I don’t know about you, but I don’t normally enjoy being covered in mud. Lately, though, I’ve been more than happy to make an exception. When I leave the Kingston Ceramics Studio (KCS) after a class or open studio session, I have clay caked under my fingernails, stuck in the cracks of my knuckles, smeared across my shirt and pants, and even dried into my hair—and I love it.
This new state of being has been an almost weekly occurrence since I started attending a beginner’s class last winter. Encouraged by three friends who were enrolled, I signed up at the last possible minute and clinched the only remaining seat. Walking into the studio, you’re immediately surrounded by work in all stages made by beginner and professional ceramicists alike—wobbly, untrimmed bowls nestle beside sets of identical vases with flawless glaze, all beautiful in their own right.
After getting some inspiration from looking at finished pieces (and Pinterest the night before), it was time to take the wheel. At KCS, classes are self-driven and have no assigned start and end dates, so I was given the freedom to begin learning and making whatever I wanted. I had a bit of hand-building experience from high school art classes, which I enjoyed, but had never successfully “thrown” on a pottery wheel, which was my main goal.
After a demo from my teacher, I quickly discovered just how forgiving the art is, which is great news for amateurs—if you mess up or make a form you’re not in love with, the clay can be reclaimed, so there’s very little waste. But when you do finish something you like (which will surely be some sort of wonky bowl when you’re first starting out), it’s such an exciting moment to have a piece that you’ve made with your own hands. Half a year later, I’ve created mugs and bowls that are technically much better, but I do still have and use my very first projects, uneven and oddly shaped as they may be.
I quickly discovered just how forgiving the art is, which is great news for amateurs. If you mess up, the clay can be reclaimed.
Finding joy in tracking my progress from month to month through my creations hasn’t been the only benefit. While going through the various motions of throwing—wedging the air bubbles out of clay, centering and coning on the wheel, slowly pulling on the clay to give a structure walls as it spins—it’s very easy to fall into an almost meditative state, forgetting about everything except how your movements directly affect the shape of the clay. Like in other artistic outlets, it has also been a great way to relieve stress and channel negative energy into something positive and productive.
And, while I didn’t take up ceramics as a way to cure winter blues, it definitely didn’t hurt; having a new endeavor to focus on and look forward to helped brighten my days before spring arrived, and it continues to. It’s no coincidence: According to a 2023 poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, adults who rated their mental health as very good or excellent engaged in creative activities more often than those who reported good, fair, or poor mental health.
It’s hard to believe that I almost didn’t sign up for the classes, considering all that I’ve gotten out of practicing ceramics so far. It’s given me a new outlet, a method to de-stress, and countless new cups, bowls, and other vessels to display around my house. (If you’re a friend with a birthday coming up, guess what I got you!) Long story short: if you’ve been on the fence about joining a pottery class, do it! And if that class happens to be at KCS, I’ll see you there.
Give It a Spin
Try doing pottery yourself at these local studios.
Cone Zero Ceramics
Catskill
Fall Kill Creative Works
Poughkeepsie
Hudson Valley Pottery
Rhinebeck
Kingston Ceramics Studio
Kingston
