Everything is handmade by me, right down to the glaze chemistry, I have my own private studio located at my home in Cavan just outside Peterborough, ON.

 

It's more than just a mug, it's functional art inspired by nature. My favourite thing to do is carving free hand designs of treesscapes, windblown pines, cedar trees, lakes, rolling hills, rocky shorelines and distant mountains. I am also very boho and that can also be seen in my work.

 

I am not japanese but feel a strong connection to these two philosophies;

Wabisabi is a Japanese philosophy which revers authenticity above all else, appreciating the beauty in the naturally imperfect world.

Ikigai is a Japanese term that roughly translates to “reason for being.” Ikigai (pronounced “eye-ka-guy”) is, above all else, a lifestyle that strives to balance the spiritual with the practical.

This balance is found at the intersection where your passions and talents converge with the things that the world needs and is willing to pay for.

 

Part of what makes my work unique is my use of my own custom glazes, its based on chemistry, and chemical reactions from the raw materials used. I love layering the glazes to add more depth in my work. 

 

You cannot rush ceramics, if you try something too fast it can crack, it remembers everything the way you handled it, if it bent when it was wet, it will try to reappear after the final glaze firing. 

Ceramics is a finicky medium, its high risk that after hours of work has been put into an item it cane be ruined by glaze, cracks or casualties of a faulty kiln firing.

I do not do custom orders, I find them extremely stressful, and I love ceramics because it allows me to escape from my head, and if something fails there's less pressure in knowing that I'm the only one who knows about it, there is no one waiting for that exact piece. 

 

I am a self taught potter/ceramic artist, I created my business out of a need for a career that I could work at my own pace after becoming pregnant my body went haywire, I have invisible illnesses which are unpredictable. Ceramics saved me and taught me a lot, I love it and don't want to feel stressed out by it.

 

You can find my current work, and see behind the scenes on my instagram account instagram.com/nicolelceramics 

 

Any questions? please see if you can find the answer on my website

5 Things about me;
I am...
- really weird - I don't take compliments well, internal monologue  "Play it cool Nicole, don't overdue it, you'll scare people off"
-very curious, I love to know how things are made, which is also why I share so much about my process with everyone. Side note* if I were a cat, I would have used up all of my lives by now
-a sarcastic asshat -you either love me or you don't and that's okay with me, just keep it real 
-Empathic - I am extremely sensitive to the energy of those around me, which makes me an outgoing introvert because after being around people I am emotionally drained 
-I care entirely too much- This might have something to do with being an empath but I am a crier. I cry when I laugh too hard, when I am frustrated, mad, but don't take these tears as weakness, because I live with chronic widespread pain everyday.