Connie Pike
Wavy Pattern Vase with tenmoku glaze inside and on rim, lustre green glaze and amber glaze on movement pattern, grid pattern on sides, 14 x 11 x 3 inches (35.5 x 28 x 8 cm), $450.00 Cdn.
Torn Clay Vase with amber glaze inside white salt glaze and lustre green glaze, torn clay pieces and dot grid on sides, 12.5 x 8 x 3.5 inches (32 x 20 x 9 cm), $350.00 Cdn.
Double Neck Vase with amber glaze inside, lavender grey glaze and intense blue glaze, impressed triangles and sprigged dots on sides, 10.5 x 8 x 3.25 inches (26.5 x 20 x 8.5 cm), $400.00 Cdn.
Double Neck Vase with amber glaze inside, rust glaze and intense blue glaze with turquoise glaze on squares, dot grid on sides, 11.5 x 8 x 3.25 inches (29 x 20 x 8 cm), $450.00 Cdn.
Big Dot Vase with tenmoku glaze inside, intense blue with turquoise dots and cross hatch pattern on sides, 14 x 7 x 3 inches (35.5 x 17.5 x 8 cm), $350.00 Cdn.
Leaves/Flowers Vase with amber glaze inside, white salt glaze and lustre green glaze, impressed leaves and sprigged flowers, impressed numbers on side, 12.5 x 9 x 3.5 inches (31.5 x 23 x 9 cm), $350.00 Cdn.
Diagonal Lines Vase with tenmoku glaze inside and rim, amber glaze and blue/green celadon glaze, line pattern, grid pattern on sides, 14 x 10 x 3 inches (35.5 x 25.5 x 8 cm), $450.00 Cdn.
Lavender Grey Vase with tenmoku glaze inside, lavender grey with patterns waves, dogs and grid, stained with black underglaze, 14 x 8 x 3 inches (35.5 x 20 x 8 cm), $350.00 Cdn.
Chicklets Vase with amber glaze inside, intense blue and pink chicklets on grid, 16.5 x 12 x 6 inches (42 x 30.5 x 15 cm), $500.00 Cdn.
Dragonfly Vase with amber glaze inside, lavender grey glaze with dragonflies and leaves, stained with black underglaze, 11.5 x 9 x 4.5 inches (29 x 23 x 11 cm), $350.00 Cdn.
Leaves Pattern Vase with amber glaze inside, lustre green glaze and red glaze on squares with leaves, squares and patterns on sides, 14 x 11 x 4 inches (35.5 x 28 x 10 cm), sold.
Arrow Lidded Jar with amber glaze inside, lustre green glaze and white salt with arrows accented with red glaze, 16.5 x 12.5 x 6 inches (42 x 31.5 x 15 cm), sold.
Vertical Leaf Pattern Vase with black glaze inside and clear glaze stained with black underglaze, sgraffito leaves and checker pattern on sides, 15.5 x 8 x 4 inches (39.5 x 20 x 10 cm), sold.
Zig Zag Patterned Vase with RD green glaze inside, black underglaze stain and clear glaze with grid pattern on sides, 14.5 x 11.5 x 5 inches (37 x 29 x 12.5 cm), sold.
Leaves Vase with amber glaze inside, lustre green and clear, stained with black underglaze, 11.5 x 9 x 4.5 inches (29 x 23 x 11.5 cm), sold.
“Even after almost 50 years of doing clay full time as my living, there is still more to learn and try to create.”
Artist Statement
A summer 2022 residency at Medalta (Medicine Hat) called “Ceramic Master Class with Brendan Tang” (from Emily Carr University, Vancouver), set me on the road to making these vases. I came with some drawings and they evolved into the vases. The vases combine my love for texture, design and decoration. They are some of the largest pieces I have made. It is exciting that there is a lot more for me to explore with this form.…
I started my clay journey in 1971 and since 1978 have been making my full-time living as a ceramic artist in Alberta, Canada. My approach to working with clay evolves as I investigate a balance between function and aesthetic. Shapes and designs build upon themselves and new versions of form and decoration filter through the body of work and refresh the process. It is my desire to create forms with rich surfaces with texture and glazes.
I am interested in how my work can be used every day to bring art into our lives, enhancing our experience with food, adorning our homes, and providing a necessary ritual to nourish our soul and mind as well as our bodies. I try to make pottery that is successful in several ways: comfortable to use, enjoyable to look at, and interesting to think about.
She loves to experiment and has over 1000 glaze tests on record. Lately she is experimenting with carving lino and using it for texture on her clay surfaces.
Over the years she has taken many Series workshops (Red Deer College) - a favourite type of holiday. Connie attended the Banff School of the Arts and the Australian National University in Canberra, she studied design with Stan Perrott and attended a second year drawing course at ACAD. Although she mostly studies clay, she has also does drawing and watercolour. The artist has attended international ceramic conferences and, since 1971, is a member of the Alberta Potters Association and the Alberta Crafts Council.
Connie Pike also teaches, including week long workshops at Red Deer Series and weekend workshops at many craft guilds in Alberta, as well in Crowsnest Pass, Ft McMurray, Medicine Hat, Drumheller, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Regina and Canmore.
Awards
2011-Alberta Foundation for the Arts Grant to attend NCECA, Tampa, Florida
2010-Two Pieces purchased by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts
2006 - Alberta Foundation for the Arts-Projects Visual Arts Grant
2005 - Alberta Potters Association Scholarship
1997 - Large Plate purchased by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts at the Glenbow Show
1977 - Alberta Government Scholarship, Banff School of Fine Art