Workshop Studios is dedicated to creating employment and professional development opportunities for artists in Calgary.

@pixifire

India Verre graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2022, with a Major in Glass and a Minor in Jewellery. From her studio in Calgary, she founded Mycindium Glass to produce whimsical and unique borosilicate glass jewellery, as well as one-of-a-kind art glass pieces. Her intricate work is heavily inspired by the natural world and aims to convey a sense of wonder in the everyday.

mycindiumglass.ca

@mycindium.glass

“My artwork takes a critical view of ageism and gender issues. I am often referencing human emotion and grief. My work also explores the varying relationships between aging and today’s ideals of aging.  I often use humour and engage subjects as diverse as women’s right to vote, history and hardship.  I use clay to draw portraits of people that might look like someone from your family and remind you of their life stories. While I use clay and other materials for each of my projects, my methodology is consistent.  It is a reflection of humans and their environment.”

Jana holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Ceramics from Alberta College of Art and Design. She has been practicing ceramic for more than 20 years and her work has been selected in several competitions. Jana loves exploring different mediums, such as painting, drawing and sculpting in clay. She enjoys instructing and the challenges that come with the work as much as helping students meet and exceed their personal practice goals.

jrnstudios.com

@jrnstudios

Josefina Rodriguez is an Argentinian artist living in Calgary, Alberta since 2010. In 2021, she obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Ceramics from the Alberta University of the Arts. Her current practice and research focus on eroticism and sexuality, from a feminine and personal perspective. Community work and volunteering have always been important to her and she is actively involved in her community, helping develop an inclusive, diverse and collaborative environment between artists. Teaching at Workshop Studios is part of this dynamic.

“ I felt the need to share my passion for hand building with others. Having never taught before, I wanted to challenge myself, to help and support others in their creative journeys. Most of my work is fuelled by my life experience as a Latino woman growing up in a sexist and patriarchal society that dictated what I could or couldn’t do. I consider my work and my life’s choices to be a response to the male oppression I grew up with. It is meant to defy and denounce machismo and patriarchy as oppressive to women and men alike. Art is the conduit to expressing and questioning things for me, and that is what led me to pursue a career in the arts.”

josefinarv.com

@brujaceramics

Kate Husted began wheel-throwing in 2009 while in university, needing a counterbalance to books. She is community-taught. Coming from a long line of craftspeople, her love of clay is rooted in a natural affinity for materials and precision work. 

“Since 2009, I’ve slowly been gathering an informal education thanks to a generous community and lots of trial and error. I find a lot of satisfaction in a straight line or lid that fits just right, and, if I’m being honest, throw so that I can trim. My newest enthusiasm is for glaze chemistry and the science of our materials in general. I find that my creativity expands in step with my abilities, as new skills and knowledge allow me to see possibilities I couldn’t before. The endlessness of a practice in ceramics is something that I find really exciting. I find it really fulfilling to teach, it makes me feel warm inside. It’s also nice to spend a couple hours every week with a group of others, as I usually work alone.  Having to articulate what exactly it is I’m doing has helped me better understand the nuances of wheel-throwing alongside students.”

husted.ca

@kate.husted

“I was raised in Dawson Creek in Northern British Columbia. I began making from an early age, joining a family line of obsessive craftsmen. I started ceramic classes at the age of fourteen, and from there went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from The Alberta University of Arts in 2020. Alongside my ceramics practice, I also work in fiber mediums including natural dyes, fabric design, quilting, and slow garment making. Committed to ceramics as my first love, I create functional objects both on and off the wheel. I work with an understanding that decisions made during the process of making can determine how an object is perceived and used. I am intrigued by the way the objects we use can function as catalysts of moments of quiet calm in our everyday lives. Through functional objects like ceramics and quilts, I can bridge a relationship between maker and user.”

Lael began working in clay 16 years ago. She has been a resident at Medalta International Artists Residency in Medicine Hat after graduating from AUArts in 2020. She is a recipient of several awards and grants, and has shown work in several group exhibitions. She enjoys teaching immensely. Creating a process that is unique to each of her students keeps her excited to share her love of clay.

laelchmelyk.com

@laelchmelyk

Mindy graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2002 with a degree in Ceramics. Since then, she has been practicing as a professional ceramic artist, teacher and technician. Mindy participated in the Medalta Artists In Residence program and in several competitions in Canada, Australia, South Korea and the USA.

mayviewstudio.ca

bramblestudio.ca

@mindyaandrews

Tory combines a background of conceptual training and craft-based education in their
work. Holding an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from The University of Calgary and an
intensive education in Ceramic and Fibre Craft from The Kootenay School of the Arts; she
explores body, personhood, queerness—and how they all connect to human altered
environments.
Tory is an atmospheric kiln and wheel throwing specialist. In their recent year-long
residency and solo show at Medalta, they explored these concepts and techniques through
large-scale queered vessels. Integrating handbuilding, sculpture, and body-based design
into their practice they were able to cultivate a diverse range of atmospheric kiln research
on colour and surface design.

“Before I found clay, I split my time between heavily writing-based accademia and the
reforestation sector of Northern BC. When I thought about future career paths, I dreamt of
a field that would somehow combine these two experiences. My practice of ceramics,
fibre, atmospheric kilns, and being an educator has turned out to be exactly that. Each
session in the studio is marked by this: how can I communicate in a way that my writing
could not?”