Uncommon Blends

Coffee and tea have become part of many daily routines and play an important role for many in their social and individual lives. A companion to the recurring moments in everyday life, coffee and tea keep us warm on a cold day, help the mind stay alert on a tired morning, and accompany us during a break in the workday or in a meeting with a friend. Through Uncommon Blends, Sam Knopp, Sean Kunz, Noriko Masuda, Mynthia McDaniel, and Juliana Rempel investigate the various routines, rituals, and relationships centred on coffee and tea, and showcases the newly formed relationship of these five artists.

The ritual of enjoying coffee or tea is individual: the way one prepares their beverage of choice, the cup chosen to hold it, and what’s done while consuming. It seems that we have almost come full circle, from brewing in a pot, to fast one cup disposables, and now back to an even slower brew. Coffee and tea preparations are becoming an art in themselves, and consumers are once again taking a moment to enjoy, and relax.

Banded together over a shared interest in advancing contemporary ceramic conversations and exposure within the province, each artist brings a different approach to material, form, and function. Like coffee and tea, the ceramics on display by these makers move between practicality and pleasure, offering different interpretations for navigating our daily lives.