Some years ago, Bill Reddick received some preliminary ceramics training from Alex Robertson when he was a student at Lakefield College School. After graduation, he continued his quest to learn all he could about ceramics. He was able to earn a modest living working at his craft by filling wholesale orders for a popular line of stoneware that he produced.

But eventually Bill discovered the beauty of Chinese ceramics from library books and was particularly inspired by works from the Song Dynasty (roughly 965 to 1265). He marvelled at the ancient craftsmen's pure design and delicate glazes. He turned to producing works in porcelain and that work garnered him an invitation to join a group of elite Canadian potters for a tour to China in 1997. He was fascinated by the ancient glazes used in China and when he returned to Canada, Bill experimented and persisted in perfecting some of the Song and Ming dynasty glazes that had so fascinated him. Bill pursued the Ming red glaze for about ten years. He says "It is a famously difficult glaze to work with because the high temperatures required for the gas kiln so often result in loss during the firing. Popular mythology says that a Chinese potter, after a lifetime of trying, finally threw himself into the kiln, hoping his own elements would contribute to successful results."

Bill uses the finest English translucent porcelain available and blends it further to his own exacting specifications. He utilizes reduction firings in a large gas fired kiln which he built himself. The resultant porcelain is extremely hard and durable and will endure centuries of use. The red glaze and the blue green celadon are as technologically identical to the glazes produced during the Chinese Song and early Ming dynasty as is possible - the resulting pieces have the same luminous beauty as was produced at that time.

Several years ago Bill was approached by then Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul, to produce an official porcelain service for Rideau Hall that featured the maple leaf and the reds of the Canadian autumn. Mr. Saul played an active role in the development of the design. The official Maple Leaf Service, as it was eventually called, now resides in Rideau Hall. But following their return to private life, Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul commissioned Bill to create another Maple Leaf Service, this time for their own home.

There is no question that Bill Reddick has travelled into the realm of alchemy in developing and perfecting his wonderful glazes. He clearly 'knows his stuff' and he is always ready to become part teacher and share his knowledge and findings with interested listeners. One quickly gets the sense that Bill is as fascinated by the science of ceramics as he is in opening up the kiln to discover how the latest firing turned out. He approaches ceramics from every direction - technically, historically, intellectually.

The Village Gallery believes that Bill Reddick also has an appropriately matched stylistic sense. His pedestal bowls are clean, classic shapes, perfectly proportioned. His sense of play is evident in unexpected ways. Take, for instance, a classically shaped bowl displaying a haunting, yet austere,Temoku glaze on the rim, ming red over celadon centre and popping up from all this beauty, in plain view, is a simple half moon ring.

Those lucky enough to own a Bill Reddick ceramic will prize the possession always.