Painting Pottery

We walked by the paint your own pottery shop one day and ended up inside. It was a magical spontaneous afternoon activity. My girl stuck with it for a REALLY long time, so that made the cost of “studio time” worth the money.

I wanted to break it down a little bit, so that you have all the tricks.

I went with an artistic five-year old. She was eager and ready, in fact, it was her suggestion. I found out later that they had brought a mobile set up to the school! So, when she saw the storefront, she knew exactly what was going on.

You could bring a younger kid to work with you, they just might not last as long and the piece would be different.

Here is a basic run-down. First, you will choose what you would like to work on. They have everything from soup to nuts here. There are funny things, piggy banks, traditional mugs, goofy mugs, and even “fantasy” figures. They have every kind of plate, platter, pot, pitcher, and bowl imaginable from the very plain straight forward to the holiday ornate. You will pay by-the-piece and the charges will run anywhere from $2.50 – $48.00 depending on the size of the piece.

There is also a studio fee. For adults it was $9.75 and for kids $7.00. This is an all-day pass, so you don’t have to rush.

I found the selection to be VAST and maybe a little bit overwhelming. If you plan to go, I would take a moment and organize your thoughts around what you want to accomplish. With little kids, are you just there to have a good time and sit with each other? Or do you need to create a certain amount of mugs in a set amount of time. You need to weigh the “process” vs. the “product” and hopefully you will enjoy both!

My daughter is blissfully uninhibited. I have “an idea” that things will be neat and artistic and have a flair. Have a plan in your head about what you are shooting for – a chevron, or a stencil, or a reverse dot pattern… Pinterest is LOADED with ideas. The neatest thing that I saw with younger artists were pieces that featured their hand prints of foot prints. Here is Pottery We Love on Pinterest. Lots of good ideas!

You could go do pieces for Christmas/Chanukah, Valentines, birthdays, or what ever occasion you want. I would just caution you to go far enough ahead of time. Keep in mind that you make your piece, and then leave them to be fired. You come back several days later to pick them up.

Have you been to one of these places? Show us your creations!