How About A Ceramic Tumbler to Hold Dad’s Beer for Father’s Day?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Marie

Large Tumbler by Susanne James, Canadian Potter.

Susanne James has been busily designing some new items over the long winter months and has come up with a couple of great new items! One is a tall tumbler, that comes in several colours, that is large enough to hold a beer. The beauty of a ceramic tumbler is its insulation value — it will help to keep that beer cool for longer than other mugs. Of course it will also keep any other beverage cool or warm as well. A great gift idea for Dad for Father’s Day.

Soap dishes by Susanne James, Canadian Potter

How about a nice decorator item for the kitchen or bathroom sink area … a soap dish that keeps the soap elevated a bit to keep it dry when not in use. This will make the soap last longer while decreasing the messy soap dish clean up that happens when water pools under the soap. Choose your colour when you order.

New Items by Charlene McConnell

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Marie

Cedar Utensil Holder by Charlene McConnell, Canadian Potter

Charlene McConnell has had a busy winter in her studio creating new and exciting items. I am particularly taken with her Maple Leaf Milk Pitcher, Maple Leaf soap dispenser, and Cedar Utensil Holder. The earthy feel given by the use of real Maple Leaves and Cedar Boughs is particularly appealing.

The Earth Tone series of bowls, serving dishes, soap dispenser, etc are beautiful, functional pieces of pottery to add to any collection. The tricolour glaze creates an array of colours that will match a variety of dinnerware colours and provide just the right accent for any buffet.

Pottery is really art that you can carry in your hand … Charlene takes that seriously but, also ensures that the item will be functionally relevant. Charlene has an ability to think of everything when she is designing. For example, her paté dish is made to also fit a 250 gm container of cream cheese or Kraft dips. Just pop the container into the paté dish and you have a decorative addition to your table .. and you won’t even have to wash the container as the plastic one will just lift back out.

Lotion/Hand/Sanitizer Dispenser by Canadian Potter, Charlene McConnell

Pine Bough Mugs to Match Pine Bough Dishes by Susanne James, Canadian Potter

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Marie

Cream Pine Bough Mugs by Susanne James Canadian Potter

These lovely Pine Bough Mugs are a new item, created by Susanne James, to match the rectangular, round and square Pine Bough Platters that have been such popular items. So, if you love the platters it is likely that you will also love the mugs. The rounded contour of the mug fits nicely into the hand. Buy Now

Blue Pine Bough Mugs by Susanne James Canadian Potter

Ceramic Canoe by Ricki Woods

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Marie

Rickie Woods is always dreaming up new and wonderful items to create in her pottery studio. She has recently created this ceramic canoe that comes in 3 sizes, a variety of glazes and has animals, indigenous to this region, stamped around the rim.

I’ve been asking people as they come into the gallery what they would do with this piece and the answers have been quite varied. Some people would simply use it as a decoration without adding or changing anything at all. Others would use it as a candy dish, or serve the dip in the small one with crackers in the large one. Another indicated it could be the centre piece on a buffet table with anything form flowers to food products in it. So .. you see its a very flexible dish.

Canadian Potter Margery Cartwright Loves Oak Leaves and Acorns

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Marie

Margery Cartwright is a Canadian potter who is very happy to be able to live in the beautiful surroundings of the Haliburton Highlands, with all its lakes and trees, and make a living as a potter. Margery incorporates nature into many of her designs. Her signature work is her line of pottery that is decorated with an oak leaf and acorn. She uses a real oak leaf and acorn as her pattern thereby bringing the natural environment that surrounds her into her home and work.

Margery began her career as a potter in London, Ontario where she joined a group of fine craftspeople selling their goods at the Covent Garden Market. She was drawn to the Haliburton Highlands by courses at the Haliburton School of the Arts and soon began to realize that she could move to this lovely area and make a living with her pottery. She believes she has truly benefited from being a part of this dynamic, artistic community.

