Cathy Terepocki Ceramics
Since graduating from Alberta College and Design in 2004, Cathy Terepocki has been developing her career as a ceramic artist/ designer. She currently has several lines of functional dishes and jewellery that layer contemporary methods of hand painting and printmaking on top of clean and modern hand-thrown and hand-built forms. This work is sold at shops and galleries throughout Canada and the United States, and has been featured in books, blogs, magazines and newspapers, including Galleries West, Western Living, Uppercase, the Globe and Mail and Canadian House and Home. In 2016 she was awarded Designer of the Year in the Maker category by Western Living Magazine.
In conjunction with her production practice, Cathy has had the opportunity to do some product design. In the spring of 2018 an extensive collection of her designs launched in Anthropologie stores across Europe and North America. Cathy has also developed a portfolio of one-of-a-kind art pieces and conceptual ceramic projects for which several grants have been awarded.
Cathy had had the opportunity to share the joys of working with clay and has taught ceramic printing classes at art centres and post-secondary institutions as well as clay classes for kids and adults in her community.
Originally from Ontario, Cathy now calls British Columbia home, she lives in the Fraser Valley with her husband and 3 children.
ARTIST STATEMENT
From a young age I developed an appreciation for materials, an awareness of how things were put together and where things came from. I grew up in a farming community where everything was made from scratch. Materials were used in unconventional ways to create something new, fences were mended, sweaters darned, old shirts and dressed made into quilts. My interest in the historical craft traditions, material culture and the early influence of innovation is what influenced my decision to become a ceramic artist.
Printed surfaces have been central to my ceramics practice, specifically pattern and imagery. Surfaces are developed by building up layers of print including basic mono-printing techniques when the clay in wet, in-glaze or laser decals after the pieces are glazed and repurposed commercial decals to finish off the piece and provide layers of complexity, beauty and nostalgia.
Driven by innovation, I’m constantly researching and exploring new ways of approaching materials and ceramic processes to offer something familiar yet unexpected. Most recently I have been experimenting with clay from the Chilliwack River near my home and studio.
