Mary Borgstrom

Mary Borgstrom (May 18, 1916 – April 3, 2019) 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[1]
Saskatchewan, Canada
DiedApril 3, 2019(2019-04-03) (aged 102)
Provost, Alberta, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationSelf taught
Known forPottery
AwardsCanadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Award of Excellence

Life

Borgstrom was born in Saskatchewan in 1916, and later moved to Provost, Alberta.[5]

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]

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 1976 Borgstrom was invited to participate in the Arts and Culture program in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.[3]

Mary 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

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."[3]
  • Alberta Art Foundation, on her work "Her piece ... represents the unique development of civilization on the Canadian prairies."[3]
  • The Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec presented Mary with the "Award of Excellence".[3]
  • Eileen Lewenstein and Emmanuel Cooper in "New Ceramics" stated: "Mary Borgstrom, who lives in a rural area of Alberta, has led many people to an interest in primitive pottery."[8]
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References
  1. "Obituary: Mary Borgstrom". Gregory's Funeral Home. April 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  2. Townshend, N. (2005). A History of Art in Alberta, 1905-1970. Calgary: Bayeux. ISBN 978-1-896209-71-5. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  3. Curiosity Inc. (February 20, 2019). "Mary Borgstrom - Potter". YouTube. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  4. "Large Vase". Collections – AFA Virtual Museum. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  5. "Artist Database: Artists: Borgstrom, Mary". Canadian Women Artists Initiative. October 27, 1971. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  6. "Works of Mary Borgstrom". AFA Virtual Museum. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. Curiosity Inc. (April 5, 2019). "Mary Borgstrom Collection, April Sale Preview". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  8. Lewenstein, Eileen (1974). New Ceramics. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. ISBN 978-0-442-21647-4. OCLC 902726.
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