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17cm T x 13cm W x 21 cm L

I’m still coming down from my latest low fire reduction/sagger load. The level of stimulation/excitement/creative energy that I experience when unloading a firing like this last one is a bit overwhelming. This was the best of this type of firing that I have done to date in my Blaauw kiln. Those of you that have read my book, My Life as a Potter, will know that this form of experimentation was my main reason for buying the Blaauw. However , there was so much to learn about high fire reduction that my experiments took a back burner for a few years as I developed the tableware, but now that is done and I can turn my attention to what excites me the most, discovering new ways of firing in reduction.

Today I am going to start you out with showing you something that made my creative mind double in size 😁 This small chalice had been in my last raku firing, probably around 2018. It had a clear crackle glaze on the top and no glaze on the bottom. It was underwhelming when raku fired as I didn’t get enough carbonization on the bottom and no carbon in the lines of the crackle glaze. So, it sat, ever so often I would take it down off the shelf and ponder it, then back it would go. Then….finally the idea came to me, what about putting it in a small sagger packed with sawdust around it stopping where the top glazed collar began? Maybe then I would get the carbonization I was looking for on the bottom and, the big question, would I get carbonization in the lines of the crackle glaze? When I was packing the sawdust around it I decided to put a layer of seaweed at the top of the sawdust layer and finished it off with a light dusting of copper carbonate. Then the lid went on and into the kiln it went. In my prefiring photo it is in the small white pot that has another pot turned upside down to act as a lid, it was a fairly tight seal, by this I mean that there was oxygen getting in, but very little.

I am over the moon with how it turned out and all the possible roads this type of firing is going to take me down. As far as I know, no one has explored firing in this way, at least I haven’t heard anything about other people trying this. There were other test pieces in the firing that also held great promise, I look forward to showing them to you. We also did a video of me packing a sagger showing how I usually do it so that you could see the technique used for that.

The final hurrah came when I discovered that I had the perfect rock to mount this little gem in. Sarah Wilson was a great help both with packing the saggers and taking notes for me. This was her first such firing and I’m sure it was inspiring for her as well. She had two test pieces in the firing but I’ll let her tell you about those. Thanks to Patti for helping me find the rock, does anyone near to where I live know where I could find more rocks like this one? The colours are amazing.

Now, how am I going to keep myself from wearing myself out? This level of creative energy is a bit of a challenge for my body…but…I’ll take it.

 

 

I’m over the moon and so very, very pleased that the first edition of my book, My Life as a Potter, is almost sold out! There are still some copies available at my gallery and through Amazon but please don’t stop ordering as more are being printed. I don’t have a date yet for when the second edition will arrive, but if you order it now won’t it be a wonderful surprise when it comes? I wrote this book with the idea that it could be an ongoing source of revenue for my Legacy Project and wow, I think my dream is coming true. I’m so appreciative of the wonderful compliments, comments, reviews and emails ❤️truly it means the world to me. Sharing my personal story, knowledge and creative journey with you all was not small for me…there is that “Kleenex” chapter… sharing parts of my personal life didn’t come easy but I’m glad I did as many of you have reached out to me expressing your gratitude for my honesty. Baring one’s soul to the world was not on my, must do list 🫣but inspiring and sharing knowledge was… so…I shared it all.

As you are all too aware, living with M.E. blows big time. When Louise Sargent asked if I would write an article for M.E. Support, I wasn’t sure where to begin. I had just published a book about my life as a potter that delved into my experience of M.E. and didn’t want to repeat a lot of what was written there. I could hardly say no though, as I have a great deal of respect for Louise’s dedication to helping M.E. sufferers find their way through the myriad hardships this disease throws at you.

Where do you find hope when the life that you have known slips away and a new reality takes over? I recall all too well my frustration in the first decade of dealing with M.E. when I would hear of people who got better. I often thought either they didn’t have M.E. or they had a very mild version of it, as I didn’t know anyone with this disease who had recovered to their old self. Not a very uplifting thought to share with you, but it’s how I felt, and to be honest I still don’t believe that one ‘recovers’ from this disease. I believe that some of us are lucky enough to improve to the level where we can have a more ‘normal’ life and pass as healthy – as long as we live within our limitations.

So, how do you have hope when the years go by and you are increasingly isolated by the illness, and small improvements come so slowly? All I can offer as an answer is my own experience. I am sometimes still amazed to realize that at age 62, I have now lived more than half my life with this condition. Eventually acceptance starts to creep in and that is usually a turning point in adapting to a new reality.

My story with this disease is unusual as my wife, Heather, and I both became ill at the same time. It was 1989 and we were living in Vancouver, British Columbia. A few months later we were diagnosed at St. Paul’s Hospital with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Then the frantic search for what might help us began. Trips to different alternative health practitioners ensued as did trying different supplements they suggested, but nothing helped. Our life as we knew it was over.

