Author Archives: kitsmediatech

2nd Edition, January 2018. Thomas Kakinuma 1908 – 1982, by Debra Sloan.

In August 2017 an interested curator, after reading my essay on Kakinuma, visited a substantial Kakinuma collection held by a private Vancouver collector. He went on to encourage Darrin Morrison of the West Vancouver Museum to mount an exhibition of Kakinuma;s work, based on this collection. There was a 4 week space available in January 2018 and the exhibition, The Art Of Thomas Kakinuma, went ahead. We contacted everyone we knew for additional Kakinuma pieces, and met up with the Kakinuma’s. The exhibit was a great success, attracting interest all across the country. The large opening was attended by Mrs Kakinuma and her daughter. It was the first retrospective of Kakinuma’s work, and his first exhibition since 1969. I rewrote much of my original essay, with new information provided by Mrs Kakinuma, and I also wrote for the beautiful catalogue, phots by Ken Mayer. The West Vancouver Museum now holds an archive for Thomas Kakinuma. https://studioceramicscanada.com/thomas-kakinuma-1908-1982/

2nd Edition, Up on the Roof

The Role of Equestrian Ridge Tiles as Historical Narrative, by Debra Sloan and Peter Smith.
Up on the Roof explores traditional equestrian clay ridge tiles that from the middle ages adorned rooflines in Britain and Europe. The practice died out by the early 1800s in the UK and now those last and rare remnants are found mainly in West Country museums. Up on the Roof recounts how Bernard Leach and fellow members of the Old Cornwall Society revived the rendition in the 1920s. love the last decades memories faded once again, until, in 2014, the Leach Pottery instigated research and response. The effect of the tiles, architectural adornment, clarifies the role of art in the public realm, where it install interaction and engage

Up on the Roof, Bernard Leach and the Equestrian Tile Tradition

by Debra Sloan and Peter Smith
This is an in-depth look at traditional equestrian clay ridge tiles that from the middle ages used to adorn rooflines in England and Northern Europe. The practice had died out by the early 1800s, and the last remnants are found only in museums in the West Country. Up on the Roof recounts how, Bernard Leach and members of the Old Cornwall Society, reintroduced the tradition during the first half of the 20th century. Their tiles, some of which are still on roofs in St. Ives, have received little attention for the last eighty years, and once again the tradition was in danger of being lost. https://www.mansfieldceramics.com/cap-articles/bernard-leachs-equestrian-roof-tiles-and-their-location-within-west-counrty-traditions/
Books can be purchased at http://www.blurb.ca/books/7928210-up-on-the-roof