Manitoba

Valerie Metcalfe is a studio potter and teacher living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Her specialty is wheel thrown porcelain, a clay which naturally lends itself to the delicacy and refinement that is the trademark of both her functional and decorative pieces.Valerie graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1974 with a BFA Honours degree. In 1978 she co-founded The Stoneware Gallery, a co-operative retail organization and The Stoneware Studio, a working and teaching studio. She continues to actively work, show and teach. Her pieces are in public and private collections around the world and images of her work can be found in numerous Ceramic books and publications. In 1994 she was nominated to The Royal Canadian Academy of Artists (RCA), the oldest visual arts organization in Canada and one dedicated to the recognition and promotion of excellence in Canadian art. She is currently profiled in “Who’s Who in Canada.

“There continues to be a sense of the miraculous for me in working with clay. The process is a form of alchemy where the four elements combine to transform humble matter into something precious.
My work has many influences; from teachers and fellow artists to the wide open skies, deep woods and landscape of the prairies. Pottery is such an intimate art. It moves into people’s lives and becomes part of their homes and all the small daily rituals. This sense of human connection is important to me and I hope to give a gift of beauty and harmony through whatever form I undertake.”