Claude Morin, a ceramist in Moose Jaw, will be one of the nine local artists featured on this year’s Moostletoe Studio Tour with the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, and he’s been experimenting with some new work to show off.
In the past, Morin’s work has featured a mixed-media approach, including both his delicate ceramic work paired with a variety of other materials to tell a story.
For the most part, Morin continues to produce the ceramics and pottery that he is so well-known for, crafting his own glazes from scratch for truly unique fired pieces.
His functional pieces — bowls, mugs, plates, wall decorations, and more — take up but a small portion of the shelves in his home studio, all glazed in earthy, nature-inspired tones.
As of late, his fascination has turned towards the culture of Japanese ceramics, and he is now exploring the different techniques and shapes common in Asian pottery.
“I'm infatuated with the Asian history of ceramics and their sense of aesthetics,” said Morin. “I've been to Japan twice, and the last time gave me a lot of ideas for what you would call functional work, but at the same time, it's got an artistic bang.”
Morin has also been experimenting with Japanese paper and printing, testing his skill at carving printing blocks to press designs onto mulberry and milkweed paper.
He will also have works from his new collection, which he calls his prairie series, to debut. Each work is hand-formed, glazed in prairie-inspired tones, and fired with a focus on the beauty of texture.
“This [series] is rough and crystalized, and that's what I like about it,” said Morin.
The studio tour will be a chance to explore Morin’s workshop, located in his backyard, and ask questions about the complicated process of clay work. Morin is more than happy to explain the complexity of ceramics.
“The fun part of [ceramics] is there's millions of possibilities, even just in glaze dynamics, form, and then techniques like firing in certain ways to make accents come out. It is a science,” said Morin.
He will also have a selection of works, “seconds” returned from shows and galleries, displayed throughout his yard that will be for sale at a discounted price, to take home the day of the tour.
Morin takes part in the Moostletoe Studio Tour each year — with the exception of the year he was in Japan — and is always pleased with the interest he sees during the day.
More information about Morin as an artist can be found on his website.
