Ryan Bavin Demonstration & Lecture Weekend

Join us at the Duncan McClellan Gallery as we welcome one of our newest represented artists, Ryan Bavin and his incredibly dynamic work. Ryan’s pieces are featured as part of our current show

‘Masters of the North’ curated by Fabienne Carbonneau

Lecture & demonstration visit with Ryan Bavin

Saturday April 29th

12:00- 4:00 pm Hot shop demonstrations

Sunday April 30th

11:00 am Demonstration with lecture to follow

About Ryan Bavin

Ryan Bavin was born in August of 1973, in Invermere, BC. Growing up in the Columbia Valley of British Columbia has played an instrumental part in the development of Ryan and his art. Spending any spare time enjoying various outdoor activities in and around the mountains is an endless source for inspiration. Winter or summer, spring or fall, Ryan has always felt a great passion for being around his home at the headwaters of the Columbia River. Early in his life, Ryan found artistic expression to be a part of everyday living. From spending time fly fishing and learning about photography with his grandfather, Hal, to working in the glassblowing studio with his father, Pat, Ryan has always been interested in creating art. Ryan’s family was always involved in the outdoor lifestyle; skiing, hiking, fishing and camping were a regular part of growing up. Ryan started making his own photos of his adventures when he got a camera for his twelfth birthday. In 2008, Ryan began the process to become a certified hiking guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. This certification allows him to work out in the mountains every year during the warm summer months, during which he takes photos of the vistas and landscapes. These images then help to provide inspiration for the rest of the year in his hot glass studio. Ryan was trained as a glassblower by his father, Pat, starting at the age of 15 in the late 1980’s. He has been working in the studio at Bavin Glassworks ever since, and now runs it as his own business called Bavin Studios. In 1996 he was given the opportunity to go to the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington. Between 1996 and 2003 he returned to the school several times in such roles as teaching assistant and gaffer (lead glassblower). He has worked with internationally respected artists from Canada and around the world. One of Ryan’s most memorable times was being a teaching assistant at Pilchuck for Erwin and Valentin Eisch of Germany during the summer of 1998. In 2002, a vase made by Ryan and his father Pat was accepted to the Art Bank of the National Gallery of Canada. Six years later in 2008 the Bavin’s had a successful solo show of glass fish at Master’s Gallery in Calgary, Alberta. In 2015, Ryan was chosen to create the awards for the FIS World Cup Ski races in Lake Louise, Alberta. He has made the signature awards for these races every year since. In 2021 one of Ryan’s glass Rainbow Trout was selected for the juried show “Glass Lifeforms” hosted at the Fuller Craft Museum in conjunction with the Harvard University Botanical Museum in Massachusetts, USA. He was the only Canadian included in the juried selection. Ryan continues to work with glass using inspiration from the mountainous region around his home in southeastern British Columbia on the traditional territories of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc indigenous First Nations.