Alison Gayton and Gaining Ground

Still from video by Matt Brown

*The next Gaining Ground fundraiser is this Friday at the Saint John Arts Centre! Click here for more details*

Alison Gayton has been a potter forever. She connected with clay early on and has never looked back. She loves to share her passion for clay with anyone who will give it a try. The healing and therapeutic qualities of clay are evident to Alison and she has been seeking out opportunities to share them with those who might need it most. She recently started a project called Gaining Ground, offering clay workshops at Coverdale Centre for Women. Coverdale is a place where women in crisis are given support, education and a place to stay, and when Alison approached Mary Saulnier at the centre about her idea, it seemed like a perfect fit. This collaboration with Coverdale involves hosting a clay workshop on site where some of the pieces made by the women are then sold as a fundraiser to fund the project. A genius idea if ever I saw one.

In Alison’s own life, some of the people who have influenced her the most have been helped by organizations like Coverdale. She wanted to join in what Coverdale was doing because she firmly believes that community support is crucial to helping people in crisis move forward with their lives. “I want to give them the opportunity to do what gives me hope”, says Alison, “Clay is my favourite thing to work with, and it has helped me through hard times. I’m happy to share that with other people.” According to her, clay is one of the most accessible mediums. Anyone can push on clay and see the impact of the movement without the pressure of certain results. “It’s just gray material, not as cerebral as, say, paint. It’s almost spiritual”, say Alison.

A regular session looks like this: Alison arrives and sets up shop in a room in the basement at the back of the building, but before you picture something dark and dreary, this particular corner of the building faces east and looks onto the backyard. “It’s very sunny and really a nice space for creating”, says Alison. When the ladies arrive, she gives them each a chunk of clay to play with using various objects to create textures and shapes. There is no expectations at this point, just a chance to get familiar with the clay and relax into the activity and get people talking. The point of the workshop is not to discuss particular issues faced by those who attend, like a counseling session, but rather simply be together and make side by side.

While they are manipulating the clay, Alison tells them a bit about herself, learns their names and explains that they will be making two bowls, one to keep and one to sell as a fundraiser for the project. They build the bowls by hand and then paint them after the first firing.

So far, the response has been quite positive. For the women in the group, knowing that some of their work will be sold lends a real sense of value to what they are making.

“"For me, above the fun is to do something more meaningful, a contributing to society, especially Coverdale, because they do a lot to support women. Just to put it outside for people to know about the women have some talent through art to speak for themselves for their souls, not just personality." - participant in Gaining Ground workshop

On the cusp of becoming a mother herself, Alison has a real heart to help other women and mothers gain a sense of inner strength, to gain ground in their lives and move forward in a positive way.

Alison hopes that the project will grow and will be able to bring other artists, expanding the vision to other mediums and even other locations.

To support this project, come to the Saint John Arts Centre on Friday from 11 am to 1 pm

"What do you hope the people who buy your bowl feel when they use it?"

"I hope they feel comfort and happiness and a full belly."

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