INSPIRED POTTERY Alice Hale demonstrates her technique in front of her Invermere studio. Photo by Dan Walton
By Dan Walton
Pioneer Staff
Those taking part in the Columbia Basin Culture Tour wont want to miss the stop at Caraway Pottery in Invermere.
In 1985, Potter Alice Hale had her studio built right beside her home on Westside Road, and this weekend, her workshop will be open to anyone on the tour.
Between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 9th and Sunday, August 10th, Caraway Potterys doors will be open to allow an intimate look inside.
Ill have it arranged as nicely as I can, said Alice. Ill be spending two days getting it ready for the visitors.
The most interesting time to show up over the weekend will be at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, when Alice will be demonstrating the production of raku pottery.
It comes out red hot, and then gets placed in a barrel with sawdust and paper so it smokes, and then after ten minutes you can take it out and have a look.
Alice says she makes her pottery most unique by limitless amounts of glazing; most potters glaze their pieces just once, she said.
I use glaze after glaze after glaze; whatever I feel like doing, I do. You shouldnt be limited to just one.
Alices works cover the full spectrum between functional and decorative, and with a 2,500 cubic foot gas kiln, her art can come in any size. The decorative work found at Caraway Pottery is most often of scenes or landscapes familiar to the Columbia Valley.
My experiences come into my work, she said, referring to a wetlands landscape inspired by a canoe trip.
In a location thats easy to find with a studio loaded with Alices worldly array of skills and productions, those on the tour are going to miss seeing a lot of interesting pottery if they dont come, she said.
