A Montreal mom turns her basement into a pottery workshop

Sitting in the basement of her home in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville neighborhood, Dorita Kerr listens to the whirring of her pottery wheel.

One of the moments of peace for this mother of two is the time she devotes to spending time with herself each day.

“My eldest is four years old, my youngest is seven months old,” explains Ker. “I try to fit in pottery time when they're napping, napping, or between meetings. I'm trying really, really hard. It's not easy, but it's possible.”

Nearly 20 years after his first encounter with clay, Kerr says he was looking for something to occupy his mind during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gradually, he dedicated a part of the basement to his studio, equipped with a wheel, oven and shelves to store his works.

“At first this part of the basement was my playroom, and then I convinced my husband to let me have a little bit, like a small part, and then the small part just kept getting bigger and bigger,” she recalls. During this process, several specialists came to ensure that the furnace had adequate ventilation and power.

Ceramics, she explains, is her safe space, where the noise and chaos of everyday life fades away as the potter's wheel spins.

“Juggling motherhood, a career and just living life in general can get very hectic,” she said. “For me, pottery has helped me to take time for myself and be a better parent.”

Ker says that he lives by the philosophy that in order to take care of others, you must first take care of yourself.

“You have to take a step back and prioritize because nobody's going to prioritize you, nobody's going to think, 'Hey, you, take a vacation,'” he said.

According to Ker, he did a little bit every day until it became part of his daily routine from a young age.

“When I put on a podcast, put on some music, and take 30 minutes, even an hour, it allows me to just relax, recharge, and come back energized to do whatever I want to do,” she said. .

According to Ker, he draws inspiration from his Cambodian roots, with each of his pieces striking a balance between fluidity and structure, monotony and playfulness.

“It's still a very popular art form in Cambodia,” Ker told CTV News. “In terms of the structure of the pieces, it's very organic, the colors of the pieces that you can find in Cambodia have a lot of sculptural aspects and handcraft… I try to be inspired by what I grew up with. see and also gives it a modern twist.”

Her company's name, Malu, is her daughter's nickname, proving that even though it's something Ker has created for herself, her children are never far from her mind.

“A few months ago he threw a pottery wheel, which is really cool,” she said. “It's really messy, but he likes it. And then he's very happy because when you make something from A to Z, and what you make is very specific and functional, it's very rewarding. So he really enjoyed the whole process. , and now, in the morning, he drinks milk from a cup he made himself.”

Kerr's creations are available in several stores, including Espace Flo in Ahuntsic and La Vie en Vert in Longueuil on the South Coast.

His creations are available at Les Faiseurs in Villeray until February 19, as well as in summer from April to June.