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“I like to go back into the real source of firing and really get to know the subject better. And I think it’s very exciting to see... yesterday make them, and today finish the whole thing.” Wayne contemplating his Raku firing in th
Because his working methods often incorporated experimentation, Wayne’s kiln openings were especially compelling. “When you open a kiln it’s very exciting, it’s like Christmas… you never know about your experiments, you
“[Wayne] senses the life of his materials, just as he senses the weather and the lives of plants and animals.” –Doris Shadbolt, Boulevard Magazine, article by Kate Cino Wayne Ngan Cat Head Vase with Ears and Stripes, 2015 23 x 16
This vase of Wayne's was fired at @tiggespottery. The collection of works made at this time all include intriguing details and visual stories from the wood firings. Wayne Ngan Woodfired Vase, c. 2010 12 x 10 x 9 cm Photo: @goyangan #waynengan #w
From Wayne’s slide archive, documentation of one of his oil paintings, 32 x 28 inches. The photo was taken in 1982, so Wayne likely created the painting around that time. Photo 1 is cropped to create proper documentation, photo 2 is the origina
“Life… I can’t hang onto it. It’s like water if you try to squeeze it. But if you let it go, you see more clearly. Life is so abstract: it’s energy in motion.” Wayne quoted in Performance Magazine, May 14-27 iss
A photo of Wayne from 1960, taken during his student days at the Vancouver School of Art. Evidently he liked this photo, because he had several copies made. His handwriting is on the reverse and reads: “Taken in 1960. I was twenty two was very
From Wayne’s vast archive of slides, documentation of a vase with wax relief decoration. Photo taken in 1976 on Kodachrome. #waynengan #waxrelief #studiopottery #kodachrome #waxreliefpottery #ceramicsart #studioceramics #artistarchive #scanne
“Ngan says his work is full of soul. How can we tell? ‘Maybe hand and eye cannot tell,’ he says. ‘Let time tell. Use this tea bowl for 10 years, every day, and you will discover the beauty of it.’” Quote from &ld
“First thing—most important in any kind of creating thing­—is love behind the doing. You need freedom and time and peace with yourself. If you don’t have that, you don’t have beauty.” Quoted from an interview
Heinz Laffin, 1926-2023 We are very saddened by the recent passing of Canadian potter and Wayne’s dear friend, Heinz Laffin. Heinz met Wayne in Vancouver in 1958 while both were enrolled in a pottery night course. Following their time at the
Wayne’s “Student Activity Card” from the Vancouver School of Art (now @emilycarru), issued the year before he graduated with honours. #waynengan #emilycarru #vancouverschoolofart #vintagevancouver #canadianartists
Though he was most known for his ceramic works, Wayne kept a consistent practice of painting, starting in art school and continuing through the entirety of his career. In the early '80s, he even gave up ceramics for a time to focus on painting. In a
“My father Wayne Ngan created worlds. One of them, a lush coastal garden overlooking the ocean and coastal mountains, with fruit trees, overgrown vines, dangling wisteria, hollyhocks, a pond with lily pads, frogs and birds. He said: 'When you c
Wayne was influenced by a vast array of historical and contemporary art. Many forms he created echo those found in ancient Cycladic traditions. In this sculptural bottle made in 2015, he references a Beycesultan type idol figure, similar to the work
Wayne examining his work during a kiln opening on August 15, 2017. Photos: @goyangan #waynengan #kilnopening #studiopottery #studioceramics #ceramicsart #canadianartists #canadianart
"A pot is made alive by the potter’s understanding of the life of abstract form.” A quote from Wayne taken from ‘Year of honours for a master potter’ by Eve Johnson, The Vancouver Sun, November 9, 1983. Vase with wide s