Victoria Rodgers is an Ottawa-based visual artist who graduated from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Ottawa in 2021. At 8 years old, she took her first handbuilding pottery class and immediately fell in love with it. Now as a pottery instructor at the very same place she learned from, she is teaching children and passing on the passion that she has for pottery.

Hallo! I'm Evelyn Bialasik Leon. I started doing pottery in 2014 under the guiding hands of potter extraordinaire, Krista Cameron. I learned to embrace the beauty of "happy accidents" and to push my limits creatively. I studied Visual Arts (with a focus on environmental art) at York and Brock University. In 2018, I left cubicle land and started doing pottery professionally (yay!)

I am a Mindful Maker. I take my time when I make pieces. I'm mindful of each aspect (design, handles, decorating, bottoms) and I inspect each piece carefully at every stage to ensure the quality is up to my standards and to avoid waste. I love being resourceful and using whatever I can get my hands on to make lovely, creative pieces.

I take great pride in my work and in my teaching. I am enthusiastically passionate about the craft. I love passing on my knowledge and passion to my students. Let's make beautiful pots together (and have some fun while we're at it!)

I've been working at The Gloucester Pottery School since 2017. I started working at the Studio through an internship in my last year of high school, I had no previous clay experience and learned the basic skills through my employment. I enjoy throwing and hand building to the same degree, since each discipline offers different techniques and abilities. Working with clay allows me to explore new art forms as well as serenity of the mind it offers.

Steffi Acevedo is an Ottawa-based ceramic artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University with a concentration on Ceramics. During her studies, she explored the technical part of ceramics and learned how to make various clays, mix glazes and understand different firing techniques. Over the years, she has explored sculptural work but ultimately focuses on making functional pieces. Steffi has over 15 years of experience working with clay and has been a technician and a pottery teacher at various studios. She sells her work online and at various shops, including local museums and galleries. As a handbuilder, she likes to showcase seams and curves to capture the soft plasticity of clay at the making stage. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of handbuilding and Sgraffito with her students.

Vanessa Villarreal creates playful tableware and small sculptures using the handbuilding technique. Her unique ceramics have a delicate and feminine quality that are inspired by the beauty and mysticism of the natural world.
Each piece is handmade in her home studio in Gatineau, Quebec. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the Oregon College of Art & Craft in Portland, OR and was an Artist in Residence at the Mendocino Art Center in California.
She has been teaching and working in studios in California, Oregon, Arizona, Ottawa and Montreal. She is an American living in Quebec where she settled with her family in 2016.

James is an honors graduate from Nipissing University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a specialization in Studio Practices. Completing a year long internship with Keith Campbell and the North Bay Potters Guild as studio coordinator. As well as additional training at Fleming’s College of Art and Design – Haliburton. James has experience working in museums, gallery curation, mold-making, painting and teaching pottery. He specializes as a wheel throwing instructor.

James’ work ranges from simple functional tableware, to more complex sculptures and site-specific artworks. Most recently James has been exploring raku and pit fired ceramics.

Linda Taylor first discovered the joy of working with clay when she took her first pottery class in 1995. Many classes later, it evolved into a life-long love of clay. She became a member of the Old Firehall Studio, and later the Glebe Studio. In 2001, she established her first home studio which included a handmade kick-wheel. She is a member of the Ottawa Guild of Potters. She mainly works in earthenware, creating functional pieces. Most recently she has been exploring decorating with terra sigillata. You can see her work at http://www.LindaTaylor.ca.

Chantale completed a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology at Carleton University, followed by 5 years as an artifact documentalist at the Canadian Museum of History. In 2014 she took her first pottery class at Gloucester Pottery School, and fell in love with the school and the craft. She took classes for two years while also maintaining a studio membership, and was thrilled when the opportunity came up to join the GPS team. Chantale is the GPS Studio Manager and enjoys collaborating with her colleagues and providing excellent customer service to new and returning clients.

Steffi Acevedo is an Ottawa based ceramic artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University with a concentration on Ceramics. During her studies, she explored the technical part of ceramics and learned how to make clay, mix glazes and understand different firing techniques. Over the years, she has explored sculptural work but ultimately focuses on making functional pieces. Steffi has over 15 years of experience working with clay and has been a technician and a pottery teacher at various studios. She sells her work online and at various shops, including local museums and galleries. Although she has experience with different techniques including slip-casting, handbuilding remains her favourite way to work. She likes to showcase seams and curves to capture the soft plasticity of clay at the making stage. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of handbuilding and Sgraffito with her students.

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Kaitlyn is the Executive Director of the Gloucester Pottery School. Kaitlyn completed a Bachelors of Fine Art in Ceramics at the Alberta College of Art + Design (now The Alberta University of Arts) in Calgary, Alberta, a special student program at the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland and a Post-Baccalaureate program at the University of Florida in Gainesville Florida. She has completed residencies at Medalta International Artist in Residence in Medicine Hat Alberta, Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge Montana, and Pentacullum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg Tennessee. Kaitlyn established New Clay Conference a ceramics conference in Ottawa focused on strengthening the ceramics community in the region. She is very involved in the Canadian ceramics community and is a member of the Canadian Clay Collective Make and Do. Kaitlyn makes earthenware functional vessels and exhibits them internationally.