Barb strachanI had never considered myself “artistic”, but I always felt the need to be creative. Over the years I tried many crafts, and although I enjoyed them, nothing really captured and held my interest. When I took my first pottery class, I knew I’d found what I’d been searching for. At the time I was working full time as a shopping centre manager, so it was difficult to find the time for my new hobby. I retired from my job in 2004, and started working on pottery as often as I could. In 2007 I joined Pyromania Pottery, and my life as a full time pottery began! I love creating functional pieces of pottery….things people will use in their daily lives. I’m inspired by the thought of someone enjoying their morning coffee in one of my handmade mugs because it feels just right in their hand! My work tends to reflect the beautiful nature that surrounds us on Vancouver Island, such as starfish and the Great Blue Heron. I also love teaching classes and sharing my love of pottery with others. Cora straskyI discovered ceramics as a student at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, BC. It wasn't until my retirement and empty nest that I found the time to return to this art form. I love ceramics, it offers a unique opportunity to create art that gets used every day, in all the things we do to make a home for ourselves. Initially, my interest was in form and colour. I focused on wheel thrown pots and experimenting with glaze chemistry in my home based half baked ceramics studio. Recently, I think like many people during the last two years, I found myself wanting to strengthen my connection to nature. Working in my garden, watching things grow and mature, I started drawing and using those images in my pottery. People have always used nature as an inspiration for art, especially in past less technologically advanced times. I like the idea bringing that back into my work. As well, I'm hand building my pots, appreciating the experiences of this new technique. As of August 13, 2021, the Train Station Pottery Shop online store has closed. Please visit our shop at 600 Alberni Hwy, Parksville, BC Canada V9P 1J9 to browse our selection of locally made pottery.
Terry yoxallI began my pottery journey by taking a wheel throwing and then a hand-building class at Arrowsmith Potter's Guild in 2010. I was hooked and since then I have been an active volunteer at the Guild. Raku firing is also a technic that I was able to learn at the guild. Many of my pieces are incorporated with local drift wood and are available for purchase at the Train Station Pottery Shop. brian bagattoVisit the Train Station Pottery Shop at 600 Alberni Hwy. to view Brian's creations.
donna rathkeI have been throwing pots for over twenty years. After retiring nine years ago as a music teacher I have had much more time to spend in my pottery studio. And I have had a lot more time to pot these past 14 months with the COVID stay-at-home policies. The pots in my picture show the different techniques that I have been working on during this COVID year as I watched Zoom webinars taught by potters from across North America. From Canada I took Zoom classes from Sarah Pike and Naomi Clement with their unique textures and layered surfaces. From the United States I took Zoom classes with Deb Schwarzkopf on combining thrown and hand built ceramics, Catie Miller with her monoprint colored slip transfers, Lorna Meaden on baskets and lidded jars and Diana Fayt showing her tyvec stencil techniques. I have been an active member of the Arrowsmith Potters Guild since I joined in 2008. It is nice to be around so many talented potters. I have been on the Board for many of those years and now contribute as the membership coordinator and sell my pottery in the Train Station Pottery Shop.
michelle ainsworthAs a child I was always making little bowls out of mud and letting them dry in the sun. Who knew that my love of mud would lead me to where I am today. I didn’t get serious with clay until my first official pottery class was in 1989 with Ruth Porter at Beban Park in Nanaimo. I loved it! I practiced for a few years at the Beban Park Pottery Studio until life moved me away and my time was no longer my own. In Fort McMurray in 2002, I briefly reconnected with clay for two years, but itwas not until my two girls were older that I was able to afford more time to play in clay. In 2016, I signed up for a beginners pottery class at the Arrowsmith Potters Guild with Barb Strachen followed by an intermediate class with John Shauer. I was hooked. Since then I have spent countless hours playing with clay. In 2017 my girlfriend and I signed up to go to Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts where we took a Mask Making Workshop with Bob Kingsmill. I had so much fun there that I returned the following year for three workshops with Allan Burgess, Victoria Christen and Marney McDiarmid. In Marney’s class I learned to make hand built bowls with pieces and today still enjoy making that style of bowl on a regular basis. 2019 I took three more workshops at MISSA with Clive Tucker, Linda Doherty and Richard Burkett. After Richard’s class, I started experimenting and making my own glazes. I love taking classes, learning, and then using my newly acquired knowledge when playing with clay. At present, I am taking a class with Cathi Jefferson where we are working on pitchers. In my previous classes with Cathi, we worked on teapots, use of ribs, lids, and plates. During COVID, Cathi’s classes have helped to keep me inspired. When not in classes, I live in Errington on a 10 acre hobby farm with my husband Terry, two dogs, two cats, two horses, a pony, chickens, and two loose peacocks. While my little studio was being built the peacocks would hang out and still do – and that is how the name Loose Peacock Pottery came to be. SUE WILKINSONA September day in 2003 changed my life forever. I became hooked on clay! Never having played with clay before, I took my first hand building course and loved it. A few weeks later I became acquainted with the wheel, and that was it. Fifteen years, and hundreds of pots later, I am still enjoying "playing." I grew up in Yorkshire, England, and emigrated to British Columbia in 1992. Of course I cherish my British heritage, and there are a few things that I miss - like the really good Pubs there - but I have never regretted coming to Canada and count myself very lucky to be here. Ladner was my first home in BC. The Delta Potters Association in Tsawwassen is where my pottery story starts, and I enjoyed many happy years as a member of the group there. In 2013 my hubby and I retired and we decided to spread our wings and move to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. We joined the Arrowsmith Potters Guild that is housed in the old train station in Parksville, and are both active members there. I have served on the Board of Directors and have been the secretary, and my hubby teaches wheel throwing from time to time. We also sell our pots in the Train Station Shop. After a year or so we became members of the Nanaimo Pottery Coop and were invited to become members of the Mid-Island Potters group. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to become a potter. It opened the door to a life of challenge and reward, and never-ending "what shall I try next!" |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |