Eastside Culture Crawl
2025

The Eastside Culture Crawl is Vancouver’s annual art festival where hundreds of artists open their studios to thousands of visitors in November, rain or shine (but mostly rain). Though I had crawled from studio to studio in past years, 2025 was my first year exhibiting and representing the community gas kiln run by the Potters’ Guild of BC.

I spent weeks leading up to the event sorting out the many logistics of packaging, pricing, point of sale, and display. I felt well prepared, even with the added inconvenience of our outdoor space with only a small secure area that packed up like a puzzle. While most other artists could just lock their studio doors at the end of the night, we needed to pack up most of the wares and move tables and shelves, being careful not to break any wobbly pots. The day after, I was sick with the flu; an inevitable combination of standing outside for four damp days, conversing with hundreds of people, and having already been exhausted from ramping up production and squeezing in a chilly wood soda firing the week before.

Although I was physically worn down, I was energized from all the interactions and the incredible feedback. It was a joy to share my slow and mindful process of hand pinching pots, and to explain the long and labourious process of woodfiring. Some collectors cherished my past work that I had lost a connection too and felt stale, and others were equally mesmerized by the treasures created by flame, soda, and ash.

This was a major milestone in my artistic journey and I appreciated all the support from new and continued collectors. Mochi thoroughly enjoyed it as well.