The story of the pottery

For more than thirty years, the Port-au-Persil Pottery has played a major role in ceramics in Quebec and we are proud of the fact that it is one of the oldest cultural institutions of Charlevoix and Québec. Well established on highway 138 at the entrance to the town of Saint-Simeon, the yellow barn is situated at the junction point of roads leading to the Saguenay region to the north, the whale-watching area and the North-Shore region to the east and the Gaspé and the Maritimes to the south by ferry-boat across the Saint-Lawrence River.

Its location as well as its history makes it an exceptional place to showcase Quebec’s best ceramists. Pierre Legault, who founded the pottery, put his stamp of genius on it as explained in the following résumé.    

Pierre Legault (1929-1983), master potter, who had studied Arts and Crafts in Montreal, at first, worked in construction to earn his living. However, in the early sixties he met the celebrated Japanese ceramist Shimaoka and discovered in himself a veritable passion for ceramics. In 1965, he started an enterprise called Compagnie Pierre Legaut Inc. which will later be known as SIAL. This factory produced material and equipment for the ceramics industry including the famous potter’s kicking-wheel which carries his name and which is used at the pottery today. An innovator in procedures, equipment and materials, it will be in Charlevoix that he will put the finishing touches on his techniques and continue his research on clay types and glazes. And so, in 1974 he bought the farm in Port-au-Persil and moved in with his family and installed his atelier in the barn and started producing and teaching. Here he built a Japanese style kiln to fire with gaz or wood. (Each summer the lighting of this kiln is an occasion for a celebratory event called “Éclats d’Argile» (Fragments of Clay).  

Summer after summer, more and more travellers stop to visit the pottery and its workshop turns out new talented potters who will become well-known in Quebec and who will in time show their wares in Canada, the United States and Europe.  

In 1984, a year after his premature death, the Biennale Nationale de la Céramique inaugurated an annual prize in recognition of his lifework. This prize is given to the best Canadian ceramist in research, design and artistic expression.  

After his departure, the family continued operating the enterprise until its sale in 1992 to the present owner Hélène Garon who pursues the founder’s oeuvre. Inspired by Pierre Legault, she has given new life to the enterprise by seeking excellence and the continued protection of its cultural heritage.

In the year 2000, the pottery produced a show called “Hommage à Pierre Legault” to mark the 25^th anniversary of the pottery. That same year, an itinerant exhibition produced by the Quebec Museum, called “Trajectoires” (Trajectories) recalled Pierre Legault’s influence as an important figure in ceramics in Quebec.

In 2001, the Charlevoix Museum also hosted this show which produced a retrospective of his work in his adopted Charlevoix. In 2003, the pottery produced an event called «Éclats d’Argile» (Fragments of Clay) during which many invited professional ceramists demonstrated techniques of throwing, firing and glazing. During these joyous events, Pierre Legault’s dragon: the Japanese type chimney oven is fired. The public is present and participates in this festival of earth and fire and discovers the soul of this art.

In 2004, “Éclats d’Argile” (Fragments of Clay) returned as well as a new exhibition-contest with the theme of “The Saint-Lawrence, the Marine Park and Father Corbin’s works”.   Some twenty artists submitted original works based on the theme and these were judged by the votes of the pottery’s visitors. In 2005, the pottery held another exhibition whose theme was “Charlevoix and the environment”.  Again the public chose the three winners. In 2007, the fourth exhibition will be inspired by Frederic Back’s Oscar winning Québécois film “The man who planted trees”. The pottery wishes to recall his love of the environment with a Expo-contest called “Aiguilles et Feuilles” (Needles & leaves) which will be held from the 15^th of June to the 3^rd of September.

Today, the pottery offers: a gallery-boutique, a workshop-school, a café and terrace, a guided-tour service for all of Charlevoix and the promise of a unique and rewarding cultural experience.