Guest curators share the art that influences their creative lives. In our Guest Curator series, we feature a local tastemaker in Canada and share their favourite works of art on Partial. For our very first edition, Partial is thrilled to introduce to Metro Vancouver-based artist and entrepreneur, Courtney Paige.
The pieces I selected share the same theme, and that theme is home. They all share a different interpretation of what home is told by each artist. Curvaceous vases stuffed with multicoloured flowers on top of a table evoke feelings of summer. A successful farmers market haul from the local florist. Abstract shapes with bright colours embrace you and the hug gets tighter the more you look, like coming home after a long time away.
Courtney, on the theme of her art collection, ‘Home’
Hello, my name is Courtney Paige and I am the Co-Founder of The Clay Warehouse.
The Clay Warehouse is a pottery studio and supply store that focuses on supporting and encouraging collaboration among artists as they advance their craft, develop new techniques, and guide them as they enhance their skills. Our goal is to engage the community to support and participate in creative arts. We teach pottery classes focusing primarily on wheel throwing and hand building, but we also offer specialty skill building courses. Our supply store is fully equipped with all the most popular tools you need to work with clay. We created the space to further build up the clay community and to foster a safe space for people to explore and create.
In addition to running The Clay Warehouse, you’re also a highly skilled ceramic artist. Can you tell us a bit about your practice and what drew you to the medium?
My practice focuses primarily on embracing imperfection. Clay is incredibly finicky and so many things can go wrong in its many stages. For this reason, I try not to strive for perfection, but I try more so to embrace the blemishes that are natural to something handmade. I want the consumer to feel and see what my hands have done. Lately I have been working more on manipulating clay when it is still malleable to highlight its time spent before becoming ceramic. I draw my inspiration from the local landscape of towering mountains and dense forests. I use the clay and glaze to my advantage to highlight the natural beauty I am surrounded by in BC.
I’m drawn to this medium because of its endless possibilities. Clay can become whatever you want it to be, and if you don’t like it, you can start again. There is no pressure, no guideline, nobody to say, “hey you can’t make this”. It can be functional and non-functional. You could make a bowl to eat cereal out of, but you could also make a functioning stool, or a vase as tall as you desire! If you can think of it, you can make it. But also, I just like getting dirty sometimes.
What projects are you currently working on?
The project I am currently working on is combining my love of antique furniture with my passion for clay. There is nothing more satisfying than taking an old decaying piece of furniture and bringing life and function back into it. I recently purchased a solid wood console table that has some stuck drawers and is in need of a refresh. My goal is to refinish the whole piece and to add unique ceramic tiles to sit on top. I’m still figuring out the combinations and colours because there are so many options!
What role does art play in your life?
My taste in art is heavily focused on feelings and a sense of home. When I bring art into my space, I need to feel a sense of comfort and warmth from it. Living in Metro Vancouver as a renter, it can be very cold. Most rental spaces lack character and have little to no wiggle room to change that. Art is my chance to bring character and life back into my space. I am a sucker for a pretty vase boasting a beautiful bouquet, or a still life of a home scene. This type of art reinforces the idea of a home full of life. A home, in my opinion, should be lived in and should show it.
What was the first artwork you ever created?
The first piece of art I created was after a long depressive bout. I started to change my life and surrounded myself with different people who inspired me to create. I lived in Northern BC at the time as a student. Money was tight but I managed to find a scrap sketch book left behind by an old roommate and I purchased some basic watercolour paints. I found peace in painting human anatomy superimposed with different types of flora. The female form has always been an inspiration to me.
What was the first piece of art you bought?
I really can’t remember the first piece of art that I bought. I love the thrill of thrifting, especially the wall décor section. Looking at what other people used to display in their home is fascinating. When searching, I love looking for original pieces of art. I still have this one large scale acrylic on canvas depicting a fall meadow cottage scene using only yellows and browns. I found this at my local thrift store. It has proudly followed me through 3 moves. I do not know who painted it, but I like to think they would be happy to know their art has given a sense of comfort and warmth in a stranger’s home. And maybe that connection doesn’t really make us strangers anymore.
Tell us a little bit about the pieces you selected.
The pieces I selected share the same theme, and that theme is home. They all share a different interpretation of what home is told by each artist. Curvaceous vases stuffed with multicoloured flowers on top of a table evoke feelings of summer. A successful farmers market haul from the local florist. Abstract shapes with bright colours embrace you and the hug gets tighter the more you look, like coming home after a long time away.
Baking in Yellow Ochre and Cobalt Blue, Sonya Katashanova, acrylic on cradled panel, 20″ x 16″ x 1″ 
Button Up, Diane Fine, mixed media collage, 19″ x 19″
What’s a place people should visit when they come to BC?
As much as I would like to recommend visiting galleries and artist studios, I believe BC is best experienced by going outside. So many artists are inspired by BC’s unmatched outdoor scenery. With massive, jagged mountains to thick mossy forests with old trees. You’re transported to another world once you step outside and into the forest. The southwest tip of Vancouver Island holds a special place in my heart. I get an indescribable feeling; my eyes tear up every time I go there.
Browse the curated collection, Home by Courtney Paige
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