Heather was much sicker than me; she had severe M.E. and was house/bedbound for 18 years before succumbing to the disease. I wasn’t as severely affected as Heather but still I was very ill and pretty much confined to the house for the first years. The whole experience was heart-breaking, and it would be five years before I slowly started working at pottery again part-time, while also caring for Heather.

I experienced slow improvements over the years, but sadly Heather’s suffering only increased and she died in 2007. Then my life changed again as I no longer had the constant demands of care giving while also trying to work. My health slowly started coming back to me and now I am one of those people who can ‘pass’.

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Heather Vaughan & Mary Fox

I know my story isn’t the easiest for you to read as my struggle has gone on for years and Heather didn’t make it, but still there is hope in it. Since Heather died, I have rebuilt my house where I have a Pottery Studio and Gallery that is open to the public. This has worked very well for me as I can sell the majority of my work from home and if I am having a flare or bad days, I can easily cut back on activities and rest more. I have learnt through the years that working to my energy level and not pushing it pays off big time, so when those nasty days come, I couch myself and wait for things to get easier again.

Years ago, before getting ill, I had the thought that one day I might write a book about my work. Little did I know then how M.E. would alter how my life unfolded. Writing the part of the book that dealt with this illness was gut-wrenching for me and almost stopped me from finishing the project. The last thing I wanted to do was relive those years by writing about them, and I was reticent about sharing this private part of my life with the world. But I am very glad I did, as many people have told me how inspiring they found my story.

mary_fox_grouping

       ‘Beautiful vessels to enrich and inspire.’

When we are in the midst of hardship and suffering, it is challenging to keep going and believe in the possibility of joy and meaning, but believe we must. Heather was a remarkable example of this. Even though she experienced serious pain and many limitations, she still managed to be part of a writing group where the members supported each other’s creativity. When she couldn’t do that any more, she found small ways to be there for others, even if it was limited to being a listening ear for her home-care workers. I learned much from her – she was kind, gracious and loving, even though she suffered immensely. Without her guidance and strength, I would never have grown into the person I am today, and my book is, in many ways, a tribute to her.

I think of the many M.E. sufferers trying to make sense of what is happening to their bodies and figure out how to manage the realities of living with M.E. How to keep hope and carry on? This is an ongoing challenge for anyone living with disability, so pat yourself on the back for managing as well as you do and go easy on yourself. Life with M.E. is hard. But every moment of finding joy, meaning, or appreciation is a victory and every small improvement is a gift. I used to dream of the day when I could walk out of my front door without worrying about whether my legs would give out on me before I made it back home, and I haven’t had that thought for a long time now. Though my walks may be shorter than they were before the illness, I don’t have that underlying fear any more, and that is huge!

My book, Mary Fox: My Life as a Potter, Stories and Techniques, is published by Harbor Publishing and is available worldwide.

https://www.mesupport.co.uk/mary-fox

About me:

Hi! I’m Sarah. I’m a 29-year-old budding potter originally from Ireland who’s been living in British Columbia, Canada since 2018. I am grateful to have called the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples my home for the past four years. My journey as a potter began when, as a child growing up in Ireland, I got my first potter’s wheel and would dig up wild clay from my Dad’s farm to fossilize insects. But I really began to focus on pottery in 2019 when I took my first class in Vancouver. I wasn’t “hooked at first touch” like some people. I found it frustrating that it didn’t click with me right away, but my own stubbornness ensured I carried on. Since then, making pots has brought fulfillment that I’ve only ever experienced before when I worked at horse stables as a teen. I’ve gotten to meet some incredible potters, including Vin Arora who is a huge source of inspiration and has never stopped pushing me to expand my skills and follow my dreams. I have a background in zoology and marine biology and am fascinated by the ocean and our planet. I hope to bring aspects of that into my work as I embark on this sure-to-be-amazing adventure with two incredible potters, Mary Fox and Cathi Jefferson. 

Week 1 – A Winter Welcome!

May 2021: Over a year into a pandemic and feeling a little like Bill Murray trapped in Groundhog Day, I decided it was time to take back some sort of control over my life (even if recent events have taught me that seeking control is a somewhat futile endeavour). Without fully thinking through what I was about to say or even what the purpose of the call was, I dialed Mary Fox’s number and waited nervously as the phone rang. I had previously stumbled across Mary’s work and her legacy project while searching for pottery development opportunities and was immediately struck by the beauty of her planetary and oceanic-inspired pieces in particular. 

