I’ve always had an affinity for mud puddles. As a child I collected frogs and worms and discovered clay in creeks and coastal cliffs in Wollongong, Australia where I grew up. 

One year I received an exciting paperback manual in my Christmas stocking which provided guidance on processing raw clay and making hand built pottery. I was launched and went into production, excited by the endless possibilities of shapes and forms and the potential usefulness of pots.

All my pots dried and cracked in the sun. Then in high school the art teacher kindly resurrected an old kiln and fired some of my pots. Using pink clay I’d collected from a cliff face and a clear glaze, I produced a series of large coil pots.

I inherited my grandfather’s watercolours when a teenager which led to a lifelong love of watercolour journaling.

Three small tubes of primary watercolours, a paintbrush, a yoghurt lid for a palette, paper and a tiny water container accompany me when hiking and travelling. Wildlife and scenery encountered on wilderness canoe trips and hikes provide endless inspiration and environmental concerns dear to my heart find expression in my work.

Similarly, clay provides a canvas for my painting.

Moving to Trail, B.C., I joined the VISAC Pottery Guild and re immersed myself in pottery and again when in Summerland, I joined the pottery guild. When we moved north to the remote wilderness near Burns Lake I had my own pottery studio overlooking Tchesinkut Lake. Our home and studio were heated with wood stoves.  With an abundance of ash, my husband challenged me to make ash glazes.  Countless experiments, test pots and research culminated in the development of my signature ash glazes. The processing of ash is a challenging production and ash is corrosive on the skin. It took over a year to get the first successful ash glaze and I’ve added to my repertoire over the years. A pivotal event occurred when I experimented with incorporating a wax resist painting in the layers of glazes. What emerged was something that resembled hieroglyphics.  This technique enables me to paint on my pots.

More recently, I have been exploring the possibilities of a contemporary ceramic medium l call clay-fusion which is more suited to sculpture and tile work. 

As with life in general, sometimes it’s been the seemingly insurmountable challenges that have ultimately led to breakthroughs and growth.

Jacqueline Palmer