The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Feature The idea of 200 or so small clay dogs running down a wall is tickling the mind of North Vancouver tile artist Moira Thompson at the moment. She is looking at one of her series of happy-to-see-you dogs and visualizing the layout of her next show. Her dogs start life with roughly the same craggy shape, but each is textured and painted to be a completely different bundle of joy. Thompson is breaking out of the confines of the rectangular tile shape that has been her canvas of clay until recently. "It has been tricky to make that shape work, but I have enjoyed it," says Thompson. The challenge is not unlike the one she once faced as a graphic artist when her job was to get a client's message across, attractively, within the borders of an ad. Thompson's journey as a multi-faceted artist began when she became interested in painting at age 15, going on to study at the Vancouver School of Art and George Brown College of Art in Toronto. Returning to Vancouver she launched a career as a graphic artist in the Simpson Sears advertising department. After marriage and kids Thompson started painting again. While preparing some work for a show in 1982, she began to feel that her canvasses seemed too flat. "I found I wanted depth and shadows," she recalls. Thompson mixed cornmeal into her paints. Baking the canvasses yielded delightful cracked surfaces. In her search for a more textured media Thompson took courses in clay at Capilano College. Experimenting with various techniques, she "blew up" a lot of clay in the kiln in the process. She started focusing on making tiles, a craft as old as civilization, but added diverse elements, such as iron filings and shoe polish. Some of Thompson's tiles feature abstract, intensely patterned designs. Others are portraits of people or animals. Thompson is often inspired by memories of her early childhood in South Africa. A postcard of a volcano prompted an exploration of the legends of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Many of these tiles have a sculptured element. Thompson also writes stories to explain the pieces and weave them together. Not above playing to a crowd, Thompson created a series of cat tiles that January | February 15 Some of Thompson's more orthodox work Ceramics artist Moira Thompson gives a new meaning to "feet of clay." By Maureen Curtis proved popular at a show at the Memorial Library in West Vancouver, a place wellknown for its elderly cat lovers. Unlike many artists, she enjoys sj3ri She likes the fact that her pieces are small and affordable; anyone can come away from one of her shows with a piece of the experience. In fact, she has been criticized for under-valuinq her work. "I would'rather my pieces were out there in the world; than hidden away," she feefs! Although most tiles are purchased individually or in small themed groups, they have also been used as decorative elements. One woman collected enough pieces to frame her stone fireplace. One of the challenges for an artist working in clay is the blurry division been "arts" and "crafts." Some of Thompson's newest work includes a collection of funnel-shaped pots and a series of intriguing clay-framed "peep" mirrors which are just big enough to check out an eye or an earlobe. Her tile designs and writing can be seen in the North Shore Writers' Association recently released chapbook, Love and Life. Bowls & dogs! Anna Wyman SCHOOL of DANCE ARTS SUMMER Dance Programs Jazz, Ballet, Character, Contemporary, Musical Theatre & Tap Pre School Program (3-5 yrs) Children's Program (6-8 yrs) Youth Program (9-13 yrs) Pre Junior Fall Tune Up (10-13 yrs) I ntermediate to Advanced Fall Tune Up (13+ yrs) 1457 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC V7T 1B8 Tel: 604-926-6535 Fax: 604-926-6912