The back to the land movement was responsible for bringing partners Marjo Van Tooren and the late Manfred Rupp to Denman. Manfred helped other young potters of the day get started on the island, eventually opening a downtown gallery that shared space with Abraxas Books for many years.
Tour-goers can enjoy both Manfred and Marjo's unique body of work by visiting Down to Earth Pottery on Pickles Road. Marjo is well-known for her leaf pattern imprints, trademark spiral design, beautiful handmade beads and necklaces.
Sean Woods currently works out of Down to Earth Pottery:
"... I make both functional and artistic pieces, primarily in an electric kiln using cone 4 to 6 glazes. Since Manfred´s passing I have focused on helping maintain the studio he shared with Marjo Van Tooren while simultaneously exploring my own ideas and vision of what being a professional ceramicist might entail.
I fantasize about encouraging a ceramics tradition that uses ecologically sustainable materials and which is based around popular participation in the production of functional ware. I have seen this possibility of village scale production of our cultural artifacts in the communal Anagama firings at Gordon Hutchens' on Denman Island. I can imagine a dozen or so similar kilns in the Comox Valley, each helping several families and friends produce the ware they need each year. "
