Carolyn G. Guy

Family and friends are invited to celebrate the life of Carolyn Guy in her garden at 827 Conestoga Drive, on Saturday, September 19, 2020, at 3pm PDT. Black attire not required. Those not able to attend in person can view the memorial service via this Zoom link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/99774367614. Carolyn passed away on September 4th from an injury in her home.

Carolyn was born in Toronto, Canada to Donald and Freda Burns. Her family moved to the United States in 1963, when Carolyn was 12 years old. After marrying her first husband, Carolyn moved to Davis, California where her introduction to pottery began and she has been an artistic creator ever since.

In 1976 and 1977, she lived in Paris, traveled in Europe, and worked in the pottery studio of Albert Diato (former protege of Picasso) and the studio of Diana Berier, Le Cheval L'Envers, and had a show before returning home. Returning to the USA, she produced and sold pottery in Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

She lived in Moscow, Idaho since 1981 with her studio, Palouse Hills Pottery, operating out of her home. With her profession as a Registered Dental Hygienist, her time was divided between pottery, dental hygiene, her family, and horticulture, later adding bagpiping and curling to this list.

She made her own stoneware, porcelain, and glaze mixtures so she could create the specific effects she desired. She was heavily influenced by early Chinese porcelains and recently by the marvelous shapes and colours seen diving the Great Barrier Reef. Most of her work was functional, tending to be abstracted in shape. She preferred clean, delicate, finished lines and forms, exploring the depth of variation in shape and colour that she continued to find in nature until her death.

An avid gardener and landscaper, she cultivated a subtle, yet impressive collection of flowers, trees, and plants from numerous ecological zones.  Her roses on the corner of her property continue to be the subject of awe and compliments even after her passing.  Possessing an almost druidic quality, she described a serene and zen-like state that moved over her while she cared for living things, and was always liberal to spread that feeling to friends and family from the produce of her garden.  A believer in reincarnation, and the spiritual interconnectedness of the world, she found a peace in the natural world that was challenging in the competitive pace of wider society.

Carolyn is survived by her son and daughter, Gabriel Putnam and Lauren Erdman, her partner, David Fletcher, her siblings, Eunice, Jennifer, Nancy, and Doris, and numerous nieces and nephews.  Developing an interest in genealogy later in her life, she sought out and introduced herself and her children to extensions of the family from all over Canada that had become separated or distant by her family's early immigration to the United States. Whether distant or near, all of these she loved and touched deeply.

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