Clay Connections: Finding My Creative Footing in New Brunswick

Moving to New Brunswick has made clay more accessible… in surprising ways. Being on the mainland has its advantages — we’re simply closer to everything. With the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design’s Ceramics Program and Nu Ceramics Studio, both located in Fredericton, supplies and creative opportunities are right at my fingertips.

NBCCD’s Diploma in Ceramics covers everything from wheel-throwing and handbuilding to glaze chemistry and kiln firing. Because of the program, there’s a steady flow of equipment and materials in the local community — sometimes even kilns for sale at a fraction of what they’d cost in Newfoundland.

This weekend, I’m going to look at a kiln in a nearby community. Next weekend, we’ll take the ferry to Digby to check out two more in Nova Scotia. I’m hopeful one of them will be a match.

In the meantime, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to connect with Melinda, an art teacher at St. Malachy’s Memorial High School in Saint John, who’s generously let me fire my work there. I’m already on my second firing! I had tried a community firing at the Saint John Art Centre, but after three weeks of waiting, I picked up my pieces and brought them to St. Malachy’s instead.

So far, I’ve thrown over 50 pieces, but I need to ramp up production if I’m going to participate in the local craft fairs. I’ve applied to the Rothesay Christmas Fair, and I was considering the Rockwood Park Fair, but without steady kiln access, I may need to focus on just one. Hopefully, I’ll have a kiln of my own soon — and when I do, production will really take off!