Leslie Green Guilbault
Specialty: Clay
Sitting at my pottery wheel with a ball of clay in hand and no concrete idea of what I want to make is an incredibly liberating feeling. Creative ideas typically enter my mind in a flash as fully complete, detailed designs. This occurs most often as I’m falling asleep, so I record the details of these “dream pieces” in my phone and later revisit them in my studio. When inspiration comes in this way, I yield to it. The pieces I make sometimes match the dream perfectly; other times, the limits of my skill require me to adjust. This is not a frustrating experience, because I know that I have a lifetime of techniques to practice and new ideas ahead of me.
I am currently working on new designs within my Metallic Collection for a solo show on the Roycroft Campus in 2021. With the pandemic still upon us and no art shows on the horizon, winter in Pittsburgh will allow me to explore new directions in my art without distraction.
Leslie’s Biography
Leslie Green Guilbault left a career in academia and pharmaceuticals in 2013 to become a self-taught ceramic artist and bone carver. In her 7 years as a full-time artist, she’s created 15 distinct collections of pottery, sculptural bone carvings, custom wall tiles, percussion instruments, and unique jewelry—examples of which can be seen on her website: www.LGGCreativeArt.com.
Leslie primarily works in porcelain and enjoys experimenting with many different surface treatments, especially freehand carving, scraffito, and underglaze painting. Leslie has been recognized as a Roycroft Artisan in Ceramics since 2017 and signs select pieces in her Metallic Collection with the Roycroft Logo—a respected mark in the Arts & Crafts community that may only be used by artists whose work exemplifies the following criteria:
– High quality hand-craftsmanship
– Excellence in design
– Continuing artistic growth
– Originality of expression
– Professional recognition
Leslie returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh this year, built a small pottery studio in her Spring Hill home, and plans to teach private lessons and group classes once the pandemic ends. Until then, she is looking forward to meeting new artist friends in Pittsburgh and exploring the city in search of galleries and gift shops to sell her work. When she’s not making art, Leslie very much enjoys salsa dancing, writing, playing musical instruments with her family, and working at her family’s acupuncture and massage clinic in the Northside.