As part of the Craft Council of BC’s mandate to promote artistic practice of all stages in the province, we are partnering with the Mary Fox Legacy Project to support a two-year artist-in-residence program. Based on traditional apprenticeships in which the developing craftsperson would learn to recreate the head potter’s tableware, among other studio tasks, the program is an effort to help the potters of tomorrow in a way that will have a real lasting impact on their lives and artistic skills.
Born in 1959 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Mary Fox moved with her family to British Columbia in 1966. Since her unexpected “love at first touch” encounter with ceramics in a junior high school class, she has pursued a life of endless creation. A self-taught artist, she has exhibited her work around Vancouver and Victoria, BC, as well as in Italy, Australia, and the US, among other destinations. In 2020, she published My Life as a Potter: Stories and Techniques, with royalties benefiting the legacy project. Developing Glazes: Low-Fire Reduction and Oxidation followed in 2025.
Inspired by a conversation with her late wife, Heather Vaughan, Mary set out to create the circumstances that would have helped her when she was beginning her journey as a potter: a low-cost, fully-equipped studio where the developing artist could sell what they were creating.
Participating artists will have the opportunity to refine their skills and to experience life as a studio potter in an integrated studio and gallery in Ladysmith, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island. The artist in residence will have full access to the pottery studio and use of the gallery to sell their work over the two years of their stay. Resident artists will only need to pay for their supplies and utility costs while keeping the pottery open to the public, and the project will fund the other building and maintenance expenses. An honorarium will be provided and, should fundraising goals be reached, housing in Ladysmith too.
During the first year of their residency, the artist will learn to produce Mary’s designs, including glaze making and kiln work. By the second, they will be developing their own designs. Mary’s vision is for artists to be able to use this residency as a stepping stone toward opening their own studios once their two years are complete. You can find more information about applying to the program here.
