Mary Borgstrom (May 18, 1916 – April 3, 2019)[1] was a Canadian potter, ceramist, and artist who specialized in primitive techniques.[2][3][4] She was presented with the "Award of Excellence" by the Canadian Guild of Crafts in Quebec.
Mary Borgstrom | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1916-05-18)May 18, 1916 Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died | April 3, 2019(2019-04-03) (aged 102) |
| Education | Self-taught |
| Known for | Potter |
| Awards | Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Award of Excellence |
Borgstrom was born in Saskatchewan in 1916, and later moved to Provost, Alberta.[5]
I gathered all my own clay. Just anywhere. But you get so you know that all clay isn't equal. [Some has good sand] in it that you can use. But there's also sand that the pottery won't hold together. And you get so you know your clay; you know your soil. [3]
Mary Borgstrom
In Edmonton, Alberta 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".[2][3] Her artwork was shown world-wide, and appeared in numerous collections and exhibitions.[3][6]
In 1976 Borgstrom was invited to participate in the Arts and Culture program in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[3]
Borgstrom died on April 3, 2019 at the age of 102 at the Provost Health Centre in Provost, Alberta.
Open, direct firing suits my farm and country background, my temperament and my pocket book. An intimate love affair with the great out doors and an insatiable curiosity about Mother Earth makes the search for local clays not only a challenge but an adventure of sheer pleasure and unexplainable fascination. And so -- my involvement in Primitive Pottery is about as total as is possible, almost to the exclusion of all else. Almost! An overly fertile mind -- an explosion of ideas within one Life Span and Time holding a Stop Watch on the impossible dream. There has to be another world -- another lifetime.[7]
Mary Borgstrom