Meet Jane

Jane went to her first pottery workshop in 2019 and had trouble sleeping that night as her mind raced with endless ideas for different clay projects she wanted to try. A self-professed Type-A woman who “has just never been an artistic person”, she caught the pottery bug and never looked back. With more than 5 years of dedicated ceramics practice, Jane is always looking for new and exciting ways to expand her knowledge in ceramics from new glaze chemistry to different types of surface decoration and hand building. 

As the owner of Saffron Studios, Jane gets a chance to combine her love of pottery with her passion as an entrepreneur to keep the studio running smoothly, while providing as many people as possible with a safe and fun community to play with clay!

You can follow Jane on Instagram: @plainjanepottery

Meet Beatrice

Beatrice first joined Saffron Studios in order to support a family member but quickly found that she really enjoyed the art of clay. The studio has also provided her the opportunity to take on the role of teacher, mentor and maker.

Several years of shadowing an instructor opened the opportunity for her to teach others the skills of pottery. After 10+ years of teaching she has excelled in the art of finding out what you are good at and helping you discover your own creativity that you didn't know you had. She also inspires many of our members to go outside of their comfort zones, as she continually goes out of hers. Always trying new ideas and techniques has made Beatrice one of our most diverse teachers.

Pottery has allowed her to discover her own creativity. "The opportunity to express myself with the use of clay has enriched my life and reflects my interests in nature and culture. I get a great deal of satisfaction and pride from creating, gifting and selling my pottery." says Beatrice.

You can follow Beatrice on Instagram: drygrass_pottery

Meet Leslie-Ann

Leslie-Ann Sartison started her ceramics practice in 2016 after retiring from a career in elementary education.  Her training includes Saffron's classes with Nicole and Beatrice as well as a workshop with Sarah Pike.  She enjoys learning with, and from, other Saffron studio members and friends, as well as making new discoveries alongside her students.

While she continues to experiment with a variety of pottery techniques and styles, she is mostly drawn to simple, clean lines and finishes.  One of the favourite projects has been using heirloom lace from her family's wedding dresses and handicrafts to imprint in her pieces.

Leslie-Ann is excited to share her experience in teaching and her passion for pottery by leading classes at Saffron.In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, spending time outdoors with her family and grandkids and building trails on her 40 acres of forest near Edmonton.

Meet Sly

Sly-The Impatient Paw-tter, (Silvia) started her pottery journey in 2000 when she was asked by a friend to join her in a pottery class and learn how to make a mug.

"I made many bowls of different shapes and sizes then one day, just like that, ahha, a mug was born! I was hooked!"

After taking many additional group classes and private lessons with Nicole, Sly became a member and now a teacher.

Sly teaches beginners pottery on the wheel and loves to see her students get their AH HA! moments.

When taking a class with Sly you'll get to jam along with music to relax the mind and get your creative side of the brain working.

Sly enjoys teaching group classes, privates, semi privates and parties.

Aside of teaching Pottery, Sly (Silvia ) is a Massage Therapist, Pilates Teacher and owner of 2Hands1Heart Massage Therapy in Cochrane.

You can check out Sly's work on Instagram: slyimpatientpawtter.  Her dog, Chief Takoda, represents the classic paw marking on all her pieces. Aside from pottery, Sly enjoys water colouring and spending time camping and exploring Alberta.

Meet Annabelle

Meet Danielle

Danielle graduated from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2025 with a Visual Communications degree in Illustration, but also completed a minor in Ceramics after falling in love with clay in 2020. When not hunched over her desk drawing, you can usually find her in the studio.

Danielle has worked in both hand-building and wheel-throwing since she started her studies, and continues her clay journey in her home studio in Calgary. In addition to the heavy textures that frequently appear in her work, she has interests in collecting wild clay and atmospheric firing methods.

Through her ceramic practice, Danielle continues to evolve and grow by connecting with other artists and trying out new things whenever she gets a chance. She is eager to help others begin their ceramic journey and hopeful that she will learn more right along with them.

