Hi, I’m Vicki Gauthier -
I’m the owner and artist behind Penny Lane Pottery
I’m glad you’re here so I can tell you about my pottery.
“Ordered it as a gift for my mother-in-law, it shipped quickly, arrived safely and she loves it. Definitely will be making more purchases....thank you again Vicki”
Why Pottery?
I have always loved buying a handmade pottery mug when I travel for work or for fun. I admire the craftsmanship, artistry, and beauty of every piece I’ve owned. When our family moved to Saskatchewan from Ontario in the late ‘90s I had time to take some beginner pottery classes. I started selling my pottery at local art sales and then found some stores that were interested in selling my work too. Now, I have a number of local stockists who carry my work and I participate in 3-4 in-person art sales a year, including Sundog Arts and Entertainment Faire in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
My Process
I am lucky enough to have a studio space 10 steps from my front door at home. This picture shows my pottery wheel set up and the view from my chair - pretty awesome!
I have my own studio space that includes my pottery wheel, a kiln, lots of shelving space for drying work, and a workbench for prepping clay. I love to spend as much time in my studio as I can while working full time in Forestry and volunteering with a couple of important local organizations (Prince Albert Council for the Arts and the Saskatchewan Section of the Canadian Institute of Forestry).
I work in cone 5-6 clay and mostly on the pottery wheel. My favourite pieces to make are mugs, plates, and bowls. I mix all of my own glazes which means I get to feel like a mad scientist! I have a couple of favourite tools in my studio: plastic ribs, great trimming tools, a metal ruler and my Giffin Grip tool (used for trimming pieces). I get my clay and glaze materials in Saskatoon at T&T Tree Pottery Supply. They are a fantastic pottery supplier and they can answer any pottery question you have.
Bisque Firing: When I’ve finished making pots, they need to dry for about a week to ensure all of the visible moisture is evaporated. Working in clay part-time means that it can take me up to a month to make enough pots to fill my kiln. My kiln can hold about 100 mugs for a bisque load and about 70 for a glaze load. Running a bisque load means loading dried, greenware pots into the kiln as tightly as possible. Usually, pots are touching and stacked together to pack in as many pieces as possible. The kiln is then fired for 7-8 hours until it reaches 1830F (1000C) and then cooled completely.
Glaze Firing: When the pots are unloaded, they are cleaned to remove the dust from the bisque firing. The bottoms of the pots are waxed to ensure the glaze doesn’t stick the pots to the kiln shelf. The glaze firing usually takes about 9 hours until it reaches the top temperature of 2232F (1222C). Since the kiln gets hotter for longer during a glaze firing, it takes longer for the kiln to cool down. This waiting time can be agonizing when you just want to see if your pieces look great!!!