Earth & Fire: Clay and Glass Festival
Before Jackie Warmelink became a potter, she was a Cordon Bleu Chef. Her initial interest in pottery was as a means of showcasing her food creations. A world traveller, Warmelink took her first pottery lesson in Kenya where she dug clay in the Masai Mara desert and threw it on a primitive kick wheel. From that point she was hooked, and combined her travels with lessons all over the world.
Warmelink settled in Canada in the early 80s and continued studying pottery as a relaxing escape from her work as a food stylist for the advertising industry.
Over the years, Warmelink discovered she really loved slabwork – pottery created from a flat sheet of clay versus thrown on a wheel. Her work has evolved to include many pieces imprinted with leaves from the rhubarb, hostas and elephant ears which she grows around her Mulmur workshop. She likes to experiment with layering glazes to produce a range of results, and sometimes includes bits of broken glass which impart a luminous quality once they are fired. Broken bits of Heineken beer bottles work especially well, and her husband helps keep her supplied.
“I make what I like making,” says Warmelink. “I couldn’t stand to sit at a wheel and turn out 50 mugs all the same. I love going to shows and talking to people about how they intend to use my pieces. It is a sort of validation when people buy.”
In the last couple of years, Warmelink has expanded her repertoire to include reku copper fire mattework. These pieces are fired at a lower temperature using special glazes. They are removed from the kiln while still red hot and placed in metal reduction chambers filled with combustible materials which ignite, burning off all the oxygen and resulting in unpredictable metallic and crackle finishes. Raku is more fragile, than conventional pottery and not food safe but the visual effects are stunning.
“Raku is less popular and more expensive. For every piece that works, there are two discards,” she explains.
Simon Heath, of Creemore, took his first pottery lesson at a shop on Kingston Road in Toronto. Before long, the owner approached him with an opportunity. He needed someone to man the shop on Saturdays and if Heath was willing to look after the handful of customers who came in, he could use the wheels and clay at will.
Heath was given his own wheel as a 30th birthday present and continued to work at his pottery whenever he could spare the time. His work as an executive coach allowed him a fair bit of flexibility, particularly post-pandemic when most sessions are virtual.
“In the last decade, I’ve gotten a bit more serious about the pottery. I’ve really only been selling my stuff for the past six years or so,” says Heath. “I’m not a big social media guy but Instagram has been an incredible source of instructional videos and I’ve been exposed to lot of different styles. I learned a new technique for rolled rims from a potter in Vancouver.”
The rolled rims, according to Heath allow for thinner walls on bowls and mugs with a chunkier rim which is less prone to chipping.
“Lots of times, when you come up with something new it’s because you messed something up,” he says. “Lately, I’ve really been enjoying making teapots. They are hard because you throw the base and the lid and the spout separately and then they have to fit together and they have to look good. With teapots, you have to start out with a vision of what the finished product will be and the results tend to match the vision quite closely.”
“If you make something and it turns out nice you keep it, otherwise you recycle the clay and start again. I’m really fussy. I obsess about things that some people might not care about.”
Stayner stained glass artist Casey Heeney took her first lessons at the age of 12 from her grandfather, William Heeney Senior, who created windows for the church in Rosemont. From the beginning, she says she liked to put a modern twist on things.
“Stained glass takes a lot of time and I can’t see making massive projects. I like to stick to smaller, free form pieces,” says Heeney. “I draw patterns myself, and stick to things I know. I do things like little car charms and light catchers that can hopefully make someone’s crumby day a bit brighter.”
Henney calls her business Sand and Shadow. Sand because she loves the beach and Shadows because of the way light interacts with glass. Each of her pieces is accompanied by an inspirational quote like “There is beauty in everything, just not everyone sees it,” with her scrappy chick birds.
A trained teacher, Heeney says the workshops she conducts each month are where her heart really is.
“Workshops bring people together for a shared experience and I love to see people interacting with friends and family,” she says.
She lost her father in a motorcycle accident just over a year ago, and says the workshops have been a big part of her healing.
Heeney, Heath and Warmelink are three of the artists featured at the upcoming Earth & Fire: Clay and Glass Festival at the Museum of Dufferin. The show will bring together more than 30 artisans from across Ontario for one day on Sept. 20. Admission is by donation and there are additional workshops available with advance registration at www.dufferinmuseum.com/earth-and- fire-clay-and-glass.
