Hutchinson, Don
Item
Maker Name
Hutchinson, Don
Studio name
White Rabbit Studio
Kingsmill Pottery studio
Kingsmill Pottery studio
Biography
Don Hutchinson arrived in Vancouver from Ontario in 1959. He became an important and beloved educator, volunteer, and mentor. He was an eclectic, skilled and imaginative artist.
In 1970 he became the Head of the Ceramics Department at Langara College, and retired in 2000.
Don studied at the VSA 1962 - 66 with Robert Wegsteen, Wayne Ngan, and Heinz Laffin, crossing over with Tam Irving (Later, both Tam and Don located raw materials found in BC for glazes and clay bodies, as have other BC potters attempted in different regions of BC, from the 1920s - 1980s; Axel Ebring, Mary Young, Olea Davis, Avery Hughye, Reg Dixon, Frances Hatfield , Jane Williams, Debra Sloan. ( more research to come).
Don taught night classes at VSA 1967-69. In the 1960s he threw lamps for Joseph Mihalik and assisted Robert Wegsteen with his tile installations. His work was included in Canadian Ceramics 1969.
He had set up a home studio by 1972 in S. Surrey. He was exhibited at the House of Ceramics during the 1970s. In 1983 he received a Canada Council Grant to study and produce glazes from local materials, from which he published a training manual on processing the materials, still in use today. During his travels he studied ceramics in China, Japan, Korea, UK, Germany, and USA. He joined Bob Kingsmill at the Kingsmill Pottery studio in 1979. Don was a volunteer for the PGBC and became the President (date to be confirmed).
In 1982 the PGBC presented Don with the Olea Davis Special Award acknowledging his ceramic practice, his contribution as an educator, and his volunteerism. In 2014 the City of Surrey acknowledged him as a ‘City Treasure’. He retired from making in 2014/5 and handed his studio over to the ‘Dusty Babes Collective’ where they worked until the studio was demolished for condominiums in 2021.
The Surrey Art Gallery held a solo show for Don “ From Form to Fantasy” in 2017.
In 1970 he became the Head of the Ceramics Department at Langara College, and retired in 2000.
Don studied at the VSA 1962 - 66 with Robert Wegsteen, Wayne Ngan, and Heinz Laffin, crossing over with Tam Irving (Later, both Tam and Don located raw materials found in BC for glazes and clay bodies, as have other BC potters attempted in different regions of BC, from the 1920s - 1980s; Axel Ebring, Mary Young, Olea Davis, Avery Hughye, Reg Dixon, Frances Hatfield , Jane Williams, Debra Sloan. ( more research to come).
Don taught night classes at VSA 1967-69. In the 1960s he threw lamps for Joseph Mihalik and assisted Robert Wegsteen with his tile installations. His work was included in Canadian Ceramics 1969.
He had set up a home studio by 1972 in S. Surrey. He was exhibited at the House of Ceramics during the 1970s. In 1983 he received a Canada Council Grant to study and produce glazes from local materials, from which he published a training manual on processing the materials, still in use today. During his travels he studied ceramics in China, Japan, Korea, UK, Germany, and USA. He joined Bob Kingsmill at the Kingsmill Pottery studio in 1979. Don was a volunteer for the PGBC and became the President (date to be confirmed).
In 1982 the PGBC presented Don with the Olea Davis Special Award acknowledging his ceramic practice, his contribution as an educator, and his volunteerism. In 2014 the City of Surrey acknowledged him as a ‘City Treasure’. He retired from making in 2014/5 and handed his studio over to the ‘Dusty Babes Collective’ where they worked until the studio was demolished for condominiums in 2021.
The Surrey Art Gallery held a solo show for Don “ From Form to Fantasy” in 2017.
First name
Don
Last name
Hutchinson
Career dates (start and end)
1967
2014
Date of Birth
1939
Date of Death
2018
Place of Birth
Windsor, Ontario
Place of Death
Studio location
Formal Education
Apprenticeships
Tile installations with Robert Wegsteen, late 1960s.
Major Exhibitions
1969 Canadian Ceramics
1980 Retrospect Ceramics 80, PGBC 25th Anniversary
2005 TransFormations , PGBC 50th Anniversary
2017 Solo, Surrey Art Gallery, Hutchinson;'From Form to Fantasy ' catalogue; Carol E. Mayer, Brian Foreman, Charlene Back
Affiliated organizations
Tag
Links to Further Resources
1977 Catalogue of British Columbian Potter, Bob Kingsmill
1982 Olea Davis Special Award PGBC
Don Published;
1985 Training manual 'Processing Minerals for Ceramic Glazes - a Potter’s Journal'
1985 Training manual 'Processing Minerals for Ceramic Glazes - a Potter’s Journal'
1998 Made of Clay, PGBC
https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/surrey-arts-community-mourns-don-hutchinson-award-winning-potter/
https://www.surrey.ca/sites/default/files/media/documents/DonHutchinsonFormFantasy.pdf
2014 Surrey Civic Treasure - City of Surrey.
Source
Debra Sloan
Linked resources
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