The French Butter Dish — How to Keep Your Butter Soft and Fresh

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Marie

Bernie Nicholson is a potter in the Haliburton Highlands who likes to respond to the needs and requests of her customers. She was frequently asked whether she had a French Butter Dish, so she created one in her diverse pottery product line. If you are like me you will be saying “so, what is a French Butter Dish and why would anyone want one”?

A French Butter Dish is designed to keep butter at the perfect spreading consistency. It’s unique design uses water to create an airtight seal that keeps oxygen away from the butter. Without oxygen butter cannot go rancid. The butter is pressed into the lid (1/4^th to ½ lb capacity). The lid is then inverted onto the base that should be about 1/3^rd full of water (salt water is used for non-salted or low salt butter) and voila your butter stays soft and fresh! When you wish to serve the butter simply remove the top and invert it and it becomes a perfect serving vessel that is decorative and adds a flare to your table. So, now I’m convinced that a French Butter Dish is the solution to keeping butter ready when you are through our hot, hot summer seasons. Check out Bernie’s French Butter Dish. It also comes in any of her other colour pallets.

Canadian Potter Opens Studio in Haliburton Village

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Marie

People looking to buy quality fine-crafted pottery now have a new studio/gallery to check out right in Haliburton village, Ontario, Canada. Tucked away behind an eight foot fence in a garden setting Stone Garden Pottery sits attached to potter Sharon Lynch’s home.

After years of working in her basement,Sharon has moved up into this bright and airy space to create her colourful hand-painted stoneware. However when she bought the property almost twelve years ago, she had no idea where the future would lead. It was only after she found broken pottery equipment and pieces of pots in the shed that she realized one of the previous owners had been a potter.

This discovery peaked her interest enough to take a hand-building course with Thom Lambert at the Haliburton School of the Arts FlemingCollege. It was love at first touch. Over the years Sharon continued with a number of instructors at Fleming including Barb Peel and Paul Portelli. Five years ago she began selling her work at The Art Hive near Carnarvon, where she is a founding member. The response from the public was encouraging and now the time has come to throw open her own studio doors.

Sharon fashions fine hand-crafted pieces for both inside and outside the home. Located at 64 Eastern Avenue(at the end of Highland St.), Stone Garden Pottery is having its grand opening Saturday and Sunday May 19 and 20. The work is also featured on www.MadeInHaliburton.ca.

Sharon is a member of the Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands.

Canadian Artist Creates Dragonfly Mugs and more ..

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Marie

When Susanne James is not busy selling cottages in the Haliburton Highlands she is busily at work in her pottery studio creating a variety of functional stoneware items including the incredible dragonfly mugs that are the prize in May 2012′s draw for those who sign up for the www.MadeInHaliburton.ca newsletter or “Like us” on Facebook. Susanne has a passion for dragonflies and sees them as the “good bugs”, ones that are welcome especially when those nasty biting bugs appear. After all the dragonfly consumes these nastier creatures and thus, the more the merrier. All of her functional items for the home are dishwaher, micro wave and food safe. Each item is handmade and one-of-a-kind. Thus, don’t expect these two dragonfly mugs to be exact replicas of one another as they were not made from a mold. Most of her pieces are wheel thrown but she has a few square or rectangulare pieces that she hand builds. For the platter shown on the left she brings twigs from the forest into the studio and uses them to duplicate mother nature’s designs precisely.

In addition to functional items for the household Susanne likes to knit and thus, has created an innovative series of knitting related pottery items. The best known of these items is her knitting yarn bowl. Great way to keep your yarn clean and close by. Her other items include mugs with a cable knit pattern on the side and needle and spindle holders.

Susanne took her first pottery course at the Haliburton School of the Arts 20 or more years ago and has taken many additional courses since. While she has dabbled in other artistic media she is most taken with pottery. She loves the texture of the red clay she works with and the aroma of cocoa bean shells that it gives off as she works in the studio that has been created for her in her home. Her firing is done in an electric kiln.

