Sylvie Wlotkowski began her career during the mid 1970s, learning with Owen Watson in France. She continued her work with potters in San Francisco, London and Ireland. When she returned to France, she worked in the studio of Albert Breton in Vezelay, until opening La Poterie de St. Père in 1994.

Most of the production is thrown, using a potter’s wheel. Other pieces are hand built, starting with slabs of clay.

The first firing (bisque firing) reaches 1000°c. Next, the pieces are glazed and fired a second time at 1300°c. At this temperature, the clay is vitrified, producing a particularly durable pottery. (stoneware)

The glazes are made from a combination of minerals, ashes (vine, oak etc.) and metallic oxides (which provide the color). All the glazes used at Poterie St. Père are lead free. The pieces are fired by reduction, where the level of oxygen in the kiln is reduced, playing an important role in the final color of each piece.