Fallbrook potter sells out at MERA

Dec 10, 2014

On November 29, holiday shoppers at the annual Christmas Fair at the MERA Schoolhouse in McDonalds Corners, which draws buyers from near and far, enjoyed a fine array of crafts, fine art and comestibles courtesy of a number of local vendors. Felted, knit, sewn and woven wearables and seasonal decorative items were in abundance, as were fine chocolates, beeswax candles, body products, jewelry and much more.

Hand crafted pottery is always a much appreciated gift at any time of the year and Fallbrook potter Jane Conley could not keep up with the demand for her newly designed cups. Conley has been making both wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery at her home-based studio in Fallbrook for six years under the business name Conley Pots. She has studied with renowned Brooke Valley potter Anne Chambers in Ottawa and at St. Lawrence College in Brockville with Darlene Keefer. Conley said that hand made pottery has always appealed to her much more than the commercially produced dishes that she and many others find cluttering up their kitchen cupboards. “People, especially those who live in the country, seem to like more rustic dishes to use every day and I started making pottery when I began to appreciate the appeal of hand-made pottery.”

Conley creates a wide range of red and white cone six stoneware items including bowls, pitchers, casseroles, serving dishes, plates, platters, tea pots, vases and butter dishes. Much of her work is decorated with single tone celadon type glazes, raspberry, blues and greens. Some of her surfaces are decorated with a white slip application and others are dipped in various glazes that create a multi-coloured surface.

Rustic coloured glazes are a new approach that Conley has been working with and her powder blue and beige cups sold out at this year's show. Conley has also been exploring altering her wheel-thrown forms. Her tall, totemic styled pitchers are a new design that she has been exploring and she uses a serrated rib tool to create their highly textured, lined surfaces.

Like many crafts people, Conley said the process of pottery making is full of surprises, some more welcome than others. She said, “It is always the kiln that has the final say in the end.” For that reason Conley likes the phrase “What you see is what you get”. She prefers to not take special orders of her work since the firing process adds an uncontrolled element into the process. What Conley loves about the process is designing new forms and thinking up new ideas. To make an appointment to visit her home studio in Fallbrook call 613-267-7679.