a path to creating functional art

Ceramics has always been a part of my life. I can recall walking through the Potter’s Place Gallery as a young girl with my mother and being drawn in by all the beautiful colours, forms, and textures the glaze and clay provided. And, it always seemed to mean something when I read the artist’s name and saw they were creating these brilliant works of art right here in the Comox Valley, or often on a near by gulf island like Hornby or Denman Island. My appreciation continued to grow as I did, and when I fell in love with cooking and creating recipes, having a beautiful form to plate the meal on truly elevated the dish and brought in the notion of ‘functional art’. I had explored other avenues as an artist such as writing, poetry and painting however this new concept really spoke to me. Having something beautiful to appease the senses, yet it still serves a purpose (usually in the kitchen for me) satisfied me in many ways.

As fate would have it my mother became a potter later in life and I was happy to follow her in her footsteps once again, just as I had followed her through many potter’s galleries and markets as a child.

It didn’t take long after a few lessons from my mom and a class at a community centre until I was hooked. My husband and I moved back to the Comox Valley last year and I finally had the space to create my own studio right here in Seal Bay on Vancouver Island.

My intention is to create functional art that pleases the mind through vision, touch, sometimes audio and most importantly, through function. Making dishes and tools into something you can’t wait to hold or use is what really brings me joy and I hope it does for you too.