"Brilliance in Our Midst"
Give the gift of art this holiday season....
Meet Robert Tetu, "Brilliance in our Midst". Read about this celebrated artist living near Seaforth Ontario and his upcoming Annual Christmas Show & Sale on November 19th & 20th, 2011 from Noon until 6:00 pm.
Beechwood Pottery is located 2 1/2 miles north of St. Columban (Hwy 8, 40 km west of Stratford) on Beachwood line
ROBERT TETU – BIOGRAPHY
Robert Tetu, born in Cambridge (Preston) Ontario, is a professional potter with an established artistic reputation. He attended the Ontario College of Art, but left midway through his second year out of frustration with the academic regimen of the time. After studying pottery part time in Toronto, he established Beechwood Pottery in an historic old general store near Seaforth, Ontario in 1975.
Although Robert continues to produce a line of functional stoneware pottery, he is presently concentrating his efforts on work inspired by the delicate yet robust forms of Oriental ceramics (Yuan, Sung and Ming Dynasties, and Korean folk pottery). The pieces range from delicate celadon glazed porcelain to smoky organic forms finished with unpredictable shino glazes and melted wood ash. Fired to almost 1300 degrees C, the work has an almost diabolical tendency to self-destruct at any step in the creative process, but he enjoys the challenge of pushing the material to its limits. The work varies in size from tiny, delicate liqueur glasses to tall vases and large, wide bowls. Functional or decorative, each piece reflects uncompromising craftsmanship and quality.
Robert has presented major workshops in ceramics to several Ontario potters' groups including those at Stratford, Windsor, Brantford, London, Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. FUSION: the Ontario Clay and Glass Association, commissioned him to present a technique/marketing workshop for Ontario potters and ceramic students at Sheridan College and he has been an instructor at Canadore College Summer School of the Arts in North Bay, Ontario. After serving on the Board and as President of FUSION: the Ontario Clay and Glass Association, in 2001 he was honoured with a life membership. In 2004 he was similarly honoured by the Ontario Crafts Council with the John Mather Award for exemplary service to craft.
Besides being a sought-after exhibition juror and programme speaker, he has been represented in many juried and invitational exhibitions. He has won many awards, including three Ontario Crafts Council Design Awards, for his work and has been featured in a number of solo shows at galleries across the province. His pottery is included in a number of private and public art collections, notably, the Governments of Ontario and Brazil, and the permanent collections of the Potters' Guild of Hamilton and Region, the Burlington Arts Centre, the Waterloo Potters' Studio, and The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery. Currently he has an on-going commission from the Royal Ontario Museum to create detailed replicas of oriental porcelains for their Reproductions Shop.
He accepts the challenge of individual commissioned works, specializing in custom dinner services in both stoneware and porcelain, and is renowned for his liturgical pieces. The studio is open by chance or by appointment, and the artist holds two major shows a year at his studio, a June Spring Show featuring new works, and a Christmas Show and Sale in November.
Robert Tetu
Beechwood Pottery
RR 5 Seaforth, Ontario N0K 1W0
Call (519) 345.2185 for info
Email: beechwood@cyg.net
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