Trudy Golley - Red Deer College

Trudy Golley received her education in Ceramics at the Alberta College of Art (known today as Alberta University of the Arts) and the University of Calgary (BFA) and the University of Tasmania (MFA) in Hobart, Australia. She enjoys a prominent international career and has been invited to participate in ceramic residencies, lectures, and give workshops in Canada, the USA, Australia, Denmark, China, Scotland, Hong Kong and Malta.

Alberta is lucky to have Trudy and her students get to learn first hand from a woman whose work is represented in numerous public and private collections in Canada, China, Denmark and Australia.

Trudy has taught Ceramics and Visual Fundamentals in the Visual Art Department at RDC since 2000, and as you can imagine, being a respected teacher and artist is no small feat. To learn more, we asked her a simple question: How have you balanced your creative practice with teaching?

Trudy says: "I use the studio at the College to develop my own work outside of my teaching time. This allows me to be both available and to develop a more informal relationship with the students. Throughout all of my teaching positions, I have remained committed to working in the open studio to share my experience with my students in a more relaxed atmosphere. Some of the most meaningful exchanges — those that can’t be recreated in a classroom situation — are shared with students after-hours or on weekends. Often this helps students to reflect on what they are hearing and seeing and assists them to make up their minds about how to proceed with their own work.  As an instructor I encourage students to find their own voice by taking risks and to challenge themselves; to find the pathway that makes sense to them, rather than emulating the work that they see me making. In fact, I feel that I have not succeeded as an instructor if I see a student doing work that looks like mine."

She continues, "The students’ exposure to their instructor, making their personal work in the studio means that they get to witness the professional pacing of a project or body of work. Students get to see the successes, as well as the failures, and this gives a more realistic view of what it is to work as a professional artist. Now, in this time of diminishing hand skills, it is even more critical for students to see the commitment and determination that is required to build both mental and physical skill in this lifelong pursuit."

Cultivate | Instigate is about the influential creatives at the forefront of post-secondary craft education in Alberta. The artists in this exhibition balance the dual roles of educator and  professional practicing artist. Acting as torchbearers, they are bridging Alberta’s rich craft legacy with contemporary craft culture.

 Visit the exhibition at the Alberta Craft Gallery - Edmonton until August 31, 2019.