Édouard
Pottery being one of the oldest forms of art, it is
rather difficult to be original in the design
of shapes; which leads Edouard Bastarache
to spend more time to the balance of the form
by glazing. It is the play of the
form and the color which gives an
aesthetically valid product.
All of the exhibited ceramic pieces are primarily
decorative. He has horror to make utilitarian
wares because he does not like to repeat himself.
This way (repetitive) of working in ceramics is
synonymous with the craft industry, for him
although he is not against this discipline
by itself. He said: if I were a painter,
I would not make portraits since photography
is here; also, I do not make utilitarian wares since
one manufactures them in series in well organized
workshops.
Edouard Bastarache has difficulty
speaking about his technique of working since
it varies from piece to piece; as for the shape
of his pots, one can find a common denominator:
the neck.
He gives a very great importance to the way of
applying his glazes: it is by the glaze that the
balance of a pot is underlined, for this reason
he especially uses those whose color is closer
to the clay. He determines the color
by the thickness of the glazes and since he can
obtain four or five colors from the same glaze,
he uses only three glazes.
My way of expressing myself in pottery is to
experiment a glaze thoroughly;
it is necessary to
allow it to marry the shape of the pot
and consequently to make use of the movement
of the wheel.
Text for LE SOLEIL, a newspaper of Quebec City
(Canada) Author, Christiane Brunelle. March 27, 1972.
