

In 1967 Judi
Dyelle graduated
with honours and became an Associate of the Ontario College of Art.
She was awarded the Lieutenant
Governor’s Medal of Excellence. Upon graduation she received a Canada
Council Grant which allowed her to spend a year and a half
travelling in Japan and studying with Tatsuzo
Shimaoka who was one of
Japan’s most recognized ceramic artists. It was in Kyoto that she
first experienced porcelain and knew that she had found her clay. When
Judi returned to Canada, she began teaching pottery in Toronto and
continued in Vancouver, Montreal and Victoria. She has exhibited and
given numerous workshops in Canada and the United States. Judi was
invited to participate in an International
Ceramic Festival and
exhibition in Mokpo,
Korea.
Her work is in many private and public collections throughout North
America, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Germany
and England.
Most of the work Judi
produces is wheel thrown, using a translucent porcelain clay. It is
fired, in a reducing atmosphere, to cone 9 - 10 (1280° - 1305°
centigrade) in a propane gas kiln. Many of the pieces are pierced,
cut or textured before glazing. Her extensive study and love of
Oriental ceramics can be seen in the variety of forms and glazes
that she has developed. She also enjoys using low temperature local
clays as slip glazes and as the base for several of her metallic
glazes.
Judi feels that the most
essential thing about her work is the form. Whether it is
handbuilt, wheel thrown or a combination of the two processes, the
form is the underlying factor. Her work is a continuous search for beauty
using the delicate translucency of porcelain. The finishing process of glaze, slip
or firing is an embellishment to it. The play of light comes from the carving or
piercing that she does. She continually studies
and researches various ancient cultures and it is from these
sources that she draws her inspiration. It is her hope that the
work that she produces will have a timeless quality to
it.
Since Robin’s
passing Judi has continued to
produce her exquisite porcelain and operate ’Chosin
Pottery, in
Victoria, B.C., Canada.