Learn a bit more about me

Twinette Poterie is a business fueled by my need to create. That I get to share the pieces I make with you is incredibly humbling. I would make art regardless - I think that we all find our way to be expressive, weather it is through cooking, gardening, movement, dance, or just the way we flow through life.  

Born to an artist mother- I've always had encouragement, paint, paper and all to express myself creatively. I discovered clay at 14 when I was gifted pottery classes for Christmas- clay became a comfortable avenue I would return to after completing a BA in fine arts with a focus in painting. Eventually it became my passion. I love painting, and have brought some of that aesthetic to clay, but creating a physical 3 dimensional object has consumed my attention for over a decade now.

I believe that our most human moments are when we are present and focused, open to possibility and willing to follow a path, just to see what it holds. This is what clay is to me.

I was so obsessed with ceramics up until I had kids. In my previous life, I would bike to the studio before the day warmed up on my purple schwin, work to expel all the creative leads and create for shows, forcing my techniques and skills to improve through sheer hours of practice and trying everything my mind would hold. I would bike back for to my waitressing shift in the evening, usually arriving 5 mins late. Somehow I was growing the business inch by inch.

When I had my kids my world changed. Introducing my boys to art, watching them grow, their excitement. Their needs. Experiencing the formation of a person is an incredible gift and I love those little buggers so much. Balancing my art side with my kids side has only been possible with a lot of help from my husband, and my wonderful child care givers. My limited time in the studio while my kids are little has forced me to hone in on what I really want from my art. What is important for me to put out into the world. It's been hard to balance, but I try to live artfully each day- sometimes even with clay at the kitchen table. My 2 and 4 year old have been immensely respectful of my work. They love to be invited to help, and sometimes they do. Lately we have been making little clay animals together.

Ceramics has managed to hold these aspects of curiosity for me, going on a decade. I am challenged to make pieces which preform a function, but can exist beyond that, into the realm of beauty. More and more I am thinking sculpturally. Sometimes things percolate for a months before I put them to clay. 

I find joy in the process of making, and I hope that my work continues to delight as it moves through my hands and into the home, a mug which is often reached for, or an art piece which can be contemplated. 

Story Behind the Name

Twinette Poterie is named after my grandmother, Antoinette- her nickname. She passed in 2015, I started this business the following year in earnest. Twinette symbolizes my French Canadian roots, character and perseverance. It brings to mind my home province of farm land and open skies, the honesty and hard work with which my grandparents approached life.