Using the red earthenware native to Nova Scotia, Joan Bruneau creates wheel thrown and constructed pottery decorated with slip, underglazes and food safe glazes. Her pots combine luscious surfaces with distinct shapes inspired by historical pottery, botanical and architectural shapes, as well as, a love of forming pliable clay. The robust yet elegant forms, together with their sumptuous, sophisticated ornamentation, are sure to enhance and inspire the presentation of food and flowers. A feast for the eyes and a delight to use, Joan’s tableware is as functional as it is decorative.

Joan Bruneau’s work is widely known for its exceptional virtuosity and innovation and is respected as a fine example of contemporary craft. Her work appears consistently in publications, high profile exhibitions and is included in prestigious public and private collections. She teaches workshops and exhibits throughout Canada, the U.S. and abroad.

BIO & CURRENT INFORMATION:

Joan Bruneau has maintained her pottery studio and gallery, Nova Terra Cotta, in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia since 1995. She earned a BFA from NSCAD in 1988 and MFA from the University of Minnesota in 1993. She is a regular part time Faculty at NSCAD University since 1995 and was assistant professor at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design from 1998 – 2002.

Joan Bruneau received the 2004 Winnifred Shantz Award which funded her research of Etruscan and Maiolica Pottery through a Residency at La Meridiana International Ceramics Center, Italy in 2005. She will be teaching at the Australia National University, Canberra in 2007.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

My intent as a studio potter is to inspire presentation and to enrich the quality of daily experience, through a collaborative dialogue between the user and my pots.

Moments taken out of the day to prepare and present an inspired meal or to arrange a bouquet of flowers, affirms our connection to identity while celebrating the beauty in our domestic lives, in a culture otherwise bombarded with information and big - box consumerism.

The pottery forms are influenced by a range of sources, from Chinese and European historical pottery forms to botanical structures and architectural ornament. The forms are wheel-thrown and reconstructed using “Cut and Paste” technique. Gestural throwing lines, dynamic volumes and structural seams are marks of this making process. The surfaces are treated with brushed white slip, underglazes and polychrome food-safe glazes. Pieces from 2006 are inspired by Renaissance Italian maiolica , resulting from a 2005 residency at La Meridiana International Ceramics Center in Tuscany.

Joan Bruneau Resume - Download [pdf] [word]

Education

1990-1993 Master of Fine Arts University of Minnesota

1984-1988 Bachelor of Fine Arts Nova Scotia College of Art and Design

1987 Semester Exchange Emily Carr College of Art and Design

Professional Experience

2005 Residency La Meridiana International Ceramics Center, Italy

2003 Invited Resident Artist Medalta Ceramics Int. Residency, Alta.. Ca.

1995 – present Studio Potter Nova Terra Cotta Pottery, Lunenburg, NS. Ca.

1992 Summer Assistantship Peter’s Valley Craft Center, New Jersey, USA.

1989-1990 Residency Banff Centre for the Arts Alta., Ca.

Teaching Experience

2006/07 Distance Education Program
Red Deer College, Alberta, Ca. and Australia National University, Canberra, Australia

1998 - 2002 Assistant Ceramics Professor
Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver. Ca.

1995 – present Regular Part-Time Faculty
NSCAD University, Halifax, NS. Ca.

1994 Sabbatical Replacement Maine College of Art and Design, Portland, Me.USA.

1993 Sabbatical Replacement NSCAD University, Halifax, NS.

Workshops and Lectures

2006 Series. Red Deer College, Alberta, Ca.

2006 Prince George Potters Guild, B.C., Ca.

2006 Dundas Potters Guild , Hamilton, Ont. Ca.

2005 La Meridiana International Ceramics Center. Certaldo, Italy

2005 The Clay Art Center , Port Chester, NY., USA
S.U.N.Y. New Paltz, NY. USA

2004 Langara College , Vancouver, Ca.

2003 Greenwich House Pottery , NY.,NY.,USA.
Gibbs Art Museum, Charlestown, SC., USA.

2001 Ottawa Potter’s Guild, Ottawa, Ont., Ca.

2000        Thousand Miles Apart Conference , University of Regina, Sask., Ca.
                Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alta., Ca
               Caribou Potter’s Guild, Williams Lake, BC. Ca.

