Being an artist can be a lonely, solitary endeavour, which is why potters Dorothy Yakiwchuk and Kathy Verbeke are thrilled to participate in this year’s Moostletoe Tour with other community artisans.
The duo — they have a combined 70 years as potters — make up the Mud Pie Girls, which has existed for six years and operates at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre. They will be showing their creations there during the 11th annual tour, which occurs on Saturday, Nov. 4.
This is Verbeke’s first year participating and she is excited to display her work. Meanwhile, this is Yakiwchuk’s second time, as she participated years ago while working with tour co-founder Monica De Campo.
“It was so inspiring (with De Campo). She had so much energy to give to me and others,” said Yakiwchuk. “She was committed and dedicated. I’m like that, too.
“We complemented each other. She was a porcelain artist and I was into stoneware. It was wonderful. I hated to see her move.”
Verbeke and Yakiwchuk now complement — and compliment — each other’s work, with the former focusing on sculptures and the latter creating functional, usable items like bowls, plates and teapots.
Verbeke has been experimenting with a substance called sodium silicate, which is a technique she applies to the clay to provide different textures.
Meanwhile, besides her functional items, Yakiwchuk — who finds pottery therapeutic — will showcase her “signature work” of Nativity scenes, which she has been creating for 50 years.
Besides learning from De Campo, Yakiwchuk also studied under Randy Woolsley — a renowned Saskatchewan ceramic artist now living in Japan — at the Fort Qu’Appelle Arts School.
“He was a wonderful instructor. There were days when I wondered, ‘Oh my goodness, can’t I keep that, one of my bowls?’” she recalled.
“And he said, ‘Well, you will … be keeping one.’ And it was all about technique. And he said, ‘If you don’t have technique, how are you going to make all the things you have in your head?’”
The Mud Pie Girls were the only pottery group at the Cultural Centre for years, but in 2022, they encouraged the River Street Potters — a quartet of younger women — to set up across the hall; the groups then developed a sound relationship.
Verbeke noted the Cultural Centre now has a larger “presence of pottery.” Together, the two groups have participated in fundraisers for the food bank, the Cultural Centre and Square One Community Inc.
It was the quartet who encouraged the duo to participate in this year’s Moostletoe Tour after taking part themselves last year.
“It’s (the tour) an opportunity to be with other artisans and keep in touch,” said Yakiwchuk. “Retirement is fine for me and would not be complete without having something like this that we can work together. And it’s a community and we’re doing artwork together.”
Verbeke noted that many artists work in isolation, so she wants to visit the other tour participants as a show of support.
“It’s really good to get together and let Moose Jaw know that we’re here and we have a lot of artists,” agreed Yakiwchuk.
After the tour, the two pottery groups will host a joint exhibition in December, with their work inspired by Vincent Van Gogh and the theme of beauty.
“I have my interpretation on that … . We start with nothing and we come out with something,” Yakiwchuk said. “We take a box of clay and we … try to make it beautiful and for people to appreciate what the work is like to be a potter.”
Verbeke noted that she has already created a series of Van Gogh-related sculptures and figurines, including the artist with his paint pads surrounded by sunflowers.
“… he’s one of my favourite artists. Like, why would you not?” she chuckled.
In general, when creating sculptures, Yakiwchuk may start with an idea but change her mind and finish with something different. She noted it’s all about perspective and the fact an idea can quickly fly from her mind into her hands.
Furthermore, with existing artwork, she sometimes reuses them by making new pieces or adding attachments.
“That is the fun part of taking old art and making it fresh or new for today,” she added.
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