As a child growing up in Scarborough, Ontario I always knew two things. One was I did not want to live in a big city and two was that I always wanted to be creative. I wanted to be able to create something with my hands. Something I could be proud of because I made it.
I moved to British Columbia in 1994 and fell in love with the mountains and the ocean but Vancouver was still a big city. In 2002 I moved to Squamish and for the first time in my life I felt like I was home to stay. Squamish is everything I every dreamed of as a child and I feel so fortunate to have found the perfect place to live and grow.
I have tried many different mediums of art over the years but nothing really captured me until I tried pottery. In 1999 I took my first course in pottery focusing on hand-building techniques and I fell in love with clay. I dabbled a bit but did not have the adequate environment as an incentive to be creative. I always wanted to try out the pottery wheel but I felt a little intimated because I knew I wanted to do it, but what if I couldn’t do it? Patience was never one of my stronger attributes but the desire and need to create with clay was lurking inside and looking for an avenue of escape.
In October 2006 I had the opportunity to take a wheel-throwing course at Clayworks Community Pottery Studio in Squamish and I was immediately hooked. Since then I have taken more courses, set up my own studio with a wheel, a kiln, an assortment of tools and I make and experiment with my own glazes.
I am completely addicted to clay. I lay awake at night thinking about different forms, methods, ideas and glazing techniques. I have a constant urge to get out into my studio and immerse myself in a project. I like to push myself and push the clay to its limits to learn what the clay will do. Clay used to control me, then I controlled the clay but now we cooperate.
I enjoy all forms of pottery from slab-building; coil-building; using extruded shapes; sculpting to throwing on the wheel. I use a multitude of mediums in my work and I am always thinking of the next 100 techniques I want to try or things I want to make. There are just not enough hours in the day.
I have found my home here in Squamish and discovered my passion for pottery. I feel very fortunate for the opportunities I have had and I am looking forward to growing and developing my skills. I am proud of my accomplishments thus far and I am excited about advancing my skills to the next level. This is a dream come true for me as I have a persistent inner desire and passion to get muddy and “play clay”.
