. Medalta still makes these mugs - by hand - in its Production Studio. With this coffee tasting workshop, people have the rare opportunity to have a deep, local connection to nearly every aspect of coffee. The mug you will drink from was made in the same building you will be sampling coffee. The coffee, for its part, was roasted at the Mad Hatter Roastery in Downtown Medicine Hat by the workshop facilitator, Kathryn Tatham. Kathryn is a strong believer in the "Think Global, Act Local" idea. All her coffee is Fair-Trade and roasted in small batches in her shop. She is the Head Roaster and Barrista and has received training across Canada. Cost: $69.95 + GST 10% Discount for Medalta Members Including: Medalta Coffee Mug Coffee Samples Half-Pound of Coffee Beans, roasted at Mad Hatter Lunch from Inspire Cafe First 12 registered. Registration form here. 
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FLOWER ARRANGING
Crocks were once the most recognizable items produced by Medalta. Originally used for food storage, they have recently become popular as planters. With this workshop, participants have the opportunity to learn flower arranging from one of the most contemporary, creative florists in Medicine Hat - Barry Charlton. As the owner of Fresh Flowers & Gifts in one of Medicine Hat's more eclectic neighbourhoods (Riverside), Barry has developed a reputation for creating wonderful arrangements using exotic flowers and foliage. And with Mother's Day just around the corner, he has teamed up with Medalta to show people some of his secrets while making an unforgettable bouquet for Mom. Cost: $89.95 + GST 10% discount for Medalta members Including: Medalta Quarter-Gallon Crock Flowers & Greenery from Fresh Flowers & Gifts Lunch from Inspire Cafe First 12 registered. Registration form here. 
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MEDALTA2011 Program Guide
This year, we released our first annual Program Guide. With so much on offer, we thought it was a good idea to let you know what we're up to so you could get involved. The Guide was distributed throughout Medicine Hat late last week and online through our website at about the same time.
The response to the guide has been great so far with a number of our workshops - including Flower Arranging, Coffee Cupping and Building a Bread Oven - quickly approaching capacity.
We're happy to be offering so much to you but are even more impressed at your response.
We plan to do something similar next year but in the meantime, we hope you will sign up for one of our workshops. Remember, Medalta members receive a 10% discount on most of the programs we offer in addition to receiving benefits throughout Southern Alberta and receiving some very cool stuff.
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CONSTRUCTION and ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATE
We use the phrase "we have a lot going on" so often that it could probably be considered for inclusion on some sort of Forbidden Words List. But it's true.
Since October, we have started an archaeological dig (nicknamed The Dig for those of you following along) which exposed the foundations of five kilns from nearly every period of Medalta's industrial existence. Two of those foundations have been left exposed for the public to see and we are now working on the construction of the Kiln Room which will be complete in time for summer.
And that came after we constructed our new Reception Gallery.
Long-time Site Supervisor Darcey Howells is the lead on these projects and has done an excellent job bringing them to life. It has been hard work and we're sure he wouldn't mind taking the next year off to recover. It's something to be proud of, for sure, and we're looking forward to holding a grand opening for the new spaces on August 6.
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RECEPTION GALLERY With our new Reception Gallery coming on line later this spring, we have begun taking event bookings. So far, a number of weddings, performances and graduation ceremonies have been confirmed. If you're looking to hold an event in Medicine Hat, let us know. There are still a few spots available for this summer and we're booking into 2012 already. Early response to the new space has been very positive. Although it is a new building, it maintains much of the century-old character of Medalta. One entire wall almost acts as a timeline as it is made up of brick from nearly every era of Medalta's life. It will be a great feature wall for photos. The space also offers access to Medalta's oldest outdoor kiln - another great feature. Information will be up on the website in the next few months but in the meantime, you can send an email with your questions or phone us at 403.529.1070. 
