Take your pick: adrenaline packed or slow and contemplative?
Published on Oct 11, 2022
L’écume des jours, marinière, aurore brumeuse, vives-eaux, sables … names given to her hand turned cups, tumblers, salad and other types of bowls evoke much more than sea side horizons. The ceramist, who nurtures a passion for the chemistry of kilning, has the ability to bring out glazes through painstaking research, which will simply sweep you away.
By Natalie Sicard
Elisabeth Gauthier has worked as a professional ceramist for the last 12 years. However, her first contact with the medium happened when she was still very young, in her native Saguenay, thanks to her neighbour who was a ceramist herself. “I was always spending time with her; I was so fascinated with her work.” When she arrived in Montréal at the age of 19, she first studied in the fields of literature and in geomatics. Then followed a three-year program at the Centre de céramique Bonsecours. And for someone who “has always felt a deep connection to this medium,” her passion has continuously been growing since those days!
In her studio adjoining her Brigham home, where she, her partner and their two children moved in 2014, she starts her days early. She works full time on her ceramic pieces, “an activity that gives her the greatest joy.”
She loves every step of the production process and takes great pleasure in experimenting with different techniques, shapes and patterns. But the world of glaze chemistry, which seems to have no limits, is truly at the heart of her research, testing them at temperatures of up to 1,222 Celsius (2,232 Fahrenheit). Playing with layers, mishaps and imperfections as she goes along, these reveal their softness or roughness, their mattness or brightness, to the eye as well as to the touch. Turquoise shades reminiscent of the sea seem to be her special favourites, but sandy colours and pretty pink and mauve pastels decorate her latest plate collection.
You’ll find an online boutique on Élisabeth’s website where you can collect some amazing objects. And during the warmer months, the ceramist travels throughout Québec to offer her artwork at different public markets, such as the one in Magog or the Marché Locavore in Racine.
The Vignoble de La Bauge in Brigham is a unique place to discover on the Route des Vins. It takes its name from “bauge”—a boar’s lodging—in tribute to the wild boar that has nestled there for years under the grapevines. As a result, a wildlife park has taken shape where visitors can observe these wild boar and other animals, before or after a wine tasting.
A visit to Beat & Betterave, a charming café and nanobrewery located in the heart of the town of Frelighsburg is a must. Local products are featured on the menu with produce from their own garden and from surrounding farms. You must try their rhubarb lemonade! It’s also a cultural venue where performers from different artistic fields appear on a regular basis.
Where to spend the night in the area? At Les Soeurs Racine in Saint-Ignace-de-Stanbridge. Both a B & B and an organic vineyard owned by two wine and environment enthusiasts.
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