Gascoine transforms a pottery hobby into thriving Monson business

MONSON — More than a quarter century ago Jemma Gascoine noticed an ad for an evening pottery class when she flipped through a copy of “Time Out London” magazine someone had left on a seat of the London train back in her native United Kingdom.

Gascoine soon stopped by a class offered by Barry Guppy and attended his workshop classes for two years. Upon moving to Blanchard Township Gascoine bought a potter’s wheel and kiln and what was once a hobby has grown into her business Monson Pottery which offers works of art and classes. Upstairs at the 16 Greenville Road location is Gascoine Gallery, currently showing its eighth annual exhibition “Naiad Flow” with fine artwork touched by rivers.

“I was working at the Arts Council of England and I was doing a lot of reports and so by this point I’m not really doing anything creative,” Gascoine said as she took a break from recreating a mug a patron requested. She had not done anything visual before, just acting and singing, and the idea of throwing on a potter’s wheel sounded very interesting.

Classes near her home met in the evenings, and Gascoine got hooked despite having touched clay before. 

“I was looking for something, sometimes you need signs to help motivate you,” she said about seeing the ad in “Time Out London”.

Gascoine wrote reports for the Arts Council of England which were then filed and possibly sat on a shelf never to be read. 

“Physically making something with your hands and then having evidence of your existence afterwards that’s physical is enormously satisfying,” she said. “I absolutely love throwing pots on a wheel, I just enjoy it and I still really enjoy it.”

Gascoine enjoys working with her colleagues. Candace Thomas has worked as an assistant at Monson Pottery for six years. She is at the studio three days a week and among the groups she works with are homeschool kids in age 5-10 and 10-15 groups.

Thomas was recently working on a berry bowl.

“It rinses berries, the idea is you have your tap water here and your spout goes here so the water starts flowing around and it kind of self rinses the berries,” she said. “I think it’s a trend so we’ve had a few requests for it.”

Thomas grew up in the Monson/Greenville area and took part in a children’s program with Gascoine and another as a teen. 

“I’m already a creative person so this is ideal,” she said.

Gascoine began selling her work in 2001 when she helped set up the local arts and crafts co-operative Lake Hebron Artisans and curated small exhibitions and installations. Gascoine’s work has also been exhibited at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, the Center for Maine Craft, Aarhus Gallery in Belfast, the University of Maine Museum of Art, Susan Maasch’s Fine Arts Gallery in Portland and Maine Craft Portland. She sells and ships her work nationally and internationally.

After having a home studio for more than a decade, Gascoine moved into what is now the Monson Community Building in 2015 and founded Monson Pottery as she needed a bigger space to teach and sell from after the home studio became too small.

She moved into the larger premises of her current location in May 2019 after the Libra Foundation came to Monson and revitalized the downtown. The white 3-storied barn is equipped with five potter’s wheels, two electric kilns, a slab roller, extruder and raku kiln. 

“I feel privileged to do something creative and having space to be creative is a privilege,” Gascoine said, as those coming to Monson Pottery can channel their own creativity.

Ten different types of clay are available. Different kiln temperatures create varying results.

“Each clay has its own personality and it does something different,” Gascoine said. 

A well-lit shop area at the entrance where Gascoine’s, former students’ and former Monson Arts residents’ work can be perused and purchased.

“70% of the work that is on the shelves is made by us here and the other 30% are made by artists who are connected to the area,” Gascoine said.

During the summer months many visitors to the region come in and look around. These include hikers taking a respite from the nearby Appalachian Trail.

“We teach groups, we teach veterans – VAST (Veterans Adaptive Sports & Training) — so we have been teaching them for four or five years,” Gascoine said. “Theirs is a group that comes from New Gloucester to teach them twice a year.”

She has instructed for the Maine Arts Education Alliance, coming up with different ideas for each yearly three-day weekend session such as experimenting with pieces that are not completely round.

Adult education classes offer enrichment opportunities and sometimes more. One student began class in May and by August her work was for sale at Monson Pottery.

“I like sharing, people are so different so the way they learn is different so discovering that and discovering how to help somebody move forward and watch them move forward is incredibly satisfying,” Gascoine said.

Private classes are offered to individuals, families and groups.

Upstairs is Gascoine Gallery, with the “Naiad Flow” artwork on display including not just pottery but photographs, water colors, tapestries, poems and a pair of paddles from local and Maine-based artists and medium from Monson Arts artists-in-residences.

Gascoine and her husband Todd Watts, director of photography residency for Monson Arts, live on the Piscataquis River eight miles from where the body of water starts. 

“It has been a huge source of joy for us to live on this river so I wanted to celebrate that with this show,” she said.

Monson Pottery is located at 16 Greenville Road and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. For more information, go to www.jemmagascoine.com or https://www.facebook.com/MonsonPottery.