1998        Yixing International Conference, Jingdezhen Ceramics Inst. China
                Frazer Valley Potter’s Guild , Abbotsford, BC., Ca.
                Kingston Potter’s Guild , Kingston, Ont., Ca.
               Sheridan College , Oakville, Ont., Ca.
                Harbourfront Craft Studio , Toronto, Ont. Ca.

1997 Emily Carr College of Art and Design , Vancouver, BC. Ca.

1994 Thousand Miles Apart , University of Manitoba, Winnepeg, Ca.

Awards

2004 Winnifred Shantz Award Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery

1998 Travel Grant Nova Scotia Arts Council

1998 Travel Grant Canada Council for the Arts

Collections

2001 Commission
President’s Alumni Place Setting NSCAD University. Halifax, NS. Ca

2000 Purchase
Sykes Gallery Millersville University Millersville, Pa. USA.

1998 Donation
Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute. Jingdezhen, China

1996 Purchase
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS. Ca

Bibliography

2007 An Exuberant Toast
Jonathon Bancroft-Snell

2005 Studio Ceramics in Canada
Gail Crawford

04/2003 Ceramics Monthly “The Legacy of Walter Ostrom”
Phylis Clark

01/2002 Ceramics Monthly “A Selection of Smashing Glazes”
S. Peterson

2001 Smashing Glazes
Susan Peterson

The Art of Contemporary American Pottery Kevin Hluch

Functional Pottery ( Revised Edition) Robin Hopper

The Ceramics Spectrum Robin Hopper

1996 Soda Glazing Ruth Anne Tudball

Solo Exhibitions

2005 Epicurean Garden The Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY. USA

2003 Recent Work Harbinger Gallery, Waterloo, Ont.Ca.

1993 Thesis Exhibition Cathryn Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Mn. USA.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2006 Repeats and the Occasional Pot Jonathon Gallery, London , Ont. Ca.

2006 Contemporary Canadian Ceramics Esplanade Gallery , Medicine Hat,,Alberta, Ca

2005 Visceral Vessels South West School of Craft, San Antonio, Texas

2005 A Natural Touch NCECA Baltimore, USA

2004 Crowning Achievements Government House, Halifax, NS. Canada

2004 Canadian Ceramics Exhibition Red Star Studios, Kansas City .USA

2004 Power of Pottery Invitational Exhibition Curated by Kevin Hluch
Dunedin Art Center, Dunedin, Florida USA

2003 Cups: Artists Invite Artists Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI. USA

2002 For the Table National (USA) Invitational Dinnerware Exhibition
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe , NM. USA

2001 A Matter of Clay: National Invitational Jonathan Bancroft – Snell Gallery, London, Ont. CA

2000 Looking Forward: Exhibition Curated by Paul Greenhalgh Ontario Crafts Council

Focus On Function: National ( USA) Competition
Cathryn Nash Gallery, Minneapolis Mn. USA.

Utilitarian Clay III Symposium: Celebrate the Object Invitational Exhibition
Arrowmont Center for Crafts, Tn. USA

Fruition: Joan Bruneau, Lisa Naples and Sandy Pierentozi
Sykes Gallery, Millersville University, Millersville, Pa., USA

1999 Redware: Tradition and Beyond: Invitational The Clay Studio, Phila. Pa. USA

Curio Curated by Pat McCauly Harbourfront Arts Center, Toronto, Ont..Ca.

1998 Yixing International Conference Yixing, Jingdezhen, Beijing, China

Put a Lid On It Invitational Appalachian Center For Craft, Tn. USA.

1997 Specialithe: Teapot Invitational Galerie McClure, Montreal, Qc. Ca.

1996 Ceramics: A Medium Based Practice Curated by Artur Handy
Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, NS.Ca.

The Advocacy of Pottery: Walter Ostrom Potter/Teacher
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS. Ca.

1995 NCECA Northern Stars: Women Potters from Minnesota and Canada Invitational
Cathryn Murphy Gallery, St. Paul, Mn.USA.

Containment: The Space Within Invitational
Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Ont., Ca.

1993 Thrown and Altered Invitational
Provenance Gallery, Calgary, Alta.,Ca.

Outstanding Graduates National ( USA) Competition
The Farrel Collection, Washington, DC.USA.