Thursday, May 24, 2012

Ron Douglas



Ron Douglas is a well known studio potter on Vancouver Island, B.C. He has been “in love with clay” for over thirty years, and started as a young boy creating small sculptures in his garden. After taking ceramics in High School, Ron went on to excel in sculpture and ceramics at the Kootenay School of Art in Nelson B.C. in the early seventies.
He established his first pottery studio (Blue Heron Studio) in 1972 in Edmonton, Alberta and at the same time owned and operated Handworks Gallery, a craft store and gallery. In addition to running the studio and craft gallery, he studied advanced ceramics courses at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Department of Extension at the University of Alberta. His early influences were Ruth Duckworth, Clary Illian, John Chalke, Walter Dexter, and Harlan House.
Moving to Victoria in 1991, he opened his Creekside Pottery Studio along an urban creek, where he creates exciting lines of contemporary and traditional pottery. He has shown his work in many exhibitions and galleries, and his pottery has been sold to people traveling to many parts of the world. Having established himself as both a functional and sculptural clay artist, Ron has exhibited in the Gallery of BC Ceramics (Vancouver), the Out of Hand Gallery (Victoria) and is part of the annual Oak Bay Artist Studio Tour. In his Creekside Pottery Studio, Ron produces both functional stoneware pottery in his gas kiln, earthenware tiles, and one-of-a-kind art works.
Ron recently received a Community Arts Council Award for his contribution to the Arts in his community  from the Mayor and Council of the Municipality of Oak Bay.