Before his first introduction to clay at the Burlington Arts Centre, Reid majored in English literature and violin at the University of Western Ontario. After mentoring with Canadian ceramist Kayo O’Young in 1998 and studying at Sheridan College School of Ceramic Design, Reid moved to Ibaraki, Japan where he lived and studied ceramics for nine years. He returned to Canada in 2009 and has established his studio practice in Hamilton, Ontario. Reid’s professional career as an experimental ceramic artist continues to grow since his first exhibition in 2007. In 2014, he was awarded the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics.
Website: Studio Reid
Events (full schedule)
Friday, September 27
- 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. – LECTURE, ARTlab, rm. 368
- 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. – STUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS, Art Barn, rm. 139
Saturday, September 28
- 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. – STUDIO DEMONSTRATION, Ceramics and Sculpture Building and Art Barn, rm. 139
- 11:00 a.m. to Noon – STUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS, Art Barn, rm. 139
- 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. – STUDIO DEMONSTRATIONS, Art Barn, rm. 139
Flocking Blue Basking 
Integration Disintegration Cup Saucies Installation, 2017 
Flocking Basking Red, 2015 
Jomon Squeeze Toys Installation, 2018
Artist’s Statement
Moving to Japan in 2000 profoundly changed my life. During nine years of self-directed learning, exposure to Japanese ceramic art, and working under the tutelage of a master ceramicist, Maeno Yoshiko, in Ibaraki, I was able to deepen my appreciation for the Japanese aesthetic as well as come to a heightened awareness of who I am as a Canadian. Not only did I learn a new spoken language, I mastered a new artistic language. My recent work has reinterpreted the root of functional objects. I have contrasted the scale between Canadian and traditional Japanese teapots and bowls, making the Canadian or western interpretations so much larger and more industrially and artistically complicated. I have also interpreted Sogetsu Ikebana (flower arranging) in ceramic, adding oversized truck-tire treads and sections of garden hoses. My large-scale pots have great ribbon-like clay appendages that flow out from their interiors and sides imitating the wrapping cloth on traditional Japanese kimonos. It reminds viewers of something recognizable and classic while also inspiring them to think beyond the norm and enjoy an original interpretation. While photographing my work during different stages of production, I began to Photoshop the images using Gaussian, saturation and hue filters in RAW format. I then imitated the immediacy of these virtual prototype surface sketches by applying flat and iridescent shades of blue, red and yellow latex paint and other materials to my post-vitreous state vessels, giving them a wholly original appearance. This sense of freedom to explore and engage has taken me to marrying rapid prototyping technologies with classical clay processes. Stay tuned for the big squeeze.