Open House

Come out and help us fill the parking lot tonight at the Medalta Open House beginning 7pm. If last month's event was any indication, it'll be a great party.  Featuring the works of the July residents  Robin Lambert , Brendan Tang, Carole Epp, Jeremy Hatch, Paul Maseyk, Darlene Nairn and our own Robin DuPont.

Medalta International Artists in Residence Program
713 Medalta Avenue SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, T1A 3K9
Telephone: (403) 529–1070
Fax: (403) 580–5868

www.medalta.org

Here's a little sneak peak of Robin's latest creations. 

Tipi Town

Besides pottery, clay, kilns, bricks, the infamous Medalta residency and now flooding....Medicine Hat is also known for being home to the World's largest Tipi! You can't miss this 20 storey structure when you drive through town just off the TransCanada Hwy. Today the kids and I ventured out with the bike and trailer and after several attempts to find a route that would take us there we were successful. There are still many trails in the area feeling the aftershock of last month's flooding, which means closed trails and water logged pathways. 

But we were determined to picnic beneath the tipi poles and eventually found a way. A promise fulfilled and two happy kidlets. 

Soda, no lime

We're back in the Hat, it's hot and we're running errands. Had to stock up on some groceries for the week, arrange to get the Jeep in for some badly needed new tires and ship off some pots to Montana for an exhibition that Robin was juried into. 

Our favorite potter made the poster for the Soda Salt National exhibition, with two entries selected for the show: the two tumblers and a teapot. The show is hosted by the Clay Studio of Missoula, an annual exhibition showcasing soda and salt fired ceramics from around the nation, and in this case....beyond. Opening reception is Aug 6th, if you happen to be in the area. 

Robin is thrilled to have some pieces in this show, as he's been on a real soda kick lately, doing lots of research in surface manipulation. He's glazing and prepping for a final soda firing this week which will wrap things up here at Medalta.  

A three province tour

I think I could pass for Maryanne, don't you?

Just sit right back 

And you'll hear a tale

A tale of a long car ride

That started out from Medicine Hat

About three weeks ago

The kids were keen and well behaved

The mother, brave and sure

Four passengers set off that day

For a three province tour

A three province tour

They first set out for Saskatoon

Headed east o'er prairie lands

If not the home of their very dear friends

They surely would have gone west

They surely would have gone west

That fearless mother of two

Was equipped with all the tricks

With colouring books

A snack bag too

Babies

and hot rod cars

Isla Belle

and Roscoe and mom

On a three province tour

They headed back to Al-ber-ta

And sadly said goodbyes

The daddy went back to his residency

And the others carried on

They then went north to Grandma's place:

A cabin and a lake

They roasted 'mallows and hotdogs too

And went walking on the trails

Next a trip to the Koot-en-ays

For a little homestyle fun

Plenty of days at the beach this time

The weather was just fine

Then back to Alberta for a family event

A brother would be wed

We raised our glasses to the newlyweds

And all had a really great time

Reunited with the daddy then

All together again

Our three province tour is nearly done

Cause we're back in Medicine Hat! 

DuPont sightings

My recent post about trolling the blogosphere for images of the daddy has spurred up some sympathy for this little family separated this month. Thanks to Carole for the Robin post. Carole is also on the ceramics scene at Medalta right now, and a mom, and a wife, and a fantastic blogger to boot! My commitment to regular posts has waned a bit since we arrived in Nelson. I must be on Kootenay time. 

The kids and I have been generating a bit of buzz around our own 'DuPont sightings' since we've arrived a week ago. We've made and enjoyed plenty of scheduled playdates with friends, and had just as many chance encounters down at the river, strolling through town and parked at the beach. You know when you feel at home when you can count on bumping into someone you know that always has time for an Oso Coffee. 

We've split our time between Nelson and the valley and are nearing double digits when it comes to trips to the beach. It is summertime after all. Here's a few images of our Kootenay peeps.  

