Home > Artist Database > Bio-bibliographic Database > BORGSTROM, Mary
Artist Database
BORGSTROM, Mary
- Born
- Saskatchewan, 1916
- Died
- Provost, Alberta, 2019
- Biography synopsis
- During the 1960s, while living in the rural community of Provost (Alberta), Mary Borgstrom, a self-taught artist, was introduced to pottery. She became interested in primitive pottery through her experience in working with local clays which she dug herself, and early techniques that she discovered through trial and error. In 1966, she participated in a pottery workshop in Edmonton that she described as inspirational in terms of primitive techniques. Beginning in 1969 she showed her work regularly in group and solo shows in Canada and the United States, and by the 1970s, she had won national recognition for her work. In 1971 she exhibited at the Canadian Guild of Handicrafts in Montreal. Of the twenty-five pieces she showed at the Guild, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts acquired three. In 1976 she was invited to participate in the Arts and Culture programme at the Olympic Games in Montreal. In addition to various Canadian collections, Borgstrom's work is held in collections in Japan and England. Mary Borgstrom continued to work at her ceramics practice into her nineties.
- Media used
- Ceramics
- Pottery
- File & Archive locations
- Calgary Public Library, AB - Arts Department
- University of Calgary Library, AB
- Alberta Culture and Community Spirit - Arts Branch
- Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
- Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Alberta Art: Works from the Alberta Art Foundation. Edmonton: Alberta Art Foundation, 1975
- "Mary Borgstrom Pottery at the Canadian Guild of Crafts, 2025 Peel St., to Nov. 13." Montreal Star 27 Oct. 1971: 53
- "Mary Borgstrom's Art Chosen for Display in Japan." Provost News 10 Jan. 1979
- Archbold, Alexander. The Potter's House : Mary Borgstrom's Art & Life Uncovered n.p.: Aniseeker, 2020
- Curiosity Incorporated. Mary Borgstrom - Potter 20 Feb. 2019
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGXFhhpaTc4 - Fletcher, Elva. "Passion for Pottery." The Country Guide (Winnipeg) Mar. 1973: 48-49
- Koenig, Jean. "Lively Art Event." Edmonton Journal 22 Feb. 1975
- Lewenstein, Eileen and Emmanuel Cooper. New Ceramics. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1974
- McMullen, W.B. Alberta Art: Works from The Alberta Art Foundation Edmonton: Alberta Art Foundation, 1975
- Tivy, Patrick. Potters are a bit too fired Up." The Calgary Herald 2 Jan 1987: C8
- Townshend, Nancy. A History of Art in Alberta, 1905-1970 Calgary, Alberta: Bayeux, 2005
- Verbicky, Elaine. "Deft Hands create Life in a Piece of Alberta Dirt." The Calgary Herald 26 Jul 1971: 29
