Beneath My feet, a Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition by Annette Hendersonat the Glen P. Sutherland Gallery of Art.
Opening reception: Thursday, March 12th, 2026 at 7:00pm.
Exhibition runs from March 12th – 21st, 2026. Admission is free.
Artist Statement:
Today, most potters source their clays commercially; however, this convenience has negative environmental and economic consequences. Clays are mined in various countries, which causes environmental degradation, pollution, and also incurs expensive manufacturing and shipping costs. In addition, the lack of potters’ hands-on experience collecting organic products and experimenting with them results in a loss of connection to the natural world and diminishes curiosity. I choose to source natural clays as it deepens my connection to the natural landscape and to my own family, farmers who broke and worked the land.
Clay is everywhere. Foraging for wild clays allows me to connect with my environment and respond to the location from which it was sourced. I enjoy prospecting clay: the hunting and digging involved in finding various types in prairie fields and along riverbanks. Processing wild clay by washing and filtering it using rainwater is incredibly primal, and I feel it connects me to those who came before me. Working with wild clays forces me to slow down and be patient, to listen more and require less.
My work investigates Manitoba’s wild clays, their unique colors, characteristics, and processing requirements. Soluble salts, and organic and mineral impurities lend themselves to imperfections that reflect our geological and prairie environment. I derive great pleasure from converting dirt to a silky-smooth bucket of sludge, to a plasterboard, and finally into a smooth lump. Ascertaining the difficulty or resistance of particular clays through testing and studies is challenging but exciting. Testing different clays’ tolerance to different kiln temperatures and viewing the resulting characteristics determines how I will use them. For myself, these explorations lend to interweaving art and science and give me freedom and joy to play.