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BLACK & WHITE GALA
In October, we are holding our first annual Black & White affair - a six-course wine pairing dinner and auction - in our Reception Gallery. The wine is being provided by Paul Howe of Track Side Liquor who is very active in the community through his involvement in the successful Grapes & Gourmet, Kiwanis and Cypress Club. The meal is being prepared by Chef Brian Keyes, Executive Chef for the Cypress Club. The Cypress Club is a private club with a long history in Medicine Hat. Late in 2010, both Medalta and the Cypress Club received the Heritage Conservation award from the Alberta Heritage Resources Foundation. They were the only two places in the province to receive the award. Part of the event will be a silent auction, featuring art from some of our artists' in residence along with a good selection of local business offerings. The Live Auction will be a feature event of the evening with a $1,000 reserve. The five items showcased will be exquisite pieces of art and would make a fine addition to any home. Tickets for the event are $100 each and will go on sale on April 4 with pre-sale for members beginning on March 28. In the meantime, we are looking for sponsors for this event. Send Quentin Randall an email if you would like to be a part of this event. To purchase a ticket either after March 28 or April 4, send us an email with the amount of tickets you would like or stop by. You will be able to pick your seat and table.  |
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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
As Les Manning prepares for his upcoming exhibition at the Esplanade and Xanthe & Liew prepare for theirs at Medicine Hat's Cultural Centre, Brendan Tang heads off to lead a workshop in Israel. Aaron Nelson has begun casting old Medalta bricks, turning them into vases or sculptures and Jenn Demke-Lange has been working on a new dinnerware line. Both of them have done a ton of work on our gas kiln, which just finished firing (sorry, no pictures!). And amidst all that, we received a bunch of equipment! Among the most prized possessions we received are a pug mill, a new slab roller, a Shimpo and two raku kilns.  On May 21 & 22, the Artists in Residence is offering a workshop which will teach you how to make a Bread Oven. After two days, you will build one at Medalta and be able to carry that knowledge home where you will be able to build your own! But don't worry, it's not all serious. We also got new banners made up. And while we ran the risk of inflating Tang's ego, we just couldn't resist blowing Manga Ormolu up to about seven feet tall and showing it to the world. The Artists in Residence newsletter will be coming out shortly so if you want more details on what they're up to, sign up for their newsletter as well.  |
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The Smoking Man's in This One
Carrying on with our popular Stories theme from 2010 is a new one about a master potter who worked in Medalta. If you want to talk about a labour-intensive product, you should see Medalta's hand-made ginger beer bottles. And this man here - in his younger days - was one of the best producers you could imagine. Rumour has it that Medalta was struggling to keep up with demand. So they took a chance on a Scot who was apparently able to make around 600 bottles each day. He arrived in Downtown Medicine Hat with only two things: his suitcase and a pipe. Three if you count his talent, which turned out to be as good as advertised. But despite his quality work, a pottery factory is no place to smoke. So one day the powers-that-be approached him with an ultimatum: either the pipe goes or you do. "Well," he said, "I'll solve two problems for you." And with the pipe between his teeth, he got up and left the factory. The owners, who weren't quite used to having conversations turn out that way, ran after him. Eventually, he sat back down at his pottery wheel - in the non-smoking factory - and got back to work. With his pipe.  |
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There's lots happening - not just at Medalta, but everywhere in Medicine Hat. We're excited about our programming and hope you'll be able to take in one of our workshops this year. Who knows, you may end up drinking coffee out of a Medalta mug as you cook bread in your own bread oven (which you'll make in your back yard after we teach you) and admire the wonderful flower arrangement in a Medalta crock! As always, we are looking for more content for our newsletter. So if you have something specific you would like us to include, send it to us. Anything related to Western Canadian art and culture (specifically ceramics), Medicine Hat or industrial archaeology will be considered. And don't forget, if you're out and about, consider becoming a member of Medalta and take advantage of all the offers our friends have given you throughout the city. Thank you. Talk to you soon.
Quentin Randall
Medalta, in the Historic Clay District |
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