Irene has been engaged in ceramics and visual arts for over 40 years. She was lucky to have attended high schools in the Cowichan Valley with robust arts and ceramics programs. She continued to study art education and art therapy as a part of her Bachelor of Education, Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Counseling and Guidance Studies and Masters of Special Education at the University of British Columbia. She has been engaged with Indigenous communities personally and professionally and is of Metis descent. As an educator and school administrator, she pursued her passion for ceramic arts at a community studio in Maple Ridge, then at Place Des Arts Centre in Coquitlam and the Port Moody Arts Centre.
When she relocated to Colwood, she belonged to the Juan De Fuca Potters community studio before setting up her studio in 2019. Over these years, she has taken numerous courses and workshops at events such as MISSA and online. Since she retired from the public education system, she has pursued pottery full-time by producing and selling her work from her home studio and offering private therapeutic art sessions for individuals. She has shown work at Metchosin Artpod, and participated in Victoria’s TD Paint In. Her work is also featured at the Excellent Frameworks Gallery in Duncan. She is a South Island Potters Guild member and a founding member of the Shore to Shore Pottery Studio Tour Committee.
