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Ceramics Hobby Becomes a Passion for Red Deer Artist

Kerry Tronnes couldn’t draw. She couldn’t paint.

“I used to think I don’t have a creative bone in my body,” she recalled — until the wondrous day she discovered clay.

It was just before the pandemic. Tronnes, who now runs her own Mad Monkey Ceramics Studio, recalled that she and her husband had gone to stay at an RV park in Arizona.

There were all kinds of on-site activities. But the lady who ran the pottery club persuaded her to give ceramics a try. As soon as Tronnes got her hands on the malleable clay, “that was it. I was instantly hooked,” she recalled with a laugh.

As an outdoorsy person, she recalled being inspired by the clay’s connection to Mother Nature. “It comes from the earth. It’s cool and soothing to the touch… it’s quite grounding,” said Tronnes.

The Edmonton native grew up in Wetaskiwin and moved to Vancouver, then Red Deer in the early 1990s.

She worked in pharmacy and promotions before retiring a few years ago. Throughout her life, Tronnes said, “I always played around with my hands. I would fix broken necklaces, fix the arm of a clock that had fallen off… I was drawn to the minute details.”

Ceramics allows her to get as detailed as she wants as there are dozens of different processes to explore in creating textures with clay, applying colour, and layering glaze.

And Tronnes can build most anything. Her creations on her madmonkeystudio.ca website, range from multi-textural vases to functional mugs. There are some whimsical pieces — a steampunk ceramic shoe, as well as six-inch pickle-shaped folks with comical faces.

“I see natural elements coming out in my work, the look of wood, leaf and flower motifs,” she said.

Tronnes found a near limitless wealth of knowledge in the instruction of ceramics teacher, Trudy Golley at Red Deer Polytechnic. Golley, who’s completed residencies around the world, encouraged Tronnes to experiment with every aspect of colour, texture and design.

“I can mix my own glazes. I also make my own coloured slip, or liquid clay to pour or brush onto my work. There are so many options to mixing colour,” said Tronnes.

“You could spend a lifetime of study and still not master everything.” Perhaps the exploration aspect is most appealing to the 57-year-old, who always thought she had a scientific brain. After studying for five terms with Golley, Tronnes joined Flux Studio, a community space started by former RDP visual arts technician Jen Pankratz in Riverside Industrial Park.

“There’s no way I cannot play in clay,” admitted Tronnes, who sells her unique pieces from her website.

While it seems funny in retrospect, she once thought, “When I retire, I’m going to have to find myself a hobby…”

Ceramics has actually become something more — a passion.

Tronnes encourages anyone who wants a creative outlet to try ceramics, or watercolour painting — or anything that piques their interest. “Don’t be afraid.”

The beauty of clay is “if you don’t like what you created, you can always throw it back” — or, as Golley taught her, take it in an entirely different direction “and see where it’s going to lead.”

Pickle Man
Clay and Glaze
Kerry Tronnes


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