Persona

Sures, Jack

Jack Sures was born 20 November 1934 in Brandon, Manitoba. He studied Painting and Printmaking at the University of Manitoba for both his undergraduate degree and his masters degree at the University of Michigan. Though he attended only one academic Ceramics course, Sures worked in The Chelsea Pottery studio and a ceramic cat factory while traveling in England after his graduation in 1959. After traveling extensively overseas he returned to Winnipeg in 1962 and set up a ceramics studio, building his own gas kiln (the first in Manitoba), and fashioning a pottery wheel out of a farmers' milk separator. Sures ran this studio, selling his work and offering studio space to other artists until 1965 when he was hired by the University of Saskatchewan (now the University of Regina) to set up the Ceramics and Printmaking programs. This position allowed him to teach and focus on the development his own practise. Over the course of his teaching career at the University of Regina, Jack Sures completed numerous large-scale commissions, including installations at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Sturdy Stone Provincial Office Building, The University of Saskatchewan, and the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre. His art has been awarded nationally and internationally, winning, among many others, the Grand Prize at the International Ceramics Competition in Mino Japan in 1989. Sures was honoured with the investiture of the Order of Canada, as well as repeated recognition by The University of Regina for excellence in Teaching and Research. Upon his retirement in 1998 he was named professor emeritus, and he continues to be recognized for his contributions receiving Saskatchewan's' highest honour, The Order of Merit (2003), and a commemorative medal for the 125th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Through-out his career he has participated in a multitude of solo and group exhibitions, workshops, and several art boards and organizations, exemplifying his expansive passion for the Fine Arts. Jack Sures continues to exhibit and produce work, and contribute his expertise at the University of Regina.