Back in the Studio!
Now that the 50th Annual Fall Craftshow with the Erie Guild of Craftsmen is behind us, it’s time to get dirty and throw down in the studio! First things first though, it is going to be a long weekend for me in the studio reclaiming my space and my clay. I’m excited to get in there and start moving things around. Not sure if everyone has the same constant evolution of their home studio, but I think this will be the third or fourth time I’ve changed everything up. While the weather is still nice here though I am also going to be doing a lot of clay reclaiming.
The image above was my pottery studio set up in the basement of my home. It was a muddy mess. However, in that humble space I learned a lot about ceramics and pottery. Early mornings, late nights, and every opportunity I could squeeze in between was spent at this wheel. Sometimes I would live stream the sessions, but more often I’d work by myself–getting lost in the sound of the wheel and the feel of the clay.
Last summer, my family helped me move out of the basement and into our garage after my husband completed the installation of my kiln. After college, I had no where to fire so I was beyond excited and grateful to finally be able to see my pieces get the opportunity to get to the firing and finishing stages. Instead of creating and throwing what I had made back into the clay reclaim, I now could fire up the kiln that my grandmother gave me.
After creating in this studio set up for a year, I am ready to change it up again with all the knowledge and experience that I’ve gained. Every show that I go to I am asked if I offer lessons and unfortunately, I don’t feel like my space is professional enough or suitable to do that at this time. While the latest planned studio redo is still unlikely to result in that kind of space, it is something that I have in my heart and my dreams to do in the near future. Right now we are focusing on making it a functional, safe, and creative environment where both Joseph and I can continue to develop our skills as potters and help others grow their love for ceramics and ceramic arts.
Just because I can’t give in person classes in my studio at this time though doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to build this community, learn from each other and grow together. I am designing the new layout in a way to bring back live streaming and video to start offering basic pottery and ceramic lessons online. I hope that you’ll join me in that journey and share your development with us.
If there’s something you’re interested in seeing, please leave a comment below. I’m excited to start growing, sharing, and giving with you.