There's a sense of calm in Judy Blake's Quiet Beauty. Perhaps it's the mixture of the warm colours on her large pottery pieces that gives her work a deep sense of wonder and discovery. Blake cleverly uses shades of light and bright colours to contract with her neutral tones to create a soft aesthetic to her work. Using the saggar-firing technique, the pots were fired in a clay container with a variety of combustible materials such as sawdust, copper and seaweed. The result is a series of unusual, unpredictable and eye-catching patterns. Number 50 is a great example of bleeding colours on the pottery and number 69 shines in pure black. Look out for the sunlight in number 60, a pottery dish with a black centre but with radiating colours on the edges. But Blake's standout piece is definitely number 57---large and brass, the inside black-and-white coating with the bright shades of colour on the outside serve as a perfect contrast for day and night. --Julie Sobowale
To July 11, Studio 21 Fine Art, 1223 Lower Water Street,
420-1852
