John Cloutier - clay etc.

The works of ceramic artist John Cloutier have become a focal point of major exhibitions throughout Western Canada.

Unlike other successful artists, however, he is known for his constantly changing style, the result of continual experimentation with new images, shapes and methods.

John came from a family of Saskatchewan artists, father Paul and sister Jennette are well known Painters. In 1972 while Attending University the musty smell of the clay room prompted a switch to ceramics and in 1985 began firing in Raku.

The artist's ceramic method is Raku, an ancient Japanese art of firing which produces sculptures with unique glazes and a characteristic black clay body. "I love the spontaneity of the medium, the combination from delicate and sophisticated to rough and primitive - all within the same piece. When you fire a piece, you never know how it's going to turn out."

An accomplished chef and fly fisherman, Cloutier is inspired by many different subjects. "I am an observer of shapes - in buildings, interior design, or something as simple as a tree branch or a bent-over lamp post." He is also greatly influenced by the art and spiritualism of the West Coast Indians. "When I'm feeling more formal, I may look back at ancient Greek or Egyptian art work on the wheel. I hand build more abstract pieces.

"Fourteen generations ago, in 1634, my Grandpa Zachary came to this new world from Monatgue in the Persche (Normandy) to build a country.

Two years ago, after a very close vote in Quebec, I realized that Canada as we know it could be destroyed. We have lost sight of how great this country can be if we work together.

I Began to feel sad that my family had spent 363 years living, working, raising families, fighting for, and dying, to build a country where we could live as we choose, only to have a few, who seem to have forgotten why we came here in the first place, cut a chunk off of our country for themselves.

This wonderful place is for everyone and our children and their children....we must keep it intact.

So, I decided that I wanted to show the many faces of the people who built this country, "people from all over the world." I hope that you enjoy this body of work, which I began in October 1996. Since each person has his or her own story of what life is like in this country, I thought it only fitting that they be mounted on talking sticks. They represent the many people of our heritage who have contributed to the building of our country.

Technically, these works are multimedia pieces, incorporating clay, wood and leather. The heads are a combination of different colored clays, with slips and stains, which were fired once in a gas kiln; they are mounted on cedar.

A fellow artist Alex Fong, an innovative watercolorist asked me in the
summer of 1999 to do a show with him, with works that represent the
history of the Okanagan, a region of Canada best known for orchards
and vineyards.

Since apples were one of the major sources of the success in this region
in the early years I thought I would focus on the "Apple". The faces on the pots represent some of the founders of the community.

The fireplace is an example of some of the tile work that I do, this one is highly
textured with sculptured heads of artists passed and present, This commission is
in the studio of another well known Canadian artist Roger Arndt.

The Chef

The Artist

A Canadian Portrait - "the people of our heritage"

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Recent Works of Art 2000