By: Christian Collington, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TheIFP.ca
For Ron Quinlan, the owner of Glazed Expressions, the last 20 years haven’t just been about running a business, they’ve been about curating creative programming.
As he approaches 20 years owning the Georgetown art studio (65 Main St. S.) in July, the focus has shifted from a simple pottery shop to a multidisciplinary hub that brings glass fusing and pottery on the wheel directly to residents.
While the studio has shelves of ready-to-paint ceramics, Quinlan has spent the last two decades expanding the programming to ensure the arts remain accessible to everyone, regardless of natural ability.
“The whole idea is that this should be open to everybody,” Quinlan said.
To make the pottery painting process less intimidating, Quinlan brought in specialty glazes that “kind of have their own personality,” so people can get striking results without needing advanced painter skills.
Quinlan later expanded into glass fusing, a medium, he explained, often associated to stained glass work. However, he simplified the process so even eight-year-old children can safely assemble pieces while the studio handles the firing.
Quinlan noted that for younger children, the studio pre-fuses the glass so no one is handling sharp edges.
Recognizing a community hunger for traditional “clay work,” Quinlan took beginners’ courses at the Credit Valley artisan group three times just to ensure he was a “competent instructor” to offer pottery on the wheel sessions at his own studio. Now, the wheel is a centrepiece of weeknight sessions.
In a world increasingly dominated by digital literacy and artificial intelligence, Glazed Expressions serves as a tactile antidote. Quinlan emphasized the importance of a “screen-free” environment where families can have genuine “face time.”
This focus is most evident in the studio’s popular summer camp for kids, which is currently accepting registrations online. Unlike formulaic “corporate chains,” Quinlan’s camps prioritize variety and individual creativity.
“Every kid being made to do the exact same thing is just so not our style,” Quinlan explained.
The weeklong camp sessions are designed to be a buffet of artistic mediums — rotating between pottery painting, glass fusing and clay building.
Four sessions will run the weeks of July 13 to 17, July 20 to 24, Aug. 10 to 14 and Aug. 17 to 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Quinlan said the appeal of the studio’s offerings lies in its screen-free, hands-on environment, where people of all ages focus on the process of making something together rather than just the finished product.
As Quinlan looks toward the future, his hope is to keep the teaching aspect of the programming alive, even if he eventually steps back from the day-to-day business.
“I’m not rich, but it’s like the least sexy happily ever after story I could imagine,” Quinlan said. “To actually find something to love, the teaching part and the people, it’ll be super tough to walk away from.”
More information about the studio’s programming can be found on its website.
Discover more from The Milton Reporter
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
