featured potter of the month

Michelle ainsworth

As a child, I was always making little bowls out of mud and letting them dry in the
sun. Who knew my love of mud would lead me to where I am today.
My first class was in 1989 with Ruth Porter in Nanaimo. I loved it! I practiced for a few
years until time was no longer my own. In 2016, I signed up for a beginner’s
pottery class at the Arrowsmith Potters' Guild with Barb Strachan, followed by an
intermediate class with John Shauer. Since then, I have spent countless hours
playing with clay and taking classes.
I have been extremely fortunate to go to Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts since 2017, such fabulous learning opportunities with clay, and meeting such lovely like-minded people. I was able to experience many fantastic instructors such as: Bob Kingsmill, Allan Burgess, Victoria Christen, Marney McDiarmid, Clive Tucker, Linda Doherty, Richard Burkett, Fredi Rahn, Elaine Brewer-White, Charmaine Nimmo, Arlen Nobel, Conner Burns and Cathi Jefferson.
During COVID I found out Cathi Jefferson was teaching very small classes at the
Clay Hub, so I signed up. COVID was a tough time, but in terms of my pottery, I think it was a blessing. Cathi taught so much about form and principals of clay, and I
am super grateful for her influence and knowledge. Now my job is to to get what is in my head out to my pots!
After a summer of cleaning bricks for the Tozan in 1995, I finally joined the Tozan
Society (3 years ago) and started the journey learning about wood firing. I love
the randomness of the final pieces – lots of surprises. Firings are a wonderful
opportunity which would be impossible without this fantastic group of potters.
The firings are three days long using loads of wood.
A year ago, a friend and I built a gas kiln out of an old kiln on my property so we
could experiment with high fire reduction firings. This lead us to an opportunity
to buy a Salt/Soda kiln in the fall of 2023, which we are still in the process of
building. Flames kissing pots is so magical.
When not taking classes or playing with clay, I am hiking in the woods with my
dogs, riding my bike, doing yoga, or I am in my garden.
I live in Errington on a 10 acre hobby farm with my husband, Terry, and my two dogs, three cats, chickens, a horse boarder, and two male peacocks. While building my little studio the peacocks would hang out and still do – that is how I chose the name - Loose Peacock!