ABOUT MITCHELL POTTERY
Welcome to Mitchell Pottery. Mitchell is a quaint town just west of Stratford, Ontario that houses the pottery studio/shop. It has become a comfortable and friendly home, and it quietly nurtures my life and work. I create and build pots that I love, and I hope that you will love them too, whether it’s a mug for your morning coffee or afternoon tea, a comfy bowl for your favourite cereal or soup, or a sculptural piece that serves no purpose but to be beautiful or inspiring in some way.
Browse the site, send us a message, do some shopping, or ask questions. I welcome your interest in my craft. Thanks for stopping by!
ABOUT VISNJA
The name is not easy to pronounce or spell, but it’s mine, and it’s on the bottom of every pot I make. It means inspiration, love of craft, constant refinement, a lifetime of experience, an appreciation of good lines and proper functioning.
I began doing pottery in high school, and then my life took many turns; university, travel, careers in business administration, film distribution, owning a cinema, more university, teaching academic English-as-a-Second-Language courses, and still more university. Through it all, there were forays and dabbling with pottery. Now, I can fully devote myself to my pottery, and it gives me great joy to share it with you.
By the way, the name is Croatian, and it’s pronounced, “Vish-na” in English or “Veeshnya” in the original.
ABOUT MY POTTERY
Wheel thrown pots are made using a potter’s wheel. Mine is powered either by electricity or by human foot, kicking a heavy fly-wheel that causes the wheel to turn. It is a combination kick-wheel/electric wheel. It’s old and, just like me, it still works beautifully! Wheel-thrown pots tend to be round, unless they are ‘manipulated’ after they dry just a little.
Handbuilt pots, on the other hand, are not made using a large apparatus. Instead, they are built using coils of clay that are stacked on top of each other and then smoothed or left visible. They can be made of flat or curved slabs of clay that are joined, or pots can be ‘pinched’ with the fingers from a solid ball of clay. Handbuilt pots usually take more time and effort than wheel thrown ware.
I like using many different types of clay, including ‘black’ clay. It’s not really black, but it looks black when it enters the studio. It dries to a light charcoal gray and, when it’s fired, comes out a dark chocolate brown. It has a high iron content, so it should not be heated in a microwave or oven because it gets hotter than other clays. I don’t use black clay to make pots that may hold food that is heated, like coffee or soup, so you will not see any mugs or functional bowls in black clay on this site. I think that’s wisest. Most of my pottery is made using stoneware clays of various colours, but you will also find some porcelain here because it's beautiful and fun to work with.