Lael Chmelyk is a ceramic and fiber artist living in Calgary, Alberta. Raised in Dawson Creek, Lael began making from an early age. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics with Distinction from The Alberta University of Arts in 2020. Her work focuses on themes surrounding identity, agency over our bodies, chronic illness and the legacies we leave behind. She has developed a method of soda firing in oxidation, which is fired to a lower temperature than most, allowing her to lower her carbon footprint compared to traditional firing methods. In 2024, she was awarded the Winifred Shantz Award for Emerging Ceramic Artists.
Artist’s Statement
Craft objects can act as a conjugate for ideas and concepts, and through their function, those ideas become a part of the everyday domestic experience. My functional soda fired pots have contrasting surfaces that create tension between geometry and organic patterns. Areas of quiet and overwhelm in the decoration invite touch and offer the user a moment of pause and intimate investigation. Referencing botany, I look to understand my place in the world’s classifications. I attempt to catch the user’s attention, to render them in the present through chance or rituals. The intent is to give one the chance to question the place of plants in beauty - but also the place of the environment in one’s values.
By using a soda kiln, I can allow for the kiln and its unexpected nature to share agency over the work. This also echoes the balance between control and chaos that we, as a society, attempt to force on our environment. My work illustrates this balance through moments of chance and instances of control in a duet with the kiln. This balance is central to the work and allows for the ornate surfaces to exist on the forms without overwhelming the experience.
In my fiber practice, I explore ideas of femininity and ideas of otherhood through quilting and natural dyeing. By translating concepts of the female body as a vessel through a matrilineal craft, I can question the status quo of what a woman’s life should look like. Quilting practices are historically centered around familial functions, but within that history, I question whether we motherhood and womanhood are inextricably linked.
Small Oval Dish 2
$45.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 22 cm in diameter x 11
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Small Oval Dish 1
$45.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 22 cm in diameter x 11
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Medium Mixing Bowl
$120.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 22 cm in diameter x 11
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Square Serving Dish
$130.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 29 cm x 16 x 2.5
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Small Traditional Mug 4
$70.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 7 x 8
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Small Traditional Mug 1
$70.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 8 x 8
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Small Traditional Mug 3
$70.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 8 x 9
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Small Traditional Mug 2
$70.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 8 x 8
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Medium Traditional Mug 1
$75.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 7.5 x 9
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Medium Wavy Rim Mug 1
$65.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 9 x 9
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Medium Wavy Rim Mug 2
$65.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 9 x 9
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Tumbler 1
$60.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt
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Widemouth Mug 1
$75.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 12 x 8.5
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Widemouth Mug 2
$75.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 12 x 8.5
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Bellied Mug 8
$85.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 11cm x 11 x 8
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Bellied Mug 7
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 11cm x 11 x 8
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Bellied Mug 6
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 13cm x 12 x 7
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Bellied Mug 5
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 13cm x 12 x 7
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Bellied Mug 3
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 13 x 7
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Bellied Mug 4
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 11cm x 14 x 7
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Bellied Mug 2
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 13 x 7
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Bellied Mug 1
$85.00 CAD
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Salt fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 12cm x 13 x 7
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Teapot with Leather Handle
$225.00 CAD
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Soda-fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt, leather and brass | 23cm x 24 x 13
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Teapot
$200.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 24cm x 25 x 15
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Pitcher 2
$200.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 18cm x 22 x 10
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Pitcher 1
$200.00 CAD
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Soda fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt | 17cm x 22 x 14
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Watering Can with Purple Leather Handle
$225.00 CAD
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Soda-fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt, leather and brass | 30cm x 31 x 14
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Watering Can with Blue Leather Handle
$225.00 CAD
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Soda-fired porcelainious stoneware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cobalt, leather and brass | 30cm x 31 x 12
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