Between odd jobs and completing a fine arts degree, Amanda Eccleston fulfilled her creative side by sculpting art and pottery from clay, water and fire.

Now the accomplished artist has taken the plunge and crafted her own pottery business — The Clay Chimera Studio.

“This is the only thing I really love doing for money,” Eccleston said Wednesday.

Eccleston married a month ago, but the art she created under her maiden name, Buder, is a staple at the Kamloops Art Gallery Gift Shop and Karla Pearce Gallery.

Her creations under the newly minted Clay Chimera brand will be on display at the Thompson Valley Potters Guild Spring Sale on May 5 along with the work of other guild members.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Desert Gardens and includes the popular charity bowl fundraiser. As in years past, Eccleston and the other potters will create and sell bowls with all proceeds donated to charity. This year’s charity is the Kamloops SPCA.

She will also display her pottery — primarily tea pots, mugs, bowls and plates — at Art in the Park on Canada Day, the Artisans Square in July and August, and the inaugural Splish Splash Art Market in Celista on Aug. 18 and 19.

Eccleston entered the art scene as a sculptor of what has been described as extraterrestrial flora. She took up pottery after completing her degree at Thompson Rivers University in 2008 and slowly honed the craft.

“One year I did up enough (pottery) to distribute it to gift shops and I did a few craft sales. That just took me. Now I want to do it full time, all the time.”

She’s set up her potter’s studio in the basement of the Sahali condominium she shares with her husband, TRU theatre co-ordinator Wesley Eccleston. The quarters are tight, but provide her the perfect space to create with her pottery wheel and kiln, she said.

In addition to local galleries, her work is also available online at amandabuderceramics.ca, where it has attracted the attention of international buyers.

To learn more about Eccleston’s creations visit The Clay Chimera Studio Facebook page or phone 250-572-3672.