I love contemporary ceramics and dabbling in clay but before visiting Medicine Hat in the Canadian Badlands of southeastern Alberta, I had no idea that this city once produced three quarters of all the pottery made in Canada.
Behind the scenes at Medicine Hat’s Medalta Potteries and Historic Clay District
An abundance of clay, the discovery of natural gas, and a decision by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to make Medicine Hat its divisional headquarters paved the way for Medicine Hat to become Canada’s pottery capital.
From 1912-1954, Medalta Potteries Limited of Medicine Hat was Canada’s largest pottery producer. Thousands of crocks, water coolers, butter churns and other every day household items were fired in Medalta’s massive kilns and sold at Eaton’s, Woolworth’s and Hudson Bay Company stores coast to coast. Medalta also produced dinner ware for Canadian hotels and for restaurants across the country – places like Frankie’s, a once popular eatery in Edmonton, and Au Lutin qui bouffe in Montreal. Medalta is now prized by collectors who scour Canadian antique and flea markets. I’ve acquired a couple of pieces since my Medicine Hat visit. My latest find is a pretty little Medalta oyster plate.
Kilns at Medalta Potteries - photo courtesy of Friends of Medalta Society
Present-day Medalta Potteries is the centrepiece of Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District, a national historic site. This extraordinary living, working museum has more than 30,000 artefacts in its collection. To whet your appetite, check out this online collections room which showcases new pieces from the Medalta collection every month.
Turning Clay Into Gold - photo courtesy of Friends of Medalta Society
But it’s not just vintage Medalta that you see at Medalta Potteries. Ceramic artists from around the world produce contemporary works at Medalta’s Artists in Residence Program every year. On the Medalta website, you can find a list of current artists and examples of their work.
Medalta also offers pottery classes and half-day workshops. This fall, a bean workshop teaches how to make baked beans from scratch using Medalta bean pots. The original Medalta bean pot was shipped across Canada and became an icon of warm, home-cooked meals. Today, Medalta bean pots are made in Medalta’s production studio as part of its museum display. Medalta baking bowls are also made and sold in the museum’s gift shop and online. We couldn’t resist buying a set of these beauties for our kitchen.
Every summer, teens sign up for a week of hands-on throwing on their own pottery wheels. A summer day camp for younger kids is also offered.
And if you love industrial architecture and are up for a good scare, check out Medalta’s annual Halloween Ghost Hunt.
Have you got a piece of Medalta pottery? Tell us about it in the comments below.
I was born in New Brunswick, Canada in 1944. My parents (now deceased) had purchased a large pot for baking beans in or around 1943. I still use this marvelous bean pot (as my mother called it).
Do you have a catalogue of types of pottery you make? If you do would you kindly mail me a copy.
Wilfred Lloyd
1250 S. Pinellas Avenue
# 406
Tarpon Springs, Florida
U.S.A. 34689
Wilfred,
Many thanks for taking the time to tell us about your mom’s bean pot that you are still using 68 years later!! This web site will tell you what pottery is available through the Medalta Gift Shop at Medalta Potteries in Medicine Hat’s Historic Clay District, http://shopmedalta.com/
I was born and raised in Medicine Hat until aged 15, our family left to join my father then serving in the Army overseas.
How wonderful to see the pictures of the pottery, much of which I recognised. My mother pused to store eggs in a deep lidded container in our basement, probably a bean pot.
Wonderful story, Jeanne. Appreciate you sharing it with us and glad the post brought back such fond memories for you.