| Friends with Benefits! (aka, Membership) | 
| Don't forget about our membership program. It helps keep our artistic programming going. Plus, you can get some really cool stuff.
We're always looking for new partners so we can offer as much value to you as possible. If you have any suggestions, let us know.
We do it because we want you to
become a member.
Give us a call, send us an email or stop by if you're interested. Sign-up is painless.
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| FROM PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCTION WITH RUSSELL HACKNEY | 
AUGUST 5 - 14 In this 10 day workshop, artists will be introduced to all aspects of the mould making process. Starting with prototyping, the class will move through the development of simple one-piece moulds and move on to more complex multi-piece moulds. Students will have the opportunity to make many types of moulds and try many different techniques under the watchful eye of a master craftsman. The course will conclude with an introduction to slip-casting. The workshop is suitable for artists at all levels of ability.
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$775 (all materials included)
Registration on a first come first served basis. (12 spaces available)
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| POTS FOR THE KITCHEN, BREAD FOR THE TABLE WITH FREDI RAHN | 
AUGUST 5 - 14
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This ten-day workshop focuses on the connection between the food we cook and the pottery we cook and serve it in.
The emphasis of the workshop is on repetition, focus, and getting the details right.
We will divide our time between the (improvised) bakeshop and the pottery studio, using the philosophy of mindfulness and creativity through practice and repetition.
In the kitchen, our focus is on artisan hearth breads. Learn how to improvise a hearth oven in your home oven, and how to mix, ferment, shape, and bake beautiful loaves using simple natural ingredients and time.
In the ceramics studio, choose a form (or 2) to practice and develop and delve into the details of scale, weight, proportion, edges, and surface.
In between we find the connections between food and pots, how they converse and strengthen each other.
The workshop will be punctuated with daily demos, tastings and discussions, all intended to make you consider the humble objects you make for daily use and consumption more deeply and fully.
$775 (all materials included)
Registration on a first come first served basis. (12 spaces available)
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| Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre |
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Common/Opposites:
New work by Les Manning
From the Esplanade website:
New sculptures in clay from the internationally known ceramist based in Medicine Hat are rooted in the forms, textures and colours of the distinctive landscape and geology of Alberta, while shifting subtly beyond landscape into abstracted, highly coloured sculpture.
The exhibition will feature new works as well as signature pieces from various collections.
OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, May 5
Esplanade Art Gallery
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| The Hive | 
| The Hive is an artists' co-op in downtown Medicine Hat.
On Friday, April 15, The Hive is opening Animal Magnetism, a solo show by Bronwyn Schuster.
The exhibition will be on display from April 15 to May 7.
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ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE NEWSLETTER WORKSHOPS & RESIDENCIES |
Tampa is Nice
I have just arrived back from NCECA, the annual conference of the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts and am excited to see how far the construction has progressed on Medalta's new gallery and gift shop. The space itself is jaw-dropping and the fact that the centre of the space cantilevers over the footprint of two historic kilns gives an air of archaeological sophistication.
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MEDALTA 2011
NCECA INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITY
This year we were fortunate to partner with NCECA to offer an international residency opportunity. We are very pleased to announce that the residency was awarded to Marc Leuthold of the United States. Marc will be joining us for the month of July. The son of European immigrants, Leuthold is interested in cross-cultural experiences. His work reflects the influence of the arts of Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Leuthold is an Associate Professor at the State University of New York and has taught at Princeton University and Parsons School of Design. He is one of forty Americans who is an elected lifetime member of the International Academy of Ceramics. His sculptures have entered the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Museum of Art and Design in New York City. 
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MEDALTA2011
RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES
Our residency deadlines are fast approaching so please get your applications in the mail to arrive by APRIL 15. We are anticipating a very exciting summer here in Medicine Hat.
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MEDALTA 2011VOLUNTEER WEEK
 April 10th - 16th is National Volunteer week here in Canada. If it was not for our volunteers Medalta would not exist.
Our volunteers do everything from greeting guests to firing pots to teaching classes to contributing their professional expertise in a variety of capacities. Thank you for believing in Medalta and thank you for your hard work, the benefits are felt by many.
Above is an ad we placed in the Medicine Hat News to celebrate our volunteers. Below is the text of that ad, which tells the story of Jim Marshall & Jack
Forbes - two of the Friends of Medalta Society's founding board members.
THEY STARTED IT
This has to be the ultimate volunteer story. In the mid-1970's, these two men - Jim Marshall on the left, Jack Forbes on the right - sat under a cottonwood tree, looking at the abandoned, dilapidated Medalta Potteries factory.
The two men dreamed about someday restoring Medalta as a living, working museum and arts centre. What a crazy idea!
Well, when they realized they couldn't shake the idea from their own heads, they actually got to work. These two men (Jim will still tell you he was "Number Two" on the scene to Jack) helped found the volunteer-based Friends of Medalta Society and led the uphill battle of saving a derelict property when no one else cared.
This year, we're celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Friends of Medalta Society which really is a celebration of their ambition and (probably) stubborn-ness since they were the catalysts for the entire Historic Clay District project. These days, it doesn't seem quite so crazy. We owe that to the work of all our volunteers.
And they're not the only ones. We have many other volunteers who contribute an awful lot. So to all our volunteers, past and present, thank you. We really appreciate all that you do.
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Our friend Carole Epp, who some of you may know from the blog Musing About Mud, is opening an exhibition at The Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, SK this month.
Artists by Artists: Marsha Kennedy and Carole Epp
The Politics of Innocent Dreams
April 15 to June 12, 2011
The Mendel Art Gallery
950 Spadina Crescent East, P.O. Box 569
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7K 3L6 Canada
Phone: (306) 975-7610 Fax: (306) 975-7670
Opening Reception - Friday, April 15, 8 p.m.
Carole Epp creates provocative ceramic sculptures that reference kitsch figurines, lowbrow art and consumer culture. These figurative tableaux explore human experience - death and love, hope and failure, family and social pressures and seek to stimulate conversation, thought and action.
Epp lives and works in Saskatoon. She has exhibited her work locally, nationally and internationally and is editor of the popular ceramic arts blog, Musing About Mud. Her mentor, Marsha Kennedy, is an artist and educator based in Regina. Kennedy teaches painting and drawing at the University of Regina while maintaining an active studio practice.
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NCECA was a chance to introduce many interested people to the amazingly diverse project that it Medalta. After describing how extensive our facilities are and the diversity of programs that we offer the number one comment was, being a nonprofit, how are you funded?
It's a very good question that requires a very long answer!
We are funded by our various earned income sources such as the production pottery and the gift shop. We are funded by individuals who are passionate about cultural preservation as well as cultural development. We are funded by groups who believe and support our mission. We are funded by the municipal, provincial, and federal government who are committed to our cultural legacy. We are funded by corporations who have the prescience to invest in such an extensive endeavor.
We are supported by groups like the Canadian Badlands Ltd. who are developing this region to become the next iconic tourism destination.
And finally we are supported by you. By the simple act of keeping up to date with what we are doing here you validating the work that we are doing.
Thank you.
Our next newsletter will feature an exciting group of artists from Ontario who will be arriving with Bruce Cochrane in May.
Until next time,  Aaron Nelson Artistic Director
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