Profile of Mel Bolen

Mel Bolen at the wheel

Thirty years ago, Mel Bolen was a member of the jury that awarded Stan Wychopen the first Premier's Prize for "Fantom" for the best work by a Saskatchewan Craftsperson.

Bolen jokes that he's been trying to win it for himself ever since. In that time, he received many prestigious awards and grants – but the Premier’s prize always eluded his grasp.

Until now.

Bolen received the Premier's Prize for his 2007 entry into Dimensions, "Estrella". For Bolen, winning the Premier's Prize was worth the wait. "It’s something that just gets you. It's all the makers in the province and it's a festive awards ceremony so … it's just a nice piece of the puzzle to have."

Mel Bolen, Estrella, 2006 stoneware clay, terra sigillatta

In his misguided youth, Bolen set out to be an engineer and began studying at the University of Saskatchewan campus in Regina. As luck would have it, during his second year of study he chose to take a pottery class as an elective. That was when Bolen saw the light of the kiln fire and traded in his drafting table and the suit and tie lifestyle, for dirty fingernails and a pottery wheel. Bolen went on to major in sculpture, mentored by Saskatchewan legends like Jack Sures and Joe Fafard.

After forty years as a successful potter, Bolen admits that he is still "a machine guy, I like how things work, I like to understand stuff, I like to weld and fix." His engineering background continues to serve him well, although instead of building bridges, Bolen builds his own kilns and is constantly undertaking new renovation projects at his home and studio just outside of Humboldt.

In the mid seventies, Bolen was looking for a place to live and work in the country when he found "THE CHURCH", an abandoned church building which he purchased with some help for $500. Bolen was joined by Charley Farrero, Anita Rocamora and Robert Oeuvrard. They pioneered it for the first few years with no running water and much fixing to be done. "There were few creature comforts, but we had our studio and we had our kiln," Bolen says. He remains at the church today along with his wife Karen Holden, with living quarters upstairs, his studio on the main floor, and his gallery and shop, North Star Pottery in the basement.

Mel & Karen's "Church"

Bolen says he is continually inspired by the land surrounding his home and studio. A walk through the grass and bushes might result in an encounter with a badger, deer, moose or duck. He might be touched by something as simple as the wind blowing the grasses and fields like waves on the ocean, or the uninterrupted view of the great Saskatchewan sky at peace, dancing, or in turmoil. It is quite literally his personal Garden of Eden. "This country, the country where I am, is just as exotic as Costa Rica is… [walking] tuning into that window of sensitivity, there's something ethereal going on. You bring that back home with you."

That inspiration, Bolen says, often finds its way into both his art and his craft. In the ongoing debate between the realms of art and craft, Bolen finds himself happily existing in both worlds. "Some days I have the energy to be an artist and some days I'm completely content plying my trade, making beautiful, functional pieces for people to enjoy. Some days something comes in and I am inspired by lichen, moss, or the prairie to develop a surface that's new or innovative." The results of his artistic experiments often show up in his craft work, just as the form of his craft is essential to the success of his artistic endeavors. The result is that all of Bolen's work is a beautiful marriage of art and function.

Mel Bolen, Spring Melt, 2004 stoneware clay, terra sigillatta slip

"Certain principles hold true; form, simplicity… those are the sort of aesthetic decisions you make. But the piece has to be fashioned in a way that is still functionally correct. It can't slump too much, it still has to support its weight," Bolen explains. His 2006 entry into the Saskatchewan Craft Council's Dimensions exhibit is a perfect example of art meeting craft. Spring Melt (2004) is the result of the intentional distortion of a skillfully thrown pot which was then salt vapour glazed, a notoriously temperamental process which Bolen executes brilliantly.

Bolen is always experimenting with technique and form in order to breath new life into his work. In more recent years, his work has exhibited a contemplative elegance with simple form and the wonderfully subtle effects of the salt fired kiln. The kiln is fired to white heat (2400 f) so the clay itself is just on the verge of melting. It is a volatile process, and Bolen says that working with it is a little like walking the edge of a razor blade. "It's the best way to be. I found that firing the wood kiln and the salt kiln and to a lesser degree the reduction kiln… you're rewarded with pieces on that edge. If you try to be safe or duplicate, you're going to get a medium piece out of it. Where you're rewarded is by pushing, stretching, loosing pieces: Yes, but getting those pieces that make it through to that other side."

In the future, Bolen is looking forward to experimenting with what he calls "the sexy stuff": industrial metals like aluminum and steel, blended with ceramics. It is essentially an evolution of the work he was doing around 2000/2001 in ceramic sculptural pieces like "Pat" [see: The Craft Factor, Vol 26.2, Winter 2002]. In these new experiments, and in the salt fired pottery with which he intends to continue, we can expect more exciting work to come out of North Star Pottery.