The month of May unfolded as a series of encounters and transmissions, where knowledge flowed gently from one hand to another, from one workshop to the next, always with the same intention: to learn and to help the practice grow.
It started more slowly, as part of a three-week independent study project on slip casting molds with Cowansville potter Geneviève Gallant. It was a time that was both rigorous and joyful, filled with laughter, shared pleasure, and a great deal of learning. Working with a new material, plaster, with a level of precision to which I am less accustomed, required great concentration and constant adaptation. The learning curve was steep, sometimes demanding, but deeply stimulating. Thinking “in reverse,” imagining forms from the inside out, is not straightforward at all!
Then came the encounter with fire, during a raku and smoke-firing day with West Bolton potter John Davidson. Here, the pace changes entirely. The movements must be swift, the focus immediate, and the material becomes unpredictable. In these firings where everything can change in a few seconds, there is a particular intensity, but also great clarity. And beyond the technique, what stands out most is the generosity of the transmission. A way of opening the kiln, reading what is happening inside, and sharing experience accumulated over the years.
Ceramics reminds us, in these two very different moments, that it is deeply rooted in transmission. We rarely move forward alone. We learn by watching, by trying, and by being surrounded by people who agree to share what they have taken time to understand.
I feel very lucky to live in a region where practices are so diverse and vibrant. It allows me to learn constantly, to refine my eye, and to keep my practice in motion. It is a precious wealth to be able to evolve in contact with artisans who transmit with such generosity. I am also touched to be able to experience all of this with friends and colleagues who are so open, and who also share their expertise simply out of love for the craft and the material. There is something deeply human in this way of transmitting without restraint.
Growing as an artist requires remaining in this movement: continuing to learn, to search, and to gently push the boundaries of one’s practice. It is not always easy to maintain this balance between creation, production, and the reality of being an artisan-entrepreneur, but it is an essential balance for the work to continue to evolve.
I would not say that what emerged from this month is particularly “magnificent.” But there was something else, perhaps more subtle: an openness. Many things to integrate, to let infuse, and a mind still filled with all the possibilities that are opening up.
A month inhabited by transmission, and by that subtle thread that connects artisans to one another.
