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This place was built with intention.

Pottery experiences on the prairie. 

I’m a prairie girl with big dreams, a wheel-thrown pottery artist, creator of the Elemental Claycation retreats, and a passio

Prairie-raised, clay-covered, and always dreaming up what's next.

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I'm a potter, a teacher, and the person behind Elemental Claycation retreats -- butreally, I'm someone who belives deeply in slowing down and making things with your hands.

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This space didn't come from a big plan.  It grew from small, meaningful moments -- teaching, creating, connecting -- and it continues to grow with every person who shows up.

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Around here, it's strong tea, handmade mugs, and the kind of conversations that only happen when you give yourself time. 

Meet Marea Olafson, the creative mind behind Freba Pottery and Elemental Claycation. Passionate about handmade pottery, creative retreats, and preserving Saskatchewan’s rich heritage through art and storytelling.

Freba Pottery is more than a studio

It's  a place built on trust, creativity, and connection.

 

From a small highway honour-system store to immersive retreats and workshops, Freba has grown into a space where people come to slow down, create, and feel something real.

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Whether you're stopping in for a mug or spending a weekend in the studio, this place is abot more than pottery -- it's about how you feel while you're here. 

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Learn More About Me 

Since 2013, Freba Pottery has been built on trust --an honour-system space where travellers are invited to stop, explore, and take something meaningful with them. 

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After 25 years teaching visual arts, I followed a pull back to clay and transitioned into full-time pottery in 2021.  What began as a small studio and highway store has grwon into something more -- offering handcrafted pottery, hands-on workshops, and immersive Claycation retreats.  

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Today, Freba pottery is rooted in three things: creating, teaching, and bringing people together.  Whether you're here to shop, learn or step away for a while, this space was made for connection. 

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Welcome to Freba Pottery!​
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Origin Story of The School House Studio

After a year of hosting Elemental Claycation in my basement studio and the exposure of the highway honour system highway store it became apparent that I needed a stand alone studio specifically for teaching pottery in.  About seven minutes east of my yard, sits a one room school house from the early 1900s that looked perfect for the job.  The Mountain Coulee School House has sat empty for decades with no upkeep and my heart who loves history and heritage thought it would be a fabulous addition to my pottery business.  Unfortunately, the cost to move the school house and remediate the basement would be the same price of building a brand new structure. I accepted that I would have to do a new build, but did not give up on the original thought of a one room school house to teach pottery out of.  But why a one room school house?​
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In the mid 1930s, my Amma (Icelandic for grandma) boarded at our house, while teaching at a one room school house one mile south of our yard.  In 1950, my Amma and Afi, purchased this same house and yard and raised their family and now I am living here raising my family and building my pottery business.  I was an Art and History teacher for 25 years and with my Amma's connection and mine with being a school teacher it seemed fitting for me to own "a school house".  The School House Studio is inspired by history, nostalgia, and practicality.
 
The School House Studio is a one room space with a bathroom in one corner, just like the inspiration school house.   The rule for one room schools in the early 1900s was that when you stood at the front door there was a bank of windows on the left hand side.  So I too have a bank of windows on the left hand side of the building from the front door.  On the right hand side there is a bank of windows letting in the morning light.  In the back of the building is a garden door that opens into the trees, that I hope someday is a secret garden for us to drink tea in while having a break from creating in the studio. 

I will still have my basement studio that will be strictly for my own pottery production, while The School House Studio will be for hosting Elemental Claycations and workshops of various lengths. The hope is that my basement studio has pottery in various stages on all tables and I don't have to tuck everything away to teach a class. 
 
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