Hahnville grad to showcase pottery business at Alligator Festival years after receiving scholarship – St. Charles Herald Guide
When Luling native Vincent Tamplain sets up his booths at the Alligator Festival next weekend, it will be a homecoming, a grand opening and full-circle moment.
Tamplain, the 27-year-old artist behind Little Leaf Pottery, received a 2016 scholarship from the Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish, which organizes the annual Alligator Festival. The festival raises funds for college scholarships for select Hahnville and Destrehan High School graduates.
That scholarship set Tamplain on a path to New York, where he studied ceramics at Alfred University and the New York State College of Ceramics. After traveling the country showcasing his work, and after four years of working at Potsalot Pottery, Tamplain is now back in Luling and focusing on his own business.
“In a way, [the Alligator Festival] is the grand opening of Little Leaf Pottery,” Tamplain said. “This is the first time Little Leaf Pottery will be my primary responsibility. I hope to take this time to work on what my brand is, how it represents me, and learn the true logistics of running a business. I am a very successful potter. It’s now time to test my business acumen.”
Tamplain discovered his passion for pottery in high school after a torn rotator cuff forced him to take a break from competitive swimming. His swim coach and art teacher, Elizabeth Faucheux, allowed him to try the potter’s wheel in his first art class.
“It was the hardest thing I had encountered at that point in my life,” Tamplain said. “And I was not yet comfortable with failure. From then on, she couldn’t keep me off the potter’s wheel.”
Faucheux treated him like a peer, giving him the trust to learn at his own pace, Tamplain said.
“When I needed guidance or had questions, she would be there,” he said. “As my skills progressed past your average high schooler’s, we would work together as fellow potters to solve problems. We still collaborate in our studios.”
Tamplain bought his first pottery wheel and kiln the summer of his freshman year of high school. Soon after, he started his pottery business and attended his first craft fair – Hahnville cheerleader’s craft fair.
Another mentor, Sherry Lutz, taught him how to formulate ceramic glazes for his senior project.
Today, Tamplain’s work is a blend of ancient and traditional practices with a modern twist. He creates functional dinnerware and ceramic sculptures, all of which are food-safe and compatible with ovens, microwaves and dishwashers. Tamplain also uses advanced firing techniques, such as woodfired kilns. His production pottery is all processed in his studio in an electric kiln.
“Every part of the process is done by me,” Tamplain said. “It is an incredibly prolific one-man band. I am the potter, glazer, studio technician, glaze chemist, and business manager all wrapped in one package.”
He said his business is not just a business: It’s his artistic identity.
“Being a maker gives me a deep sense of self,” Tamplain said. “Pottery is a means of expression, but the clay also expresses itself to me. I’m in a lifelong partnership with the clay. Making is a playful dance we do together.”
Tamplain said he’s exciting to share his vision with parish residents.
“The Alligator Festival is an icon of my childhood, so for me partaking in this show is a full circle moment,” Tamplain said. “I have not done a show in St. Charles Parish since high school. In a way, it’s a return to home.”
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