Ceramics artists and enthusiasts will have a place to craft their clay-based art at the new Firehouse Art Center ceramics studio.
On Mar. 27th, the Firehouse Art Center opened the doors of its newly finished ceramics space where individual artists can work on their pieces and members of the community can sign up for one-on-one or group classes.
“We are offering open studio time for three people (at a time) to keep everything safe and socially distanced,” said Elaine Waterman, Firehouse executive director.
Located on the building’s second floor, the studio houses an electric kiln, pottery wheels, spacious work tables, lockable storage, a utility sink, and a variety of tools to work with clay, according to the website.
Interested participants can buy annual memberships to get full access to the space during open studio hours on Tuesdays 12-5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Clay will be available for purchase at the art center.
“The kiln was donated to us during the pandemic when we were closed. It was very exciting to get it but we had to wait to use it so now we are super excited to make it available to our members,” Waterman said.
Marie McCreery, instructor and local ceramicist of over 30 years, donated her kiln to the art center with the promise that the Firehouse would identify partnerships and offer classes to students who would otherwise not be able to work on ceramics, according to Waterman.
“We have been working with the I Have a Dream Foundation (of Boulder County) and are hoping to work with them in the fall of 2021 when school starts again and depending on what that looks like for students next year,” she said.
In the meantime, Waterman hopes the community will become aware of the equipment available at the center for this craft and recruit new and old ceramicists, she said.
The space was inaugurated with the first-ever virtual ceramics class at the art center, where participants created bugs out of clay to welcome springtime, according to Grace Gutierrez, artist, ceramics instructor, curatorial and administrative assistant at the Firehouse Art Center.
“The class on Saturday was a trial run but we are planning on doing more, maybe once to twice a month with hopes of switching them in person soon,” she said. “It’s still pretty small but many people have shown interest in wanting to learn. Some people may have taken it in high school and the interest never leaves, we’re hoping (the program) will really start growing.”
Gutierrez is offering a one-on-one wheel throwing course, the technique of shaping ceramics, at the ceramics studio that consists of three sessions to learn the basics of throwing on a pottery wheel, including throwing forms, trimming, handles, decorating and glazing.
For more information about the ceramics studio or to register for a studio membership or one-on-one class, click here.
