DE Walter's Bio

I have always been drawn to the story behind form and surface…one that speaks of human centred values and nature.  The cliff faces of the Kootenay Mountains in the BC Interior where I live, the female form as birther and bringer of bounty and replenishment,  the water from which my clay is born from, the chemical, cosmological and geological history of evolution written into the DNA of clay and the glazes we use on form.  These things speak to me of the eternal, and unravelling patterns which relate to our earth and human presence and invention. The quest to find answers lead to more questions and the pattern continues as experiments in both form and surface unfold. I am more comfortable now with the unfinished, with the ever changing story I try to create and represent through my functional pottery. The play of opposites and centering into a certain stillpoint is infused into every piece I make. I find deep satisfaction in knowing that they bring a silent speaking to the dinner table.

Ceramic Education

Studied Under:

  • Julia Rand Edmonton Alberta, Canada
  • M.C. Richards Kimberton PA, USA
  • Paulus Berensohn North Carolina, USA
  • Steven Hill, Victoria BC.
  • Cathi Jefferson Duncan BC

Teaching

  • 2009-present: Owner-operator of eARTh Community Clay Studios, workshops, classes 
  • 2009-2018 Self Design High Ceramic classes 
  • 1985-1991 Assistant potter to M.C. Richards Kimberton PA, workshops, classes.
  • 1991-2003- Ceramic and soapstone teacher/Nelson Waldorf School, Nelson BC