Variety staffer Cesia Martinez works with Good Dirt Clay Studio instructor, Dr. Elise Robinson. Prior to her experience at Good Dirt, Martinez had no prior experience working with pottery. “I felt intimidated by the accomplished bustle of the place — I didn’t think I was capable of the skillful focus I saw around me.” Photo’s by Wyatt Meyer
Variety Staffer Cesia Martinez writes about her experience making pottery at Good Dirt Clay studio located at 485 Macon Hwy.
As I stepped into Good Dirt Clay Studio, the thick scent of clay hit me. Around the workshop, shelves were decorated with pottery as people worked on the wheel and sculpted clay with their hands.
Having never worked with clay before, I felt intimidated by the accomplished bustle of the place — I didn’t think I was capable of the skillful focus I saw around me. Nonetheless, I was determined to give it a try.
I met my instructor, Dr. Elise Robinson, and we went to another room to start working on our pieces. I hadn’t thought as far as what I wanted to create, but I thought of doing a mug since it seemed easy enough compared to the large bowls and intricate sculptures everyone else was making.
As I molded the clay, I felt myself gaining confidence — I slowly began to recognize a mug-like shape from the previously formless material. Just as I thought I was finished molding it, though, I made a mistake — a dent in the handle the size of my thumb. I felt embarrassed for a minute, thinking my fears of artistic inadequacy had been realized, but before I could feel distressed, Elise showed me how to push it back into shape. The ease at which my heavy-handed mistake was fixed surprised me, giving me confidence as I moved on to decoration.
I decided to decorate the mug in two stages — first, I used stamps to imprint floral patterns into the mug, using them to express my personality on the cup. After carefully adding the flowers, I began to paint over the mug with a soft blue that mirrored the vibe of the flowers.
This part was my favorite: as I painted, the formerly intimidating environment around me suddenly became more peaceful and welcoming. The thick scent of clay hit me again, but this time, it didn’t feel strange, but a scent that I was used to already, like back in first grade when I played with Play-Doh for the first time.
As I zoned in, focusing only on the painting process, the reason for my calm hit me. While I was working, I was focused on the mug, and nothing else. I felt undisturbed. All of my stress and worries disappeared because I’d enjoyed what I was doing so much. I looked up and saw the same thing with the other people there. Where before I’d been intimidated by their expertise, I now understood — they were feeling that serene calm that I’d just been introduced to.
I decided to decorate the mug in two stages — first, I used stamps to imprint floral patterns into the mug, using them to express my personality on the cup. After carefully adding the flowers, I began to paint over the mug with a soft blue that mirrored the vibe of the flowers.
This part was my favorite: as I painted, the formerly intimidating environment around me suddenly became more peaceful and welcoming. The thick scent of clay hit me again, but this time, it didn’t feel strange, but a scent that I was used to already, like back in first grade when I played with Play-Doh for the first time.
I was focused on the mug, and nothing else. I felt undisturbed. All of my stress and worries disappeared because I’d enjoyed what I was doing so much.
As I zoned in, focusing only on the painting process, the reason for my calm hit me. While I was working, I was focused on the mug, and nothing else. I felt undisturbed. All of my stress and worries disappeared because I’d enjoyed what I was doing so much. I looked up and saw the same thing with the other people there. Where before I’d been intimidated by their expertise, I now understood — they were feeling that serene calm that I’d just been introduced to.
Although the experience wasn’t very long, I enjoyed making pottery and trying something that I hadn’t done before. Leaving the studio, I no longer felt intimidated by clay, or art in general. Instead, I understood that, regardless of skill and ability, the true value of art was the beauty of the process.
