JOY FINLAY
Aspen House Productions Ltd.
250-479-3524
joyandcamfinlay@shaw.ca
Many years ago our daughter suggested we register together for a pottery course. How could I resist? I’ve been playing with clay off and on ever since. At first I thought it was all about what a potter did with the clay. Now I know it is what the clay does for the potter that makes the experience fulfilling and magical.
I call myself a ‘closet potter’ for that is the size of my heated studio space. Or a ‘putter potter’ as I do a lot of puttering around with clay. I like my ‘Krinkle’ pots best - each one is a unique result of earth, fire and water coming together; and I am part of the energy that helped give them their form and expression. Like the students I’ve taught in the past, I’ve connected with each piece of clay for a time. Who will connect next? Where will my clay pieces go? The wonderment about a piece of clay – a bunch of atoms in the form of a pot – is expansive!
I retired from teaching and left Edmonton for our forest acreage here in Victoria about 12 years ago. Shortly after arriving I volunteered at Cedar Hill Rec. Centre pottery studio, later becoming a member (and Librarian) of the South Vancouver Island Potters Guild and Garden City Potters group. It is a real opportunity to enjoy the diversity of approaches & techniques in creating with clay that is found among the artists of these groups. For the past 5 years I have also benefited from being involved with a variety of artists in the spring Saanich West Studio Tour.
My ‘krinkle’ line
of plant pots, bowls, vases and leaf-print dishes are made from multiple clays, reflecting the textures of bark and leaves that surround our home.
Free-form stressed clays - vessels, vases & platters
Garden City Potters gatherings: Ready for an afternoon of creating together in our backyard
(below) finished pieces after a primitive Pit-firing using sawdust at Rachel Coward’s yard.
