Bees & Blossoms Spring Market @ Medalta
February 12, 2024In this newsletter, we are super excited to update you on all the amazing stuff going down at Medalta. From acquiring some cool old ceramic things thanks to a generous donation by our dear friend Ronald Getty; to preparations for our exciting children’s summer camps, it’s all excitement here. We will also provide an overview of our awesome studio areas where artists from different parts of the world create bodies of creative ceramic work. Also, we can’t forget to tell you about our events this spring season – you can read our full newsletter or focus on the topics that interest you the most below:
5 Reasons Why You Should Send Your Kids to Medalta this Summer!
We have a summer packed with fun activities for kids of all ages! These camps are geared towards 6-9-year-olds and other 9-12-year-olds and we even have a few all-ages camps and field trips planned. Each week we have a unique theme for inspiring and motivating the children who attend our camps. Every week includes similar adventures like scavenger hunts, trail walks, active games, art & science projects, and of course, CLAY PROJECTS! We’ve compiled a list of why our children’s education is so great, check it out!
We have History and Heritage
Our education programs take place at our unique community space, an industrial museum, once a pottery factory from the turn of the 20th century. History surrounds us at Medalta, with resources such as heritage machines, bee-hive kilns, and historic photos of former workers that tell stories of life in the early 1900’s.
Deep Learning
Our Community Classroom program is an innovative, experiential, cross-curricular learning model that moves student learning “beyond the classroom” into the Historic Clay District for several days, not hours! This is an opportunity for cultural and educational immersion that engages students in inquiry-based learning and exploration through a host of creative, integrated activities that align with the Alberta Program of Studies.
We are Adaptable
Specialized field trips are available to schools, homeschool groups, community organizations, and families. Specific themes and learning objectives can be customized for all ages. We offer a children’s summer program, off-site clay instruction, full-day visits, and our Community Classroom program which incorporates specific learning objectives and uses a variety of activities that integrate the elements of “STEAM” (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math).
Always Creative
All of our programs present opportunities for increasing creativity and critical thinking. Participants engage in innovative cross-curricular activities, make creative connections, create visual reflection journals, and create unique clay projects!
Exciting and Exploratory
Curiosity fuels exploration, fun, adventure, and engaging experiences at Medalta. Inquiry-based and interactive learning is utilized for several exploratory activities including clay science, archaeology digs, natural resource walks, and our infamous scavenger hunts throughout the museum. Our exploration also soars into space! Due to the structure of the Community
Collection Acquisition Highlight
The artefacts exhibited and stored are all acquired through the goodwill of community members donating them to the museum. The impressive and vast collection could not have been accomplished otherwise.
One recent donation was from Ronald Getty – a Medalta researcher, appraiser, collector, and long-time museum friend. Ron literally “wrote the book” on collecting Medalta wares, being the author of “The Kilns of Southeastern Alberta” and “Know Your Medalta: Stamps and Other Markings, a Guide to Dating Products”.
With his keen eye for noticing rare, one-of-a-kind, and underrepresented products in the museum’s permanent collection, he recently donated an impressive 100+ item lot of Historic Clay District-related ceramics. This includes products from Medalta Potteries, Medicine Hat Potteries, Hycroft China, Medalta 66’, and Sunburst ceramics.
A complete description of the items would overtake this newsletter, but a small sampling of the items include:
A purple Medalta Potteries cup made between 1937-1954. This cup is not only a rare glaze (there are only a few purple pieces in Medalta’s permanent collection), but it is also a previously unrecorded cup style!
This “Greetings from Montana” hand-painted Hycroft China plate, was made between 1955-1989. This is the first example of a souvenir plate with this design on it in the permanent collection, and it shows a very intricate and detailed design.
A black Stetson style hat ashtray by Hycroft China – unmarked but similar to ones in the permanent collection, and likely made around 1955-1957. This is the first hat ashtray acquired that is glazed completely black – black is a rare glaze and is one of the few black pieces in the permanent collection.
A Medalta Potteries Redcliff pie plate! Made between 1966-1986, this is the first example in the permanent collection. Ceramics with a lid often break, so having this pie plate with the original lid (the most important and delicious-looking part), but also be in great condition – no chips, cracks, or crazing – makes it a wonderful addition.
