ELROSE, Sask. – Christmas in the Country is a chance for this community in west-central Saskatchewan to gather, drink cider, munch on shortbread and peruse the clay pottery created by Beth Ann Leis.
In late November, she opened the doors of a third generation home recently relocated to her mixed farm.
Earthy toned works sat atop her collection of antique wood cabinets on the main floor of the house, which now doubles as Leis’s art studio and guesthouse.
It’s one of the few marketing tools she uses, selling most of her Prairie Clayworks line of dishes, pots and mugs by word of mouth advertising.
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She avoids trade shows and galleries, preferring to keep it as a hobby rather than a business.
“I can’t get enough made,” she said. “And it doesn’t do my pottery any justice. I want it to be handcrafted, not homemade.”
“I want to be an artist, not a crafting person,” said Leis.
The mother of two has enjoyed pottery since before her adult daughters were born, and returned to throwing pots in the last four years.
“When the kids were born, it wasn’t fair to either,” she said of pottery and parenting.
“I do have to concentrate to do a good job,” said Leis, who generally works for four or more hours at one sitting.
Her life growing up on the Prairies influenced her work, which features leaf designs pressed into the soft clay or drizzled glazes creating landscape and horizons.
“I just love to work with clay. You can do anything with it,” said Leis.
Art runs in Leis’s family. Her brother is a silversmith, her mother loves to quilt and her dad crafts wood pieces.
Largely self-taught, Leis said her pieces have grown from functional to more artistic over the years but they remain ready for kitchen duty. All are microwave and dishwasher safe and can be cleaned with a little soaking.
“I like to see people use it. I don’t like to see it in a cabinet,” Leis said.
“When they use it, I hope they enjoy using it as much I enjoyed making it.”
