This fall, Queen's fine art program celebrates its 40th birthday – and it received an early birthday present.
A new kiln – a giant oven used to slowly dry and bake wet clay after sculpting, rendering it hard as glass – now adds a fresh dimension to students' experiences in the program.
Kathleen Sellars, director of the Bachelor of Fine Art program (Visual Art), says the former kiln was small and antiquated, and limited learning in clay as an artistic medium. In contrast, the new kiln "is a serious piece of equipment," she says. The oven chamber is about three feet high, large enough to hold the creations of all students in each sculpture class section.
The purchase of the kiln was a gift from Greg Guichon, a Toronto investment executive whose daughter, Rachael, was a fine art student who specialized in printmaking.
"When I walked through Ontario Hall with Rachael, I could see that the fine art department needed an upgrade in equipment," recalls Greg, who after contacting Queen's was provided with a list of items the department was looking for.
This is not the first time Greg and his wife Susan, Rehab'78, have supported Queen's. The Guichons regularly contribute to the W. Gordon Hamilton Bursary in medicine, which was established in 2004 in memory of Susan's grandfather, Gordon Hamilton, a 1913 graduate of Queen’s medical school. Several other members of their family also have strong connections to Queen’s.
"There’s a long history there," says Greg. "I'm happy to keep the ball rolling."