We at Medalta are grateful for the substantial artefact donation from Ron, and truly appreciate his continued support for the museum. His research into Medalta and the Historic Clay District is a heavily used resource used when answering public questions and developing interpretation.
For anyone interested in donating an artefact, information can be found here at https://medalta.org/heritage/collections/#1671047073838-cf8f90dc-fa13, or by emailing the Collections Manager at collection@medalta.org.
Medalta Events Update
This winter at Medalta has been lively, starting with the Tongue on the Post Folk Music Festival January 23-28, where we had live music in virtually every nook and cranny of our museum over the week-long festival. We welcomed Toronto comedian Natalie Norman on January 28 as our first Comedy Night at Medalta in the always charming Turning Room. On February 3 we hosted a packed whiskey tasting in the cozy kiln with Trackside Liquor, followed by a specially catered Valentine’s Day dinner in the kiln on February 14 with Chef Meghan Elizabeth, former owner, and chef of Heartwood Café. On February 22 – 24, we hosted a province-wide Alberta Fish and Game Conference with participants attending pottery classes, tours, clay classes, and wine tastings as a part of their Medalta conference experience. March 2nd, we hosted yet another dinner in the kiln, this time in partnership with Tourism Medicine Hat, which was completely sold out and a smashing success featuring 5 local culinary partners each presenting a customized and unique course. In March we had two large spring weddings as well.
Medalta is preparing for a huge Spring Market called Bees and Blossoms on April 5 and 6 which will feature the entire museum space filled with vendors, live music, face painting, children’s activities, food, and even a bouncy castle in our courtyard. Finally, on April 6, we will close out our spring market with a final Tourism Medicine Hat Spring Dinner in the Kiln featuring 5 local restaurants and anticipate a sold-out kiln! Medalta is an exciting place to “Bee”!
Inside Medalta’s State-of-the-Art Studio Spaces
The Shaw Centre is currently hosting eight artists for our Medalta International Artists in Residence (MIAIR) program. We have two long-term residents (over 8 months) and six FLEX residents (2-8 months). Over the last 15 years, we have hosted several artists who travel to Medalta from all over the world to explore their artistic endeavors focused on clay. Our two long-term residents are preparing for their Solo Shows hosted in the Yuill Family Gallery where they will display their work that
The 12,000 sq ft building offers artists access to exemplary facilities, equipment, and semi-private studio spaces. The Shaw Centre has vaulted ceilings that allow natural light to filter in throughout the day, creating a bright and open studio environment. During a residency, artists are provided with a large 4ft x 8 ft. worktable, pottery wheel, and drying shelves in their individual studio spaces. Extruders, slab rollers, plaster tables, clay mixers, and other larger equipment are located nearby for easy access. Artists have 24-hour access to the Shaw Centre and are encouraged to create a work schedule that suits their timeline. The studios are separated by movable walls to distinguish between private studio spaces but are open on one side to foster open dialogue and exchanges amongst other residents.
We have over 15 kilns available for residents to use during their time at Medalta – ranging in size and type from manual and electric, gas and atmospheric, 0.6 cubic ft. test kilns to our 30 cubic ft. car kiln. We are one of the few ceramic spaces in Canada, outside of academic institutions, with access to salt and soda atmospheric kilns – and they are one of our most popular for residents and community rentals.
Medalta is a great space to take advantage of new processes and learn amongst peers. Every month we host artist talks for new residents to get to know one another, discuss their interests, and show off recent work. We facilitate and encourage pop-up art exhibitions, group studio visits, skill-sharing demos, and pizza parties using our wood-burning pizza oven. The Shaw Centre also has a well-stocked library with books, artist publications, and magazines that have been generously donated by community members and past residents. It is a great place to dive deeper into technical procedures, and learn more about different approaches, and is a relaxing place to read or eat lunch.
Current Artists in Residence:
- Cadence Planthara, January – March, (York, ON)
- Ami Sangha, January – March, (New Westminster, BC)
- Coral Patola, February – March, (Mount Currie, BC)
- Jim Etzkorn, February – April, (Medicine Hat, AB)
- Heather Lott, March – April, (Huntington Beach, California, USA)
- Erin Skelton, March – April, (Montreal, QC)
- Daniel Labutes, Permanent, (Calgary, AB)
- Kasia Sosnowski, Permanent, (Lethbridge + Calgary, AB)
- Tory MacKay, September – July, (Nelson, BC)
