Tofino Artist Rita Petry

Originally from the U.S., Rita immigrated to Canada in 1970, where she spent several years in Vancouver before she answered the call of the open ocean and settled in Ucluelet in 1994. Rita studied ceramics and design at Montana State University in the late '60s, design at the University of Alberta, pottery with private teachers in Edmonton in the early '70s, and ceramics and design at the Vancouver School of Art in the mid -'70s, where she graduated with honors in 1977. Rita works with clay because it allows her to express herself from a simple lump of Mother Earth. She finds clay nurturing, responsive, and grounding as a medium. She makes decisions on a form almost intuitively and enjoys the experience of a piece growing in her hands. When her creative spirit craves colour, she is led to her beads and jewelry happens. Rita teaches clay art to children through the Ucluelet Recreation Department, writes fiction, and works with clay and beads every chance she gets.

" I attempt through my work, with the human and fantastical figures, to give expression to the power of place I feel on this sliver of earth at the edge of the world."

Rita can be seen working on her art at the Artists in Action Event during the Whale Festival at the Wickinninish Inn on March 18th and 19th.