We all remember that scene at the pottery wheel in Ghost…
Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore’s hands caressing one another intimately as Unchained Melody from The Righteous Brothers beams out of the jukebox.
But while Fiona Leask is yet to have encountered scenes quite as sensuous in her own pottery studio, with her ceramic business Fifi’s Pottery, her skillful craft at the wheel is just as passionate.
Having worked as an interior designer for Anderson’s of Inverurie, Fiona, who lives in Insch, was keen to find ways of keeping her creative spirit flowing after she retired four years ago.
Pottery was something that she’d never tried before.
But with evening classes at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and the support of an active ceramic community in the north-east, Fiona found her new passion, which she’s been hooked on ever since.
“When I decided to retire early, I was originally going to do a drawing and painting course at Gray’s,” Fiona explains.
“Then a friend asked me if I fancied doing ceramics instead. I thought, ‘why not? I’ll give it a go!’
“It’s completely captivated me ever since.”
Fiona quickly set about putting in the legwork to take her newly learned skills to new heights by buying books and attending various workshops.
But she says that it was the purchase of her own pottery wheel which really got things moving.
“I kind of borrowed other people’s wheels for a while,” says Fiona, “but I realised I wasn’t going to get any better unless I bought my own – so that’s what I did.
“Once I got the wheel, I was making little pots in my BBQ hut, which was so messy!
“Then my sister, who’s an architect with Hyve in Stonehaven, ended up saying, ‘what you really need is your own studio’.
“She drew me up a sketch which looked great and it ended up being built during lockdown last year.”
Full of natural light with slated outside walls and Japanese rain chimes, Fiona’s pottery studio, which is attached to the side of her own home, is both spacious and atmospheric.
Her own Fifi’s Pottery sign sits pride of place above the studio door. But as Fiona tells us, she never originally expected to be running her own business when she first delved into pottery.
“When I started at first, I was giving away pots to family and friends,” says Fiona.
“Then I started getting queries with people asking if I could make them specific things and it’s just taken off from there.
“Now I usually always have a few commissions on the go.”
Fifi’s Pottery took flight during lockdown last year with the creation of her own Etsy online store, where Fiona now sells a wide variety of one-off pots, bowls and other ceramics.
By taking inspiration from her rural surroundings at home as well as the sea, Fiona regularly experiments with different glazes to emulate natural features in her work.
“Living out in the countryside always gives me plenty of ideas for different designs,” she says.
“But I’m also a keen sailor. I had a boat when I was little, then I married my husband who’s from Shetland so we’ve had boats all our married life.
“A lot of my glazes are sea inspired with blues and greens – I love the sea.
“Those are my favourite colours and I’d say that’s my kind of style.”
Trial and error has been key in Fiona’s learning process as she’s invested time in new techniques and money in new equipment during the last few years.
But through meeting other local ceramicists, Fiona frequently uncovers fresh ideas within a supportive artistic community.
“There are quite a few ceramicists around the north-east and everyone’s very encouraging,” says Fiona.
“I still go along to the Scottish sculpture workshop in Lumsden which is a great place to meet fellow ceramic artists and spark new ideas.
“It’s a mix of ages involved in it too; some are retired, some are younger. It’s a really nice community.”
Engrossed in her passion for pottery, and with her business growing from strength to strength, Fiona shows no signs of stopping throwing at the wheel any time soon.
And with her husband happy to have less pots scattered around the house, she’s definitely onto a winning formula.
“My husband used to say, ‘oh for goodness’s sake, pots, pots, pots everywhere!’ But he’s a lot more supportive now.
“I just love doing it. The thing is, you can start with an idea in mind, then it always leads onto other ones as you go along – it’s never ending.”
Fifi’s Pottery will have a range of products available at its home studio in Insch for the North East Open Studios event between September 11-19.
Visit Fifi’s Pottery on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Fifispottery
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