Canadian Ceramics

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Canadian Ceramics
It seems that Canada often struggles in striving to establish a concrete identity within the realms of ceramics. Our country’s extensive geography yet relatively small population has been seen to act as both an obstacle and an opportunity in this pursuit. The vast and diverse Canadian setting has been known as an obstacle in determining a concrete ceramics identity; yet, it also acts as an inspiration as personal and creative interpretations of our environment to foster a sense of national pride.
This paper will focus on how Canada’s landscape acts to mould its ceramics identity by exploring how it both hinders and drives its development. In using artist Mark Jaroszewicz’ work as a paradigm, the paper will also address the questions of:
How specifically living in Canada, geographic location or cultural background impact a work
How the Canadian landscape play a role in both the process (materials used) and end result (what is depicted) of ceramics
In terms of the identity of Canadian ceramics what is its future
Canadian Geographic location or cultural background and its impact on ceramics
First off, the paper will analyze the obstacles faced when formulating a Canadian ceramics identity. The Canadian cultural background dates back to the Aboriginal people of North America. Their structural homes were not included in the surveys of Canadian architecture simply because their culture differed from the European norm. The aboriginal people showed genius in adapting necessary materials for building purposes. They were involved in hunting and gathering as opposed to curving stones or ceramics. They used wood as their building materials from tree barks and leaves as finishing materials. Canadian forest and its species were endangered from time to time as many of these people opt to cut down trees to be used for building purposes.
Canada’s picturesque landscape was originally owned by the First Nations in Canada later on it was replaced by the French and both groups were subject to colonization under the British Empire (Tyler 48). Studies have emphasized that the landscape is a social construction and that it needs to be recognized in terms not only of individuality but also contextuality, as a product both of nature and of nurture. The Canadian ceramic industry is still growing because it emerged from a small scale of potteries, the poor technological know-how of the ceramists, poor market strategy and the lack of mechanization. The Canadian production of ceramics at that time was on high demand since the countries she had relied upon for imports such as the United States and England were experiencing the industrial age which emphasized on aggressive marketing and high volume production. With limited tradition and history to draw from, Canadian ceramists have often relied on foreign expertise and technical knowledge for assistance.
Canadi...