Sydney and I had a really nice time visiting with Mark & Amy McGraw from Artistic Earth Pottery.  The pottery shop was established in 2003 and Mark & Amy took ownership in May of 2015.  Amy bought Mark a gift certificate for a pottery class at Artistic Earth Pottery for his birthday.  This fueled the fire and led to a year’s worth of pottery classes that they took together.  They eventually purchased their own wheel and kiln for use in their home.  Their hobby had turned into a full-blown passion!

In May of 2015 this hobby-turned-passion was about to make an even bigger turn.  They had the opportunity to purchase the business.  So they talked it over and took a leap of faith.  They have never looked back.  They both are now living their dream!

They love sharing their passion with others.  They teach classes for adults, teens, and children.  They like to keep the class sizes small, around 6 students per class.  They feel the smaller class sizes allow them to give beginning students one-on-one attention, while more seasoned students can develop their own ideas and skills with help from the instructors as needed.  They offer classes during the daytime, evening and weekend to accommodate all students.

They also hold homeschool classes, birthday parties and other private events.  They have had ladies night out, bachelorette parties, and girl scout badge earnings as some of their private events.  A gift certificate to Artistic Earth Pottery would be perfect for someone on your gift giving list for Christmas or a birthday.

Artistic Earth Pottery is not a place where you come in and paint a piece of pottery that has already been made.  It is a complete “from scratch” pottery studio.  You start with clay and end up with an amazing piece of pottery (unless you are like me, I am most definitely sure mine would not be able to be shown).  🙂

Mark & Amy work with companies to provide special orders.  They currently are working on a production order of 500 mugs for a restaurant and another 100 piece mug order.  I would say between filling orders, teaching classes and the operation of the studio they are keeping themselves pretty busy!

They also have many beautiful pottery pieces available for purchase.  You can stop in and get that someone special a neat and unique piece for their home or office.  While you are there, you might as well get a piece or two for yourself!  🙂

The studio offers eight pottery wheels, three kilns, a hand building station, a clay extruder with dies, a slab roller, a trim wheel and various hand tools and brushes.  They also have several comfortable areas for working in the studio.  Everything you need to complete a piece from start to finish can be found at Artistic Earth Pottery.

While we were there Amy was working on the trimming of a yarn bowl.  So much detail goes into each and every piece.  It was truly amazing and so much fun to watch!

Below is an example of a finished yarn bowl.  So pretty!  I don’t even knit, but this bowl really makes we want to pick up some yarn and knitting needles.

Mark was throwing clay for a mug during our visit.  The time investment into just one pottery piece is unreal!  Mark & Amy explained that the drying process alone can take a week or two depending on the weather and humidity.  This is not a hobby for the impatient person.

January through April is a very busy studio time for Mark & Amy.  The winter weather drives pottery lovers into the studio.  During the warmer months, you will find them spending some time at festivals, street fairs and art shows.  May 11th you can find them at the Annual Taste of the Arts in downtown Piqua.  May 25th they will be at Final Friday in downtown Troy.  If you happen to be at either of these events, make sure you stop and speak with them and see their beautiful pieces!

Artistic Earth Pottery is located at 12 E Canal St, Troy, Ohio.  Their website is also another great resource to find out more!