Roman Bartkiw

Roman Bartkiw, ceramist, glass artist, teacher (born 1935 in Montréal, QC; died 2010 in Wolfville, NS). Roman Bartkiw was one of a few craftsmen in Canada who worked and instructed in both studio ceramics and glass, contributing to their revivals in the 1970s and 1980s. His clay and glass art are in the collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery.

Early Life, Education and Career

Born in Montréal but raised on the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Bartkiw’s parents immigrated to Canada from the Ukraine. From 1955 to 1960, he studied ceramics at the Ontario College of Art (now the Ontario College of Art and Design University), where he won the Henry Birks Medal, the Governor General's Medal, and the J.S. McLean Scholarship. In the summers of 1969 and 1970, he attended Sheridan School of Craft and Design’s glassblowing workshops while continuing to specialize in glass at Alfred University in upstate New York, where he completed an MFA in 1975.

Bartkiw was briefly head of the ceramics department at the Ontario College of Art between 1968 and 1969. He also taught in Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories and Denmark. In 1981, he settled in Nova Scotia, operating a pottery in Port Wade and teaching glass-making at Upper Clements Theme Park between 1989 and 1991.

Mature Style

Bartkiw’s ceramics and glass reflected the popular Scandinavian style. He was best known for his earthenware and glass apples and birds.

See also Contemporary Ceramics.