You can keep up with Danielle’s ever-changing practice on Instagram: @schullustrations

Meet Gloria

Teacher by day, ceramicist by night! Gloria is a proud born and raised Calgarian. She discovered her love for pottery at the early age of 7 when her mum registered for family ceramic lessons at their local community art centre and her passion has continued to grow since. Spending her time at the studio on weekends throughout her childhood led her down the path of majoring in Ceramics at ACAD. Soon after, she completed her Education studies at UofC and has been a high school English teacher for the past 6 years.

 She has been lucky to learn from some amazing local potters and knows that when life gets busy, clay always awaits! Gloria is excited to bring her love and lifelong learning of ceramics to her classes, and she looks forward to meeting new potters!

Meet Britt

Britt graduated from Alberta University of the Arts in 2007 with a major in glass blowing. She was always drawn to ceramics, however she never tried clay until after school was over. One class with the City of Calgary and she was hooked. The progression from glass to ceramics was an easy one. As with glass, everything has to be centred with clay. Understanding how to centre things and the importance of it was a parallel between the two mediums.

Britt has been mainly wheel throwing since 2008 and found Saffron Studios in 2022. She instantly fell in love with the studio, the members and the positive environment and made it her home studio. Her work focuses on clean lines, a modern look and minimalist glaze. She is lover of anything matte black. 

Britt’s classes are fun and upbeat. She encourages students to try new things and really focuses on understanding the basic techniques. Her main goal is for everyone to succeed and fall in love with ceramics as much as she has.

Meet Tee

Tee is a registered nurse by day, ceramicist by night. Before discovering her love for pottery Tee’s artistic mediums were acrylic painting and digital art. While grieving the loss of a family member Tee signed up for pottery classes in hopes of finding a new creative outlet for her grief. Tee did not expect to absolutely fall head over heels in love with pottery. After her first class, Tee read every bit of ceramics literature she could get her hands on and took every class she could register for. Tee eventually found Saffron Studios and joined as a member.

Tee enjoys incorporating surface design techniques such as sgraffito, Mishima, and little sculptural additives to her pottery to give every day items a touch of whimsy.

Tee’s classes are entertaining and informative. Her goal is that people who come to her class have fun and become comfortable getting their hands dirty and working with clay.

Tee’s classes will be a creative outlet and a fun release, even for those who may not have found their creative side yet.

You can see Tee’s work on her Instagram @steeped_tee

Meet Callie

Callie has been making pots for more of her life than not at this point. She grew up in the Calgary area and got hooked on clay in high school, when the art program there held a workshop in raku firing. After discovering the endless possibilities that clay offers, she chose to attend Alberta UArts (formerly ACAD) and graduated in 2001. She holds a BFA in Ceramics but didn’t begin selling work extensively until 2014. You may have met her working at many local venues under the Diesel Clay banner She’s been a regular contributor to the Ceramic Arts Network Forum and has been a Moderator there for many years.

She makes primarily functional work if left to her own devices. Thinking about how people interact with items is a pleasure. Those interactions, from hand feel/sensory considerations to how things will be used, washed and reused daily are at the center of her designs. She likes being able to make pieces that people can incorporate into their lives and build their own stories around.

Callie is an excellent glaze chemist, and she has a sound technical knowledge of both cone 6 and cone 10. She wants to encourage more material knowledge in her students and help them explore how they work not only with wet clay, but with surface. Callie teaches throwing in a way that’s informed by her production practice: "I want to teach skills that can scale from 1 pound to 20 and allow you to put the clay where you want it to be."

Meet Kendra

Kendra has a BFA with a major in Ceramics from the Alberta University of the Arts, and is currently attaining her BEd at the University of Calgary. She is originally from London, Ontario, where she was first introduced to ceramics in high school.

Kendra enjoys wheel throwing, making utilitarian wares, as well as incorporating her illustrations onto the surface of her works. She is inspired to make works that elevates mundane daily rituals we perform. Kendra also has a passion for teaching, wanting to teach and share with others skills and techniques, knowledge, building concepts, and how to execute artworks.

Kendra works in a mid fire clay body, and primarily wheel throws. Her surface decoration process primarily uses underglazes to create illustrations and motifs inspired by folk art.

You can see more of Kendra’s work and creative process on Instagram: @kes.ceramics