Mary Borgstrom (May 18, 1916 – April 3, 2019) was a Canadian

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska * Potters, New Je ...

, ceramist, and artist who specialized in primitive techniques. She was presented with the "Award of Excellence" by the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Quebec.

Life

Borgstrom was born in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in 1916, and later moved to

Provost, Alberta Provost is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highway 13 and Highway 899, west of the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It was originally named "Lakeview" but renamed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Land Department ...

. In

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

in the mid 1960s, she attended a workshop on primitive pottery offered by the ceramist Hal Riegger, getting exposed to techniques of the craft. Shortly thereafter in the late 1960s and early 1970s, she "emerged as one of the most unique ceramic talents in Alberta". Her artwork was shown world-wide, and appeared in numerous collections and exhibitions. In 1976 Borgstrom was invited to participate in the Arts and Culture program in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Borgstrom died on April 3, 2019 at the age of 102 at the Provost Health Centre in Provost, Alberta.

Reviews and awards

* Virginia J Watt, a director at the Canadian Guild of Crafts stated: "In all of her work, she maintains a sober austerity that gives her primitive style its purity and sophistication." * Alberta Art Foundation, on her work "Her piece ... represents the unique development of civilization on the Canadian prairies." * The Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec presented Mary with the "Award of Excellence". * Eileen Lewenstein and

Emmanuel Cooper Emmanuel Cooper (12 December 193821 January 2012)"Emmanuel Cooper obit ...

in "New Ceramics" stated: "Mary Borgstrom, who lives in a rural area of Alberta, has led many people to an interest in primitive pottery."

Creative Process

Often claiming to be inspired by the natural landscape, Borgstrom scavenged for her own artistic materials in the nature surrounding her childhood home. This included the cultivation of clay. Here, Borgstrom created her pottery workshop later in her life. Borgstrom attests to working within a "primitive technique" of pottery and clay making. This technique, often called "primitive firing" is a process in which a potter employs the use of a handmade raku kiln. This practice includes the firing of clay works, called

raku ware is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, most often in the form of ''chawan'' tea bowls. It is traditionally characterised by being hand-shaped rather than thrown, fairly porous vessels, which result from low ...

, at extremely hot temperatures for prolonged periods of time. This process allows for a sense of "artistic closeness" between the artist and the works.

Art Market

In January 2022, Mary Borgstrom's home and personal workshop were bought and restored by Alex Archbold of Curiosity Incorporated. Archbold insured surviving works, preparing them for the private art market, where they were insured for up to $10,000 USD.

Exhibitions

In 1971, twenty-five of Borgstrom's clay works were exhibited at the Canadian Guid of Handicrafts acquired by the

Montreal Museum of Fine Art The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

, resulting in an innovation to attend the Arts and Culture Program at the

held in Montreal, Canada. Borgstrom's works are held internationally in Japanese and English collections. Several of Borgstrom's pieces are currently on display across Canadian galleries including the

Art Gallery of Alberta The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is an art museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum occupies a building at Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. The museum building was originally designed by Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley, alth ...

and the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borgstrom, Mary 1916 births 2019 deaths Artists from Saskatchewan Canadian ceramists Canadian women ceramists Canadian centenarians 20th-century Canadian women artists 20th-century Canadian artists 20th-century ceramists 21st-century Canadian women artists 21st-century Canadian artists 21st-century ceramists Women centenarians Artists from Alberta