Welcome to Leadfoot Martha Pottery!
I'm Christine (aka; "Martha"), the passionate creator of the handcrafted pottery you see here.
I live and work in Lumby B.C
White stoneware clay serves as the perfect canvas for bringing my favourite tree, the birch, to life.
By incorporating patterns and textures of bark and knots onto my pieces, I bring a sense of realism into your hands and onto your table - or showcased...maybe with beautiful, fragrant blooms, in your foyer or living room.
The "birch" replica work is my specialty, and it's taken me many years to obtain the realism I envisioned.
The process for these begins either as a wheel thrown piece, or handbuilt, that's then trimmed, hand carved and sculpted. After many layers of oxides, washes, underglazes and glaze are applied, it's fired (twice) in an electric kiln. It's taken me considerable time to truly appreciate the fact that pottery is indeed, a "slow craft."
When I throw these pieces, I am transported back in time to my beautiful childhood where I spent so much time at my Swiss grandparents old homestead on the Arrow Lakes, which served as a summer retreat for our family for many years.
The racoons had worn their path through the birch grove by the bay, and to my young eyes, the birch seemed to glow in the moonlight, perhaps serving as lamp posts to guide them with their babies (or kits) down to "wash their food" in the cool water. This is a vivid, happy memory for me, still, after all these years. I still can hear the peaceful gentle lapping of the glacial fed waters onto the fallen logs of the shore, and the comical noises the racoons made.
Aside from learning how to throw a simple cylinder in a 6 week wheel throwing class (was it 13 years ago now?), I'm mostly self-taught.
I've since taken some online classes from a few of the pottery world's heavy-hitters to expand my skills further, and the ceramics community is one I love and deeply admire.
My focus is on "functional art" for home entertainers and interior decorators - in a style that's also very easy to mix with your daily dinnerware.
Each piece I release truly is one of a kind, created with careful attention to detail, form and function. There's no production making here and no slip casting to create exact replicas
(I don't have the room in my small studio).
You can find me on Instagram as well, and you'll find that I love humour!
In fact, I am VERY serious about not taking myself too seriously!
I live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia where life is alive with the four seasons, and creating functional pottery serves as my self-care and meditation.
Thank you so much for being here,
~Christine~