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Hello
The Nutshell
Hi, I'm Cailey! I am a queer Canadian with Ukrainian heritage who learned to throw and continues to practice on the unceded lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, and səlilwətaɬ nations. Being surrounded by the nature here inspires my art constantly and I feel incredibly thankful to live where I do. I strive to show that gratitude through actions and uplift the people who have been exploited in order to allow for me and my ancestors to be here.
I have a degree in Natural Resource Conservation and a passion for experiencing nature and sharing it with others. It blends into ceramics as a commitment of sustainability in my creativity, and a creative exploration of the natural world and the challenges it's facing. Everything I make is a blend of art and functionality, handcrafted with care and passion. The reason I create functional ceramics is because it is my hope that every time someone puts food in a bowl I made, or raises a mug to their face, or interacts with my art in some way that they are reminded of the story behind it and inspires them to help try and protect this beautiful world we live in.
Where did it all start?
I have always been an artist, but I grew up in a community that couldn't prioritize arts funding. I hear people on podcasts reminiscing about trying pottery in high school and not thinking much of it, and coming from a school that gave us very little and encouraged us not to use it to "save it for the next class" that reality is so wildly different from the one I experienced. Ceramics was always this magical thing that only rich people and "real artists" could do...
My whole perspective around art shifted with a single art teacher who let her class play and explore the way art should be experienced, and taught us how to use our materials wisely to stretch them as far as possible, but actually let us use the materials. She got a different job years later with access to wheels and a kiln and invited me to come try it out, and it was one of the most satisfying, playful, and complex art forms I've ever tried. Thanks to her I found my passion for ceramics. Thank you Karly, for everything.
When she found out I was going to the University of British Columbia she encouraged me to look into the pottery club there which had a flat fee of $100 for the whole year and unlimited self-guided access to the studio, wheels, kilns, and reclaim clay. I knew it was my only chance to try it out seriously without winning the lottery so I marched over there on day one of my university degree to sign up and some how miraculously got the last spot they had available for the year.
I stayed with the UBC Pottery Club from 2015 to 2017 and began my journey of trial and error (mostly error). I self-taught by watching YouTube videos and staring at other people using the studio to try and figure out what they were doing because I was too shy to ask. I threw pots, failed, threw more, they cracked while drying, I tried to save them, sometimes succeeded but mostly failed. It was this wonderful flow of exploration and freedom because the clay was all free reclaim, and for the broke student who was scared to waste materials the ability to reclaim it all again was this overwhelming sense of freedom and permission to explore without boundaries. Pair that with some wild insomnia and you have an overexcited ceramicist-to-be who was spending all the wee-hours of the night in the studio learning and practicing.
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Returning to the clay
Life led me in a different direction for a while. I gave up my ceramics practice in 2017 to focus on my degree and let my passion for conservation take the drivers seat for a while, then to spend a year abroad in 2018, then 2020 happened (no need to say more, we were all there) and I didn't actually return to clay until 2024 when I was looking for a way to rebuild community and find a creative outlet that would require both my hands and force me to detox from screens. I got on a waitlist for a few community studios and began making again at Vancouver Ceramics Studio in South Vancouver in May 2024.
I firmly believe that our bodies remember more than we give them credit for and that our subconscious can solve a lot of our problems, because after one single week of feeling uncertain at the studio I started making as if my mind had been subconsciously working out how to do it the entire time I had stepped away from it. It felt so natural, and the growth I experienced in this last year is something that I am incredibly proud of. The years I spent away from ceramics let me have some amazing experiences that inform the art I create today and the way I create it all to try and be as sustainable as possible.
What's next?
I am still self-teaching and there is so much to learn. I want to return to the overwhelming sense of freedom I felt when I first found ceramics, and I want to be able to show people the joy of ceramics the way my art teacher did for me. I believe that I can achieve both those goals by setting up my own home studio and a robust reclaim system. In my own studio I would have full control over the sourcing of my materials, my water use and water recycling, and I wouldn't be limited in the amount of studio time I have to just play and explore with the clay, and I'd be able to open the door to ceramics for people who would never otherwise have the chance. If you're an artist of another medium who is interested in ceramics but have never had the chance to try it, please fill out the form below to reach out and propose a collaboration - I would love to learn from you!
Let’s Work Together!
If you are an artist yourself and have an idea for how we could collaborate together please reach out! Learning from others and problem solving together is one of my greatest joys.