There has always been a draw to me since I was a young child with functional art. And earthenware has always been an alluring craft. Life took me in a more sports oriented direction, but always knew that one day I would take up pottery. I could picture myself doing it as a retirement hobby when all of the more important things were checked off the long list of life. But after a very intensive decade of growing our small guiding business and building our homestead from nothing but a dream, I fell into pottery not out of desire, but out of necessity. I realized, that although I love my job, and the home that we’ve built, we as a couple hadn’t given ourselves any time to pursue a hobby for the sake of the hobby. Everything we did seem to be for our business including the direction that our property was developing. And burn out was not just a possibility, but a very real, dark, looming cloud.
After going on the TV show ALONE, it sent Dave and I both into a bit of shake. We both realized that it was time to start taking our time back for ourselves and pursue some activities for the sake of the pursuit and joy that it brings to us. So we did just that. We sold half of our business which was a very successful retail business selling our DIY winter gear kits, instructions and winter travel related gear. We both fell back in love with rock climbing. A love that was born back in our early days of our relationship which got pushed aside by our entrepreneurial spirit. We now make climbing a priority and in the last 3 years have gone on 5 climbing trips to Nevada, Kentucky and Dave to the Bugaboos in BC.
Two years ago, I decided to just go for it, and I signed up for a 5 week hand building class at the Great White North Pottery Studio in Sudbury. I thought to myself, it’s time to start trying new things. I knew I would love it, but I didn’t realize that it would become a new obsession. I became a hand building queen and all of our plastic containers were going to charity or the recycling bin and were quickly being replaced with my hand creations. Almost exactly a year later I took the beginners wheel throwing, 5-week course. I immediately bought my first cheap wheel and the fervor continued. It is coming up on my three year anniversary of my pottery journey and I am just as in love with it as I was when I started. If not more.
