Vase with Dragon

Provenance:
Donated by a Regina collector, with 100% of the winning bid going to the Canadian Red Cross Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal.
Notes:
Saskatchewan NAC bio: Wendy Parsons was born in 1949 in Wolseley, Saskatchewan. She studied at the University of Regina with Marilyn Levine, Mel Bolen, and Don Chester, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1971. She took further classes there with David Gilhooly and Joe Fafard as well as clay workshops with Ron Nagel (1978) and Jack Sures (1979). Parsons went on to receive a Master's Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, England in 2002. Parsons is interested in infusing her optimism and joy into her work, which includes animal and animal-like figures. She collaborates with fellow artist Zach Dietrich, with whom she runs Parsons Dietrich Pottery in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions across Saskatchewan and in British Columbia, and is represented in collections including the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In 2010, there was a major retrospective of Parsons' work at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery. During her career, Parsons has also served as artist-in-residence in Weyburn and as an educational coordinator at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery and has been involved with the Art Smart program of the Saskatchewan Arts Board. She has also taught workshops to children and adults throughout the province. As an active member of the Saskatchewan arts community, Parsons was one of the founders of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, set up a co-operative studio in Weyburn and built one of the first high temperature wood-fuelled kilns in the province. She has also been involved with the Saskatchewan Arts Board and Sask Terra. Wendy Parsons lives and works in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan NAC bio: Zach Dietrich was born in 1952 in Melville, Saskatchewan. He studied political science at the University of Regina, completing his Bachelor of Arts in 1974, but went on to pursue pottery after being influenced by artist Wendy Parsons. Dietrich took clay classes through the University of Regina's extension department, attended the Calgary Clay Symposium in 1974, and took workshops with Vic Cicansky and Jack Sures. Dietrich's interest is wheel throwing, and he also enjoys developing glazes from local materials, wood firing, and kiln building. Influenced by artists such as Don Reitz and Jack Sures, Dietrich works in close collaboration with Wendy Parsons. Since the 1970s, Dietrich's work has been shown in group exhibitions across the province. He has received a Saskatchewan Arts Board grant and won the Best of Clay award at the Saskatchewan Craft Council's juried exhibition Dimensions in 1981. Dietrich's work is represented in the collections of the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery. A founding member of the Saskatchewan Craft Council, Dietrich has long been involved in the Saskatchewan arts community. He has served as a board member of SaskCulture and the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, and is a member of CARFAC and Sask Terra. Along with Wendy Parsons, Dietrich established a co-operative studio in Endeavour, Saskatchewan and built one of Saskatchewan's first high-temperature wood-fuelled kilns. Zach Dietrich lives in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He teaches workshops with many groups, including the Moose Jaw Pottery Club and the Regina Potters, and runs Parsons Dietrich Pottery with Wendy Parsons.