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Daily life

It’s always something

Posted on by Mary Fox

The Big C

For those of you that have read my book, My Life as a Potter, you know that my health has been an issue. Becoming ill at age 30 was a shock both to me and the people in my life. I was known to have a strong body, well suited to being a potter. I exude energy and vitality and the excitement I have around my creative life has often been described as electrifying.


As the years went by, I slowly improved and dove head on into my creativity, elated that I could work again.


Now here I am, 35 years later and the big C has come calling, talk about an unwelcome guest. Last September I had surgery to remove cancerous tumours from my bladder, that was unpleasant! But, I was lucky, it hadn’t moved into the bladder wall yet and they were able to get it all. I was told that quarterly cystoscopes would be needed to see if it returned. I sailed through the first two and didn’t have any concerns when I went for my third, that’s an optimist for you. 

 It came as a surprise to hear the surgeon say that it was back and would I like to take a look? And there they were, some flat, others like a spiky cauliflower, yikes. I heard the surgeon say, we’ll book you for surgery and shock started to settle in. I hadn’t seen this coming and all I could think at that point was that I didn’t want to tell my ever supportive sister, Angelika, this news.


Later that evening as things started to sink in I decided to open a bottle of Pinot Noir from Unsworth winery that I had been saving for a special occasion. If ever there was a time to open the good wine, this was it. I poured myself a glass and the dogs and I settled in for a night of mindless tv.


My surgery is booked for August 14th and will mean weeks of recovery time.
The pottery will be open as usual with apprentice Sabrina at the helm till I can be back in action. I should be able to pop down and have short conversations with my visitors fairly early on in the healing process but other than that it will be the couch for me.


As my dear old dad used to say to me, “growing old isn’t for the weak of heart” to which I would say, “ I don’t know about that, you’re looking pretty good to me” and that’s how I will continue to approach this latest chapter, by looking good! 

The First edition of my book “My Life as a Potter” sells out!

Posted on by Mary Fox

I’m over the moon and so very, very pleased that the first edition of my book, My Life as a Potter, is almost sold out! There are still some copies available at my gallery and through Amazon but please don’t stop ordering as more are being printed. I don’t have a date yet for when the second edition will arrive, but if you order it now won’t it be a wonderful surprise when it comes? I wrote this book with the idea that it could be an ongoing source of revenue for my Legacy Project and wow, I think my dream is coming true. I’m so appreciative of the wonderful compliments, comments, reviews and emails ❤️truly it means the world to me. Sharing my personal story, knowledge and creative journey with you all was not small for me…there is that “Kleenex” chapter… sharing parts of my personal life didn’t come easy but I’m glad I did as many of you have reached out to me expressing your gratitude for my honesty. Baring one’s soul to the world was not on my, must do list 🫣but inspiring and sharing knowledge was… so…I shared it all.

Legacy Project beginnings

Posted on by Mary Fox

A lot of great ideas start with a dream; the Legacy Project is one of them. I have worked as a potter all my life, earning my living from what I create with my hands. It is a challenge to earn a living as an artist, especially in the early years. When I was younger, it was difficult to find a place to rent that could accommodate a studio and a landlord willing to let you install a kiln. I always managed to find studio spaces, but often they were dark basement rooms, not places that inspired creativity. I felt fortunate to have any studio space all, but I still fantasized about the day I would own a house and have the studio/gallery of my dreams.

This is how my dream began.

Late one night I was chatting with my wife about the difficulties inherent in the young artist’s life when she asked me, “What would have made things easier for you?”

“Oh, that’s easy” I replied, “a low-cost, equipped studio where I could also sell what I was creating.” And then the conversation took off!

Not long after our chat my wife died and I embarked on the beginnings of the Legacy Project, rebuilding the home we had shared for 16 years. During that time I had worked in the small garage attached to our house. I loved my little studio; it was the nicest space I had worked in up to that point. It was ground level, with Dutch doors that could be opened on nice days so I could look out onto the street. However, it was small and very crowded with all the equipment and, of course, the pots! I was selling my work at a steady rate out of my studio but there wasn’t enough room to display all that I was making. I started to envision my dream studio, gallery, and home, and the idea of lifting my house slowly began to take form. With the Legacy Project in mind, I made a floor plan of what my ideal studio would look like, and in August 2011, the house was lifted and construction began.

Mary Fox Pottery being built from the bones of the old house. The beginning of the Legacy Project.

Mary Fox Pottery being built from the bones of the old house. The beginning of the Legacy Project. 

Now, years later, when you walk in the front door, you enter into a beautiful gallery. From there you can see through to the creation room and you are welcome to go in and explore further. Then to one side is the entrance to the old studio which has now become the kiln room.

That is the part of the house that is open to the public. Upstairs has been designed as an open plan kitchen/living room with lots of built-in shelves to display the Mary Fox Collection. There is also a photography room with more shelving to display work and a desk area. Everything a potter needs to work and document the work is on-site.

The final floor is the loft, a beautiful space where I can retreat at the end of a long day. This is the house that I built with the Legacy Project and the rest of my working years in mind.

April 19th: See the CBC interview & article »

How can you help with this Endeavour?

We have set up an endowment fund and a fund that can be used to help build the project. These funds are through the Vancouver Foundation and the Craft Council of B.C. so that when you donate you can receive a tax receipt. We also encourage you to consider leaving a percentage of your estate to the Mary Fox Legacy Project Society so that we can raise enough funds to support this project well into the future. Thank you for considering being a part of this exciting and important project to help young potters on their creative path.