‘This is a big deal for me’: 72-year-old Chilliwack potter has 1st solo show

A Chilliwack artist who has been creating pottery for 50 years has his work on display at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.

Drawn to Clay is a pottery and drawing/painting exhibition by Ted Driediger at the O’Connor Group Art Gallery until Jan. 7.

On Dec. 9, The Progress met up with Driediger as a steady stream of visitors floated through the gallery. His eyes sparkled as he looked around the room full of pots, ceramic wall hangings and drawings.

“This is a big deal for me,” he said choking back tears. “This is my first solo show.”

Drawn to Clay encompasses 50 years of the Chilliwack artist’s work. He’s lived in Yarrow and Chilliwack for those five decades.

Driediger has been involved in a number of group shows over the years, but having a solo show was his “life dream,” he said.

He started working on Drawn to Clay four years ago and then COVID hit and that changed everything. When he initially heard about the pandemic protocols for art exhibitions – such as no opening receptions allowed and only five people in the gallery at a time – Driediger thought “forget about it,” he said.

But as time went on, he changed his mind.

Restrictions were eased so a maximum of 20 people were allowed in the gallery, plus he said he couldn’t wait any longer.

“I have health issues, I’m not getting any younger,” said the 72-year-old.

Making some of his larger pieces has gradually become more difficult for him physically, he said.

“I am running out of energy.”

So during the pandemic Driediger renewed a lifelong interest of his – drawing.

“I’ve always loved drawing and painting. I went to art school with intentions of becoming a painter.”

Over the past year and a half, he and his wife Delores would drive around the Fraser Valley searching for landscapes to draw and paint.

He interspersed those paintings and drawings amid the various types of pottery in his show and called it Drawn to Clay.

“I believe that freedom to explore encourages artistic growth; out of old ideas new ideas are hatched and developed,” he said. “Moving on from market trends, my work has transitioned from functional to expressive. It has evolved in line, form, colour, and scale, from one medium – clay – to multiple media including paint, pastels, pen, and ink.”

One of the oldest pieces of pottery in the show is a planter that he made for his mother about 50 years ago, which is not for sale, but pretty much everything else is.

From bowls to tumblers and teapots to bulbous vases, there’s a lot to see and buy.

“Why do I want to do, what I do? Why do children enjoy creating mud pies or making ‘stuff’? Is it just play, or could it be an inherent desire to make something that is pleasing to the eye and senses?” Driediger said. “Whatever it is, I have always, and still do, love the art of making. I consider my work a success if it communicates this love to those who see it.”

Drawn to Clay, a solo exhibition by Chilliwack’s Ted Driediger, is at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre Art Gallery from Dec. 3 to Jan. 7. Gallery hours are Wednesdays to Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. Driediger will be at the gallery Thursdays to Saturdays. Admission is free.

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