Elizabeth Davies

Potter

Ottawa, ON
Tel  613-668-9499
www.elizabeth-davies.com

Click to contact me via  ...

Biography

I am largely self-taught as a potter. I first started to throw at a small studio in Kingston, Ontario. A career as a conference interpreter and the responsibilities of being a parent put all thoughts of pottery far from my mind until twenty years later when we moved from Ottawa to Brussels, where I found myself walking distance from a workshop with keen potters willing to help me find my own style with clay. I returned to Ottawa in September 2016, and am a member of the Gladstone Clayworks Coop.

Artist Statement

I create classic, hand-thrown functional pieces to use as a canvas for abstract design. They can be used on the kitchen counter, a dresser, or the dining room table, where they add pleasure to everyday life.  In my designs, I aim to evoke shorelines, ever-shifting places where land meets the sea as on the African beaches where I spent much of my youth.

I throw, trim, then often distort a bowl, forcing the sides into an undulating wave. After the first firing, I dip it into my chosen base glaze. Only then I do I start to draw by layering down multiple layers of contrasting glazes onto the surface. As they flow and melt in the heat of kiln, my design takes form, achieving a modern, lively interpretation of  traditional ware.

When I open the kiln and streams of colour catch my eye, I can almost hear the sound of waves breaking against the shore.