Le Cocq, Doris
Item
Maker Name
Le Cocq, Doris
married name Doris Tabuteau
Studio name
Sea Spray Studio
Biography
Doris LeCocq was born in Britain but spent her youth in Lethbridge where she graduated from high school. Around 1924, she returned to Britain for art school training, first at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, then at the Royal College of Art under sculptor Richard Garbe with whom she spent 5 years of study, followed by a stint as his studio assistant. She also taught sculpture and ceramics for three years in London County schools in Campden Hill and Kilburn.
During the 1930s she exhibited sculpture at several Royal Academy exhibitions in London (1931-1935) and in Glasgow and at others in Italy, Paris, Montreal and Toronto (CNE, ca 1931) One of her best-known sculptures, Sea Spray depicting a boy riding a fish, was exhibited with the Royal Academy, London in 1935.
Le Cocq returned to Alberta in July 1935 and took up a teaching position at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA), likely starting in the Fall of that year, but clearly on staff by January 1936 (Calgary Herald, Jan 4, 1936, p 16).
There she taught clay modelling, considered the first step in making bronze sculpture. Well-known Alberta ceramic artist Luke Lindoe was one of Le Cocq's students. Before leaving PITA in the Spring of 1938, Le Cocq supervised 46 students in the modeling studio which also included instruction in stained glass, woodwork, pottery, and mural and decorative painting.
On her return to Alberta in 1935, Le Cocq had expressed excitement at the prospect of making sculpture reflecting the nature of Canada, using its unique materials (clays and stone) and depicting its wildlife. This would be the central focus of her art for at least the next decade.
While in Alberta she exhibited past and current work, sometimes showing the ceramic models used in her castings as well as new work made of clay, local stone, and talc. She was considered a clay and glaze specialist, experimenting with Medicine Hat clay and introducing smoke into the kiln to create unique colours.
In 1938, she began her teaching career at the Vancouver School of Art, first at the 1938 summer school for education. (BC Public Schools Report 1937-38 and Calgary Herald, Aug 18, 1938). Between 1938 and 1949 her roles at the School were varied, sometimes teaching modelling and ceramic figurines in the day program and pottery at night school. (According to an article she wrote in the Province, Jan 27, 1945, she was teaching night school with Marian McCrea) She was considered a pioneer in Western Canada for her glazes made of oxides and for introducing foreign substances into the kiln like various types of wood smoke to create different effects. Through clay testing, she became knowledgeable about clays from around the province including those from Hollyburn Ridge, Kitsilano, Nanaimo, Haney, Yellow Point, Summerland, Victoria (Gordon Head and Dallas Road), Kilgard and Terrace. A believer in using local sources, she often took her VSA students to Stanley Park's Third Beach to dig clay.
After relocating to Vancouver in 1938 and marrying retired Rocky Mountain guide Fred Tabuteau in 1939, she moved to Deep Cove and established her Sea Spray Studio. There, she used clay from the seabed and crushed local minerals and powdered driftwood to make unique glazes, and in 1949 installed the largest electric kiln in Western Canada.
Throughout the 1940s she exhibited her sculpture at the annual BC Artists and BC Society of Artists exhibitions at the VAG. Her sculpture "Sea Spray a Fantasy in Glazed Pottery" was included in the Canadian Geographical Journal article "Pottery in Canada," in February 1944.
While sculpture was her focus in the 1930s and 1940s, she became interested in pottery (including bowls) in the 1950s, exhibiting at the VAG and at UBC. Her free-form bowl was included in Western Homes and Living, December-January 1954-55.
During the 1930s she exhibited sculpture at several Royal Academy exhibitions in London (1931-1935) and in Glasgow and at others in Italy, Paris, Montreal and Toronto (CNE, ca 1931) One of her best-known sculptures, Sea Spray depicting a boy riding a fish, was exhibited with the Royal Academy, London in 1935.
Le Cocq returned to Alberta in July 1935 and took up a teaching position at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA), likely starting in the Fall of that year, but clearly on staff by January 1936 (Calgary Herald, Jan 4, 1936, p 16).
There she taught clay modelling, considered the first step in making bronze sculpture. Well-known Alberta ceramic artist Luke Lindoe was one of Le Cocq's students. Before leaving PITA in the Spring of 1938, Le Cocq supervised 46 students in the modeling studio which also included instruction in stained glass, woodwork, pottery, and mural and decorative painting.
On her return to Alberta in 1935, Le Cocq had expressed excitement at the prospect of making sculpture reflecting the nature of Canada, using its unique materials (clays and stone) and depicting its wildlife. This would be the central focus of her art for at least the next decade.
While in Alberta she exhibited past and current work, sometimes showing the ceramic models used in her castings as well as new work made of clay, local stone, and talc. She was considered a clay and glaze specialist, experimenting with Medicine Hat clay and introducing smoke into the kiln to create unique colours.
In 1938, she began her teaching career at the Vancouver School of Art, first at the 1938 summer school for education. (BC Public Schools Report 1937-38 and Calgary Herald, Aug 18, 1938). Between 1938 and 1949 her roles at the School were varied, sometimes teaching modelling and ceramic figurines in the day program and pottery at night school. (According to an article she wrote in the Province, Jan 27, 1945, she was teaching night school with Marian McCrea) She was considered a pioneer in Western Canada for her glazes made of oxides and for introducing foreign substances into the kiln like various types of wood smoke to create different effects. Through clay testing, she became knowledgeable about clays from around the province including those from Hollyburn Ridge, Kitsilano, Nanaimo, Haney, Yellow Point, Summerland, Victoria (Gordon Head and Dallas Road), Kilgard and Terrace. A believer in using local sources, she often took her VSA students to Stanley Park's Third Beach to dig clay.
After relocating to Vancouver in 1938 and marrying retired Rocky Mountain guide Fred Tabuteau in 1939, she moved to Deep Cove and established her Sea Spray Studio. There, she used clay from the seabed and crushed local minerals and powdered driftwood to make unique glazes, and in 1949 installed the largest electric kiln in Western Canada.
Throughout the 1940s she exhibited her sculpture at the annual BC Artists and BC Society of Artists exhibitions at the VAG. Her sculpture "Sea Spray a Fantasy in Glazed Pottery" was included in the Canadian Geographical Journal article "Pottery in Canada," in February 1944.
While sculpture was her focus in the 1930s and 1940s, she became interested in pottery (including bowls) in the 1950s, exhibiting at the VAG and at UBC. Her free-form bowl was included in Western Homes and Living, December-January 1954-55.
First name
Doris
Last name
Le Cocq
Career dates (start and end)
1940
Date of Birth
February 21, 1899
Date of Death
February 1, 1993
Place of Birth
Blackheath, London, UK
Place of Death
Studio location
Formal Education
Apprenticeships
scupture with Richard Garbe at the RCA, London
Links to Further Resources
BC Artists website, Sim Publishing
Source
Allan Collier