She answered! What now? I clumsily asked whether she needed an assistant, to which Mary replied that she already had one. Well, that was that! We ended the short but pleasant call and I got up to brush it off, take a breath and make some tea. I headed back to my desk where, to my surprise, a voicemail from none other than Ms. Fox was waiting for me, requesting that I send some photos of my work. 

Low and behold the stars aligned and…cut to January 6th, 2022. I find myself sitting in a snow-covered cabin on Cathi Jefferson’s property and can hardly believe my luck! Not only am I starting a two-year pottery apprenticeship program with Mary Fox, but I also get to share my time with the incredible Cathi Jefferson, known for her nature-inspired soda fired work. Added bonus… I get to live in a secluded cabin beside the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island with my two cats Soup and Bella. 

My first week brings to mind the Yiddish proverb “We plan, God laughs” (although I prefer to think about “God” not in the traditional sense, but rather as Mother Nature). There has been unusually heavy snow for B.C., preventing me from getting to Ladysmith to begin potting with Mary, and the new Omicron Covid variant has been sweeping through and appearing to target those who have managed to stay free of the virus thus far. But I haven’t been sitting idle! I’ve spent my time helping Cathi shovel snow from the quaint paths that wind through her presently hidden native garden, mix glazes at her community studio project, The Clay Hub, and drive cats up and down the countryside for vet visits. My suitcase remains unpacked, and apparently I will do anything to avoid putting away clothes, including writing this blog! Cathi has shown me immense kindness since my arrival, has ensured my nutritional needs are met, and introduced me to the neighbourhood. My heart feels full, and I think I might find the community here, after all, that I’ve been searching for in the city. 

That’s all for now, An eager young potter praying for the snow (beautiful as it is) to melt

A lot of great ideas start with a dream; the Legacy Project is one of them. I have worked as a potter all my life, earning my living from what I create with my hands. It is a challenge to earn a living as an artist, especially in the early years. When I was younger, it was difficult to find a place to rent that could accommodate a studio and a landlord willing to let you install a kiln. I always managed to find studio spaces, but often they were dark basement rooms, not places that inspired creativity. I felt fortunate to have any studio space all, but I still fantasized about the day I would own a house and have the studio/gallery of my dreams.

This is how my dream began.

Late one night I was chatting with my wife about the difficulties inherent in the young artist’s life when she asked me, “What would have made things easier for you?”

“Oh, that’s easy” I replied, “a low-cost, equipped studio where I could also sell what I was creating.” And then the conversation took off!

Not long after our chat my wife died and I embarked on the beginnings of the Legacy Project, rebuilding the home we had shared for 16 years. During that time I had worked in the small garage attached to our house. I loved my little studio; it was the nicest space I had worked in up to that point. It was ground level, with Dutch doors that could be opened on nice days so I could look out onto the street. However, it was small and very crowded with all the equipment and, of course, the pots! I was selling my work at a steady rate out of my studio but there wasn’t enough room to display all that I was making. I started to envision my dream studio, gallery, and home, and the idea of lifting my house slowly began to take form. With the Legacy Project in mind, I made a floor plan of what my ideal studio would look like, and in August 2011, the house was lifted and construction began.

Mary Fox Pottery being built from the bones of the old house. The beginning of the Legacy Project.

Mary Fox Pottery being built from the bones of the old house. The beginning of the Legacy Project. 

Now, years later, when you walk in the front door, you enter into a beautiful gallery. From there you can see through to the creation room and you are welcome to go in and explore further. Then to one side is the entrance to the old studio which has now become the kiln room.

That is the part of the house that is open to the public. Upstairs has been designed as an open plan kitchen/living room with lots of built-in shelves to display the Mary Fox Collection. There is also a photography room with more shelving to display work and a desk area. Everything a potter needs to work and document the work is on-site.

The final floor is the loft, a beautiful space where I can retreat at the end of a long day. This is the house that I built with the Legacy Project and the rest of my working years in mind.

April 19th: See the CBC interview & article »

How can you help with this Endeavour?

We have set up an endowment fund and a fund that can be used to help build the project. These funds are through the Vancouver Foundation and the Craft Council of B.C. so that when you donate you can receive a tax receipt. We also encourage you to consider leaving a percentage of your estate to the Mary Fox Legacy Project Society so that we can raise enough funds to support this project well into the future. Thank you for considering being a part of this exciting and important project to help young potters on their creative path.

Leatherhard stage

There is nothing I love more than creating versions of the same form over and over again. As the days move forward the form I’m focusing on gets better and better as I get tuned into it. These are challenging to throw so I have been limiting myself to one a day and keeping them damp so I could photograph them in the leatherhard stage. Wondering how on earth I throw these? I have a chapter devoted to just that in my book, My Life as a Potter 😊🦊