Combining Function & Style
The Mary Potter Ceramics’ studio is just outside Chatham in a sunroom attached to Mary Jane’s (MJ) home. The big windows let in lots of light and the shelves of supplies give her studio a cozy vibe. There’s music playing and it’s a variety of hits across all genres and decades. MJ has style, and you’ll see it in each of her pieces.
A decades-long journey
MJ hasn’t always been a potter. In fact, she used to be a nurse educator and administrator. While her previous career is much different from what she’s doing now, inspiration for this craft started 26 years ago during a trip to England and the famous Wedgewood factory. “The highlight of the tour was when we had an opportunity to sit at a wheel and make a take-home pot,” she says.
“It was sheer joy!”
“I created my first clay treasure; a Wedgewood blue pot that I have to this day,” MJ says. But it wouldn’t be for another 14 years later before she sat at a pottery wheel.
After taking a pottery class with a friend, MJ was inspired to start learning the ancient art of pottery.
“Centering clay and pulling walls did not come easy for me, but with patience and perseverance, I gradually started to improve. It would be countless hours and many courses later before I could confidently centre and pull a decent wall on my little pots. While enrolled in classes, I was very fortunate to have talented, accomplished artists as instructors,” she recalls.
Working with clay goes back thousands of years with just about every shape of vase and bowl imaginable made countless times throughout history. But what makes potters stand out from each other is their style.
MJ describes her style as modern, lively, and invigorating. Her use of colour fits that description perfectly and once you get to know her style, you’ll recognize it anywhere.
“The highest compliment that I receive is when someone tells me that they recognize my pieces immediately. It has taken me years to develop a style that I love and that I am excited to continue to develop. Clean lines, comfortable, balanced pieces that are decorated in gorgeous, colourful designs”, MJ says.
Pottery and ceramics as a craft and art form can take years to perfect. MJ says her previous experience as a nurse educator helped develop her pottery skills.
“Attention to detail, curiosity, and creativity were skills that I used daily in my professional life, so naturally these skills applied to my approach to clay,” she explains.
As an educator, MJ knows that learning doesn’t stop in the classroom. There were other skills she needed to learn to work in harmony with her hands, the clay, and the wheel.
“Over the past many years, each interaction with clay has brought new meaning and understanding of the complexities of the medium and the patience, knowledge, and skill required to achieve good results. You need discipline to keep going and keep learning. Discipline builds skill. Discipline respects every phase of the clay process and it teaches us humility, especially when things don’t go well. Clay hates to be rushed and it takes discipline, patience, and care to bring a piece to the finish line,” MJ says.
Useful Pieces
Along with bowls, mugs, and vases, MJ makes colanders, butter crocks, olive oil dispensers, and other useful tools that you can use in your home.
Down to Earth
While these useful items can be purchased from mass producers, there’s something special about pieces that are handmade.
“Every piece of pottery produced is a conversation between the earth and the artist. No machine can replicate this. Handmade pottery is unique, intentional, and beautiful to hold. Each piece reflects the years of experience that have brought me to this point in my journey with clay. Clay grounds me and I hope my pots reflect the patience and care that I put into each creation”
More Than Just a Mug
“People who buy handmade pottery value it for the way it connects them to the maker and to the process. I watch people look, touch, cradle a piece, hold a mug to their chest and imagine the comfort they’ll experience with their favourite warm beverage in hand. The mug you have your morning coffee in really does matter. It becomes part of your daily ritual. It’s comforting, memorable. The same can be said for any functional piece that I make that brings people together”
There are so many amazing products made in our local communities by talented makers like Mary Potter Ceramics. We LUV MJ’s thoughts on what it means to shop from small handmade businesses:
“Someone who buys handmade pottery isn’t just buying a product, they are purchasing time, intention, human creativity and connection to use to nourish body and soul, honour rituals, and celebrate life’s accomplishments”
See all of MJ’s pottery on her LUVLOCAL Store.