Susanne is a very active member of the Arts Community in the Haliburton Highlands. She is a member of the Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands, a board member of the Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre, and a participant in the Tour de Forest, a studio tour that takes place on the August long weekend each year. Take a look a a sampling of her work at www.MadeInHaliburton.ca.

Earth and Fire Pottery

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Marie

Debbie and Grahame Wales moved to the Haliburton Highlands in 1976. They built a log home and studio overlooking LIttle Boshkung Lake. In their early years in the Highlands pottery was a hobby for them. In 1990 they constructed a large outdoor reduction-fired kiln and their delightful hobby became a full time business adventure. Grahame worked on the pottery business whenever the demands of being a stay-at-home dad would allow. Debbie continued working in the education system and contributing to the business on weekend and in the summer until she joined the business full-time in 2003. It became very apparent that their quaint little log studio and workshop needed more space. And so an addition was added to expand the work area and create a lovely new gallery.

The Wales make great studio partners in part because they have differing interests in terms of the types of pottery they do. Grahame loves to work at the wheel and produce functional pottery. He is very adept at throwing large quantities of clay while regaling any studio visitors with humorous anecdotes. He has become known locally as “the Hairy Potter”. Debbie, on the other hand, has branched out to create thrown and altered work, square and functional pieces and one-of-a-kind sculpted wall hangings that depict the beauty of the Haliburton Highlands. Their daughter Jenn as recently begun to follow in their footsteps and produce her own unique clay designs in the form of jewellery and mosaic wall plaques.

Earth and Fire Pottery has been a part of the Haliburton Highlands Studio Tour since 1992, just a few years after its inception. They have seen the tour develop and grow and have played an active part in its development. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Studio Tour and a special celebration is planned. Everyone is invited to the Opening of the Exhibition titled “Transitions”, which is an exhibition of the art of current and past Haliburton Highlands Studio Tour Artists. The opening reception takes place on Saturday May 5th from 2-4 pm. Come out and celebrate the work of these fine artists. For a further schedule of the activities that will occur during the show please visit the Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre Website.

Debbie, in conjunction with Rickie Woods, won the Bill Lambe Arts Alive Minden award for her passionate dedication to the arts. .

Charlene McConnell and the Haliburton Highlands

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Marie

Charlene McConnell began her connection with the Haliburton Highlands as a cottager. Her dream, as far back as when she got married, was to own a cottage. She and her husband even saved duplicate wedding gifts as their “cottage collection”. After much searching they decided they could not find something they liked in their price range and sold the “cottage collection”. Soon after they visited the Highlands, saw an add for a property they loved and bought a cottage. They began spending so much time at the cottage that it only made sense to move there. Prior to moving to the Haliburton Highlands pottery was a hobby for Charlene. The move enabled her enrollment in the ceramics intensive program at the Haliburton School of the Arts, graduating in 2005. She now describes her love of pottery as an obsession. She and her children started new schools at the same time. Her husband continued to work in the city making life a bit challenging at first, especially with their remote cottage location and the challenges of wintering at the cottage.

Charlene literally brings the beauty of the landscape of the Haliburton Highlands into her studio and her designs. She collects real leaves and branches during woodland hikes and uses them for inspiration and pattern creation in the development of her pottery pieces. As to what she is working on next. Porcelain flowers and woven baskets. She states that “every kiln load has at least one experiment in form or glaze. I am always striving to push limits. do something different. I have a plan but the results that come out of a kiln change the direction, give inspiration and always directs the focus. Absolutely can’t guarantee where I’m going because it always is directed by how the kiln chooses to dance.” Watch for her new creations as they emerge into a form she is happy with here on MadeInHaliburton.ca.

Charlene is a member of the Arts Council~Haliburton Highlands and the Tour de Forest, which is a studio tour that happens on the long weekend in August each year.