duginthemud pottery

welcome to my world
 
i've been making pots for over 30 years now. it sure has been a mud slide of a ride ... at home i dig being close to nature, planting gardens, growing food, landscaping, forever trying to actract the bee's and butterfly's. generally 'playing in the mud'... it all serves to strengthen my appreciation for this earth. ... i feel lucky to be the steward of my little piece of it. my obsession with clay is only part of the story, but admittedly, if i get sitting at a wheel with a chunk of clay, the day can change direction rather easily.
studio technician at the nepean visual arts centre has kept me surrounded by clay, and wonderful people, everyday for 25 years now. i owe it all to one person (my mentor really) who took me on as her assistant, always inspiring me and encouraging me to pursue a life in clay. that guiding light was  chandler swain, who was our new teacher and studio tech at that time... she took me under her wing and prepared me to follow in her footsteps as studio tech once she was ready to move on to bigger and better things ...  for chandler, i will be forever grateful ... once established, she talked me into getting out there and teaching wheel classes ... i was apprehensive at first, so she offered me the teen class to start with, "and we'll see how that goes " ... ("you can do it, doug ... believe me, they're way more afraid of you, than you could be of them ...  you'll be fine") i never could have imagined the effect it would have on me, i absolutely loved it, and wanted more... i can safely say that the best part of my days has turned out to be teaching wheel classes (thanks for pushing me onto the stage. .lol.) it was what i needed and i feel truly blessed to have her as the one who gave me the confidence, and opportunity, me to make it happen .... please check out her amazing pieces  www.chandlerswain.ca 
and now here we are, a little over 30 years later and i can honestly say that i still love what i do, and that the passion i feel is still as strong today as it's ever been. i love it all, but teaching, opening up this world to others, has probably been the most rewarding part. seeing and feeling my students joy is something that has always made me feel so grateful ... the following is a link to the nvac course options and descriptions.
http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-heritage-and-culture/arts-centres/nepean-visual-arts-centre
i am also now teaching in almonte, at the almonte potters guild studio, a link to their page will follow as well.
manager@almontepottersguild.com
my schooling at algonquin and sheridan colleges started me down the creative pathway. i explored many an artistic medium along the way but failed to find exactly what i was looking for. it was a visit to a friend’s house that changed everything. my friends, like myself, had a lot of house plants. i was very impressed that all of their plants were in clay pots that she had made. so I went and signed up for a pottery class with the sole intention of doing the same thing. however the first time i touched the warm, wet clay spinning on the wheel, i knew my world was about to change, and change it did. truth be told though, here i am over 30 years later and I still haven’t put all my plants in my handmade pots, i kinda got distracted. 
thanks gord and jeanette.

i hope you enjoy!



peace, love, and pottery