Pereira Ginny

Article by Francis Racine
The Journal
10 Apil 2015

A seldom-seen feast for the eyes awaits those who cross the doorway of Ginny Pereira's pottery workshop.

Pereira is the owner of Creation Workshop, a one-of-a-kind art studio in Cornwall that allows individuals from all walks of life to come together in order to paint various pottery pieces. “I welcome everyone,” she said, smiling. “I’ve had five year olds and 85 year olds come here. They all enjoy it!”

The process starts with a choice. The “client” must choose one piece among 300 original pottery pieces. Once selected, the client turned “artist” has the choice of hundreds of colors to paint his future masterpiece. “For average pieces, it can take them up to two hours to paint,” explained Pereira. Turning towards a shelf, she pointed to a peacock-clad pottery piece. “This one took over three visits to paint. But the person who did it really wanted to make it gorgeous.”

After they have been painted, the works of art are then carefully glazed, before being placed in a kiln, an oven-like device located in the studio. “It can reach 1800 degrees, it gets very hot,” she explained. “But thankfully, I haven’t burned myself. It heats up in increments, meaning it doesn’t hit its full heat in one shot.”

According to Pereira, it can take over six hours for the oven to reach 1800 degrees. Alas, she must often wait a good while before being able to retrieve the pottery pieces from its innards. If the heat inside the kiln isn’t at room temperature, the cold air, which will swoop in on the pottery upon opening the said oven, will create a shiver, which will in turn crack the whole piece. After it’s removed from the kiln, it cools down, before becoming rock hard. “The paint we use is non-toxic,” said Pereira. “Some people create mugs and plates.”

When asked what seems to be the most popular sort of pottery in Cornwall, the woman simply smiles and turns her hand towards a shelf located behind her. On it are Christmas trees, devout of any color. “Believe it or not, Christmas is a big thing here,” she revealed. “I keep Christmas things year long. There’s always someone working on ornaments. People just like getting ready early.”

Creation Workshop also caters to several community based organisations, such as Open Hands and Beyond 21. “These are individuals that are often very smart, but have trouble with communication,” she explained. “Here, they are in groups and socialize, but they also do their own thing.”

In the near future, Pereira hopes to offer glass work in her workshop. “I’m trying to bring glass, but with the Canadian dollar being so low, I’m still waiting,” she said. “My distributor has told me that if there are more demands, I’ll be able to obtain one.”

In the meantime, the Vancouver native and mother of two will continue to offer this unique venue to her clients. “Art is a great connector “, she says. Obviously, Pereira and her Creation Workshop, make up the conduit that allows these artists to come together.
Creation Workshop is located at 812 Pitt, Unit 42.