  

Missing Medalta

The title of this post should be more like 'Life is a highway'. In just the first 10 days of July I've already travelled out to Saskatchwan, through Alberta and now find myself in Beautiful British Columbia wondering why I haven't been posting more often this month. Lack of internet access, birthday parties and staggettes to attend, endless hours of driving from province to province, oh and It's Summertime and the Living's easy, right? Wrong! 

The miserable, no good, ill-timed cold that my kids caught a few weeks ago finally caught up to me. So I've been feeling awful on top of missing my other half who is back in Medicine Hat making pots this month. He surprised us on Sunday and drove up from the Hat to spend the day with all of us before we took off for the Kootenays early Monday morning. It was so great to see him, even though it'd been less than a week since we parted last, like falling in love again. Isla was equally over the moon when her dada showed up in time to take in a midday matinee with her at the cheapie theatre. 

I had the car packed and ready to get up at the crack of dawn on Monday, easing the kids out of their slumber and into their carseats for the 7 hour drive to Nelson. Unfortunately the trip was more like 9 hours when we came up against a highway closure due to a bad accident outside of Creston. But we arrived at my sister's for a happy cousin reunion and already I'm reminded of how much I miss living here and being close to my sister. She's been extremely generous with her time since we arrived, allowing me to put in some hours on a work project that I have on the go, as well as trying to get healthy again so that I can actually enjoy my Kootenay time these next two weeks. 

But tonight, I'm missing Robin. I've been following the blogs of a couple of the other artists that are currently down at Medalta as part of the July residency, Carole Epp and Robin Lambert, both keeping current posts about the ongoings and activities. I personally know Robin Lambert, from back in the ol' ACAD days (a fellow ceramics grad of Robin's) and I feel like I know Carole even though I don't, through following her blog and mutual friends. It's been great to read their take on residency life, and secretly wish for Robin sightings in their posts, makes me miss it when our month there in June seemed to fly by so quickly. 

I'm hoping to make a trip out to Medicine Hat again this month (I know - more driving!) when we return to Calgary near the end of the month for Robin's brother's wedding. I don't want to entirely miss out on all the excitement and bbqing that is happening down there in the Hat. But for now anyways, it's Kootenay time. 

A special re-treat

We've recently returned from the land without internet. After our tearful goodbyes with the dada last week we headed north to spend a couple of fabulous days with my mom out at the lake. 

It's been over three years since I'd been to the property that I once spent my entire summers as a teen. It turned out to be a special treat to share the memories with my own kids, to watch them navigate the trails, dance in the tipi ring and roast marshmallows in the fire pit. 

Thanks to mom for her generous hospitality and all the fun treats that made the kids comfortable in the bush. Isla was sad to leave when it was time, after having had a taste of Grandma Lady's special retreat, and I assured her we'd be back some day. 

A few farewells

Since the last post we've said goodbye a fair few times. First on Thursday to all the Medalta residents last Thursday when we took off over the prairie to visit some very good friends and relatives in Saskatoon.  Then on Friday, after a delightful evening with my aunt and uncle who cooked us up a gourmet meal like no other, we said our farewells to them. On Saturday we drove east and north of Saskatoon to the picturesque town of Lake Lenore, dodging highway closures and detouring around sections of highway, totally underwater, to finally arrive at the pottery mecca and home of Martin Tagseth. After a fabulous day with his family checking out his dance hall studio, kilns, garden and home, we bid our adieu to them. On Sunday we woke early to relish a final morning coffee and breakfast with our beloved friends the Terepockis, who had played host to us the entire weekend and sadly said goodbye to them to head back west over the green prairies. It was a whirlwind weekend of giggling girls, Carousel rides, getting lost out on the prairie, late night chin wags, fabulous meals and cherished friends and family time.

After a quick overnight in Calgary last night, I woke up early this morning to say a teary goodbye to my husband who is headed back to Medicine Hat as a write this to continue with the next exciting residency happenings at Medalta. I didn't realize how choked up I was going to be to see him drive off. The kids and I are continuing on our road trip for the next three weeks and we'll miss having him in the driver's seat for sure. I'm also going to miss my little camera that mistakenly went with him back to Medicine Hat. I'll be at the mercy of my family members to help capture any visual images of our next adventures.