Pottery is a Dream Come True
Williamsburg, Ontario
(by appointment only)
dianesullivan.ca
Diane Sullivan
After starting in the film industry in Vancouver while in her early 20s, Diane Sullivan would discover her love for pottery and later find her dream studio at 324 County Road 31 Williamsburg, Ont.
“That’s when I met a woman who worked at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design,” Sullivan said.
Having worked with clay in high school she “fell in love with it.”
After graduating with her masters from the University of Washington in 1994, Sullivan found herself in Alberta where she started Arabesque Pottery.
Arabesque can be found in poetry, dance, music, and architecture and literally means “Arab like.”
“The arabesque suggests the beauty and continuity of life,” Sullivan said.
It wasn’t until 2008 that she found her current location in Williamsburg, which she describes as her dream studio.
“It has the great big store front and large studio in the back,” she said. “It also helps that I live upstairs.”
Most of her time, however, is spent on the road. From April to December she spends weekends at art festivals selling her work. For Sullivan, this means she’s living her dream.
“If you want to be an artist you have to be independent,” Sullivan explained.
Sullivan looks at something that most would see as a burden as something not to take for granted.
“I love what I have,” she said.
Sullivan also said her favourite part of what she does is the process itself and seeing her work improve.
“A huge thing that drives me is seeing my work improve over the years,” Sullivan said. “Seeing my skill level improve has really made me happy.”
Sullivan says two pieces she’s really proud of are a couple of palace pots, which can be found in the Canadian embassy in Peru and in the Canadian embassy in Bangkok.
If you are interested in seeing more of Sullivan’s work, contact Arabesque Pottery ahead of time to arrange a time to drop by or check out the website where pieces can be purchased online.