When the Pot Breaks the Potter Laughs

A large percentage of rejected wares are expected in the art and craft of ceramics. In a year of making, many bowls will collapse, vases will break, greenwares will be dropped and glazes will run. Finished pieces will be knocked off shelves. Colours and textures will not turn out as expected. Kiln firings will stop at the incorrect temperature without explanation.

Many potters around the world have “ware graveyards” on their property, as well as traditions of smashing failed pieces to make room for new work. During the early Ming Dynasty in China, more than half the firings of every imperial kiln were discarded in the Jingdezhen neighbourhood, now famous for its thriving populace that builds and lives on top of the rejected shards. German immigrants to Pennsylvania produced distinctive redware that featured the phrase “When the pot breaks, the potter laughs.”

In this spirit, AKA will host a “Smash or Save” sale with artist Rebecca La Marre. Her rejected wares from the last three years of making will be posted on social media, giving the public an opportunity to vote on which items should be saved. There will be a smashing ceremony on September 25 during Nuit Blanche.

50% of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to OUTSaskatoon’s Pride Home, to support youth that need safe haven away from their biological families.

Saskatoon Pride Home:

Two Spirit, transgender, and queer youth are at a greater risk of homelessness compared to their cisgender, heterosexual peers. OUTSaskatoon opened Pride Home in January 2017 in order to provide a place for 2SLGBTQ youth to live open and free lives. Pride Home is a place where gender and sexually diverse youth are celebrated and supported and where they have the support and services that they need to thrive.

Rebecca La Marre

Rebecca La Marre is a queer Canadian artist with a writing, research and performance practice. She uses clay and text to give form to questions about what it means to be a person in the world, and how ideological structures, language and ritual shape experience.

Her work is exhibited and published internationally. Venues include the Serpentine Gallery, MOMA PS1, and the Darling Foundry. Her writing has been published widely in journals and periodicals, with a forthcoming piece in The Happy Hypocrite this year. She is an emeritus commissioning editor for E.R.O.S. Journal.