Welcome to Parkdale Pottery, a woman-owned teaching studio dedicated to nurturing creativity through pottery classes and workshops.
At our studio, we strive to foster a vibrant community where both experienced and novice artists can come together, forming meaningful connections and cultivating friendships that enrich their artistic journey. Our welcoming and non-judgmental environment creates a space where everyone can feel comfortable exploring their creative potential.
In addition to our classes and workshops, we offer open studio membership options, allowing our students to seamlessly transition from structured classes into a more natural studio flow. This provides a nurturing space for continuous growth and encourages the development of individual artistic styles.
Our team of instructors comprises practicing artists with a deep knowledge base in pottery.
Woodside Pottery and Gallery Craighurst is a gallery of fine craft and fine art. It is housed in the 130 year old schoolhouse in the village of Craighurst and has served,for the last 30 years, as the working studio of potter Hartley Woodside. The gallery exhibits his work and that of other potters, glassblowers, jewellers, bird carvers, wood turners, metal and stone sculptors, weavers etc.. a fine craft gallery featuring his works, other work from area artisans, pieces from across the country and some fair trade work from Kenya. The Gallery hosts periodic fine art exhibitions of regional artists. The current exhibition is a collection of the works of Edward Curtis, the noted American photographer of first nations people.
Pictured, are the three main elements of the process that takes a lump of clay through to a finished pot. Formed on the wheel, glazed in the spray booth, and finally, fired in the kiln. But the process is more than that. It starts the first time you sit at a potters wheel with that lump of clay. It's a connection with, and a feel for the clay. You need a teacher that can guide you through the frustrations and disappointments, getting you to the point where you develop some skill and your own technique. I had Terrie MacDonald do that for me and am forever grateful. Thanks also to Pamela Bailey-Brown for her teachings and for sharing her wisdom. So it's a long process and doesn't end when you take the finished pot out of the kiln. To me the process ends when someone actually wants what you made. That makes pottery a win-win endeavour. I get the joy of making the pot, and the joy and satisfaction from someone putting it to use.