Shelimar Lakowski

Shelimar lives in Vancouver East with her husband and 2 sons.

Skilled in many areas she was not challenged until she tried clay, she apprenticed under the established Australian Potter, Rita Ringma for three and a half years. She continued to manage and teach at the studio for five more years and attended the Shadbolt Centre of the Arts specialty pottery programs.

Pioneering a social enterprise business, Shelimar taught underprivileged individuals basic pottery and sales skills. In 2011 she set up a new studio using up-cycled materials and donated equipment, filling the Resident Potters role at Mission Possibles StudioWorks, where she is working with residents of the Downtown Eastside.

Shelimar sees value in people, industrial waste, and innovative community projects putting into practice the art of fixing and upcycling.