# Robin Hopper > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robin_Hopper > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robin_Hopper.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hopper > Source revision: 1349948965 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Infobox person | name = Robin Hopper | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1939|04|23}} | birth_place = England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|04|06|1939|04|23}} | death_place = [Victoria, British Columbia](/source/Victoria%2C_British_Columbia), Canada | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }}'''Robin Hopper''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CM|RCA|size=100%}} (23 April 1939 – 6 April 2017){{Cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=robin-hopper&pid=185171753&fhid=16056 |title=Robin Hopper's Obituary |website=The Times Colonist |access-date=2018-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305142551/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=robin-hopper&pid=185171753&fhid=16056 |archive-date=2018-03-05 |url-status=live }} was a Canadian [ceramist](/source/Ceramic_art), [potter](/source/Pottery), teacher, author, garden designer and arts [activist](/source/Activism). == Career == Hopper was born in England in 1939, and died April 6, 2017, in [Victoria, British Columbia](/source/Victoria%2C_British_Columbia). He trained in pottery and ceramics at the [Croydon College of Art](/source/Croydon_College) from 1956 to 1961. In 1968 he emigrated to Canada. He spent the first two years teaching at the [Toronto Central Technical School](/source/Central_Technical_School). He began his post-secondary educational career in 1970 at [Georgian College](/source/Georgian_College), [Barrie, Ontario](/source/Barrie%2C_Ontario) where he founded and became head of the Ceramics and Glass Department. He resigned his post in 1972 to devote his time to his ceramics work. He relocated to [Victoria, British Columbia](/source/Victoria%2C_British_Columbia) 1977 to operate the family's 'Chosin Pottery Gallery'.{{cite news|last1=Petrescu|first1=Sarah|title=Two Islanders named to Order of Canada|url=http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/two-islanders-named-to-order-of-canada-1.5888539?platform=hootsuite|work=Times-Colonist|date=December 30, 2016|access-date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118161354/http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/two-islanders-named-to-order-of-canada-1.5888539?platform=hootsuite|archive-date=January 18, 2017|url-status=live}} He was a founding member and president emeritus of the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts. Hopper's work in ceramics includes a great deal of ceramic historical and technical research. Next to ceramics, his other lifelong interest was gardening, particularly the development of his oriental garden. His fonds is in the [University of Victoria](/source/University_of_Victoria) Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives.{{cite web |title=Fonds |url=https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/robin-hopper-fonds |website=uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org |publisher=U Vic |access-date=13 July 2025}} ==Work== Hopper had both a functional and a decorative side to his production of pottery and ceramic works. His functional works were produced on an [artizan](/source/artisan) basis. His production of functional pottery was by hand craftsmanship for individual pieces of a like design. He wrote several books on the subject of functional pottery. This craftsmanship had a particular application in ceramic works, many of which were one of a kind pieces for artistic exhibition. In these works he used a combination of glazing techniques. These were mainly porcelain decorative plates but he also created specialty items such as glaze paintings. A number of these works reflect the northern imagery of Canada.[https://archive.today/20130411222839/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/contemporary-ceramics Contemporary Ceramics in The Canadian Encyclopedia] ==Academic and instructional positions== He taught throughout Canada, and in England, The United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan and Israel.{{Cite web |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/arts/bronfman/hopper1e.shtml |title=Bronfman Collection Bio |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813063254/http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/arts/bronfman/hopper1e.shtml |archive-date=2013-08-13 |url-status=live }} ==Selected collections== His ceramic work is in public, corporate and private collections throughout the world. These collections include: *The Bronfman Collection, Montreal, Canada *The Greater Victoria Art Gallery, Victoria, Canada[https://aggv.ca/emuseum/search/Hopper Robin Hopper] Art Gallery of Greater Victoria *The University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries, Victoria, Canada[https://www.uvic.ca/legacygalleries/collection/index.php Robin Hopper] University of Victoria Legacy Art Galleries ==Awards== Robin Hopper was honoured for his contributions to the arts and public activities. *He was the first recipient of the [Saidye Bronfman Award](/source/Governor_General's_Awards_in_Visual_and_Media_Arts), 1977,{{Cite web |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/arts/bronfman/hopper1e.shtml |title=Saidye Bronfman Award |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813063254/http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/arts/bronfman/hopper1e.shtml |archive-date=2013-08-13 |url-status=live }} Canada’s most prestigious annual award in the crafts. *Granted honorary member of the National Council on Education for Ceramic Arts. *Member, [Royal Canadian Academy of Arts](/source/Royal_Canadian_Academy_of_Arts){{cite web|title=Members since 1880|url=http://www.rca-arc.ca/en/about_members/since1880.asp|publisher=Royal Canadian Academy of Arts|accessdate=11 September 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526215339/http://www.rca-arc.ca/en/about_members/since1880.asp|archivedate=26 May 2011}} *Member, [Order of Canada](/source/Order_of_Canada), 2017[http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/order-canada-newest-appointees-2016-150-1.3916634 "Order of Canada's newest appointees include Paralympian, Supreme Court judge and astrophysicist"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213164902/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/order-canada-newest-appointees-2016-150-1.3916634 |date=2019-02-13 }}. [CBC News](/source/CBC_News), December 30, 2016. ==Garden== His interest in artistic gardens led to the creation of the ''Anglojapanadian Garden'' at ’Chosin Pottery.{{Cite web |url=http://www.americanstyle.com/2009/04/living-in-paradise-playing-with-mud/ |title=Garden article in American Style Magazine, Issue 67, June 2009 |access-date=2013-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221122302/http://www.americanstyle.com/2009/04/living-in-paradise-playing-with-mud/ |archive-date=2010-12-21 |url-status=live }} This garden at [Metchosin, British Columbia](/source/Metchosin%2C_British_Columbia) has been the subject of publications and television programs.{{Cite web |url=http://www.chosinpottery.ca/pages/garden.html |title=Garden Description with photos and publication bibliography |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315121728/http://www.chosinpottery.ca/pages/garden.html |archive-date=2013-03-15 |url-status=live }} == Further reading == ===Publications by Hopper=== Robin Hopper wrote several books. Most of them deal with pottery and ceramics. *''Making Marks: Discovering the Ceramic Surface'' Hopper, Robin; Krause Publications, Paperback: 304 pages, October 1, 2004 {{ISBN|978-0873495042}} *''The Ceramic Spectrum 2nd ed.'' Hopper, Robin; Krause Publications, 2001, 256 pages, {{ISBN|0873418212}}, 9780873418218 *''The Ceramic Spectrum'' 1st ed. Hopper, Robin; [Chilton Book Co.](/source/Chilton_Book_Co.), 1984, 224 pages {{ISBN|9780801972751}} *''Functional Pottery 2nd ed.'' Hopper, Robin; Krause Publications, 2nd Edition 2000, 256 pages, {{ISBN|9780873418171}} *''Functional Pottery 1st ed.'' Hopper, Robin; [Chilton Book Co.](/source/Chilton_Book_Co.), 1986, 257 pages, {{ISBN|9780801974519}} *''Stayin' Alive'' Hopper, Robin; Krause Publications, March 15, 2003, 128 pages, {{ISBN|978-0873495714}} *''Clay and Glazes for the Potter'' 3rd ed. Rhodes, Daniel revised by Hopper, Robin; Krause Publications; 3rd Edition Revised and Expanded, November 15, 2000 {{ISBN|978-0873418638}} * ''Focus One: Contemporary Studio Ceramics''; Campbell, Kathleen; Hopper, Robin and; Heath, Terrence; [Stoneware](/source/Stoneware), raku ware, porcelain, and earthenware by Canadian and international artists, [Goose Lane Editions](/source/Goose_Lane_Editions), 112 pages, 1997, {{ISBN|9780889151802}} ===Video productions=== Hopper produced videos for the education of potters and ceramists{{Cite web |url=http://www.potteryvideos.com/programs.shtml |title=Video Availability List |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330003558/http://www.potteryvideos.com/programs.shtml |archive-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=live }} *In 1993 he developed a series of six educational videos on ceramic decoration processes titled "Making Marks", based on research material for his book of the same title. *In 1994, he produced a second series of five videos on design and aesthetics was produced, titled “Form and Function”, based on his second book "Functional Pottery". *He subsequently produced: ** "Beginning to Throw on the Potter's Wheel", ** "Advanced Throwing". ==See also== [List of Canadian artists](/source/List_of_Canadian_artists) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * Wilson, Lara, ''[http://hdl.handle.net/1828/13454 “A Man of Many Parts: An Interview with Judi Dyelle about the Robin Hopper Fonds]”'', Number 3 in a series of interrelated booklets exploring the Artists‘ Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections and University Archives, (2019) * [http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=%22%20Hopper,%20Robin%22 National Library of Australia Bibliography] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopper, Robin}} Category:1938 births Category:2017 deaths Category:Canadian ceramists Category:Canadian potters Potters Category:Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:Canadian non-fiction writers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robin Hopper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hopper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hopper?action=history)). 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