Joanne Graydon lives in Woodmore with her husband Gord. They’ve lived on the farm overlooking the Jordon creek for the past 28 years. Joanne was a teacher in Vita and in Dominion City where she shared her love for the arts in her early year’s classroom and staging musicals with junior and senior high students. But after receiving a gift of pottery, Joanne’s creative curiosity started a long journey exploring the joy of working with clay.
It started with finding a pottery wheel, kiln, tools, glazes, and books for a price she couldn’t refuse. The wheel was tucked under the basement staircase with an old lamp hanging upside-down lighting the small cozy space. She bought a “how to” book with colored illustrations and began to teach herself how to throw a pot! It wasn’t long before Joanne realized she had found a passion for working with clay and over the next few years, after the wheel came up from the basement, she enjoyed creating new shapes and textures while honing her skills on the wheel and in hand-building.
As the years passed and Joanne’s skills improved, she decided to build a workshop attached to her home where there would be more space to house three wheels, a glazing area, drying racks, a kiln and many useful tools. In 2013 Bridgehill Pottery Workshop opened its doors to the public. For the next six years, many talented curious people came to the shop to learn about making pottery. Joanne’s insatiable thirst for learning was shared with the people in the shop as ideas, techniques and experiments heightened her passion for collaboration. It was a journey she never expected and will never forget.
While Joanne’s pottery business grew so did her awareness of other local artists. She decided to bring them together in the workshop for Harvest the Arts Artisans Craft sale. With help from her family, the workshop was transformed into a cozy space with artisans selling their unique crafts. Hundreds of neighbors and friends drove out to the farm early in November to meet our local crafters and do their Christmas shopping.
Joanne’s inspiration comes from many sources. While she loves the satisfaction of production pottery, she also explores sculpting whimsical characters, building humorous scenes and more recently added a new and colorful glazing technique. The possibilities are endless working with clay and Joanne sees herself continuing to learn, grow and master skills to create pottery for many years to come.
To get in touch with Joanne for a tour, a lesson or to do some shopping, a phone call or email will work. jograydon@gmail.com. 204-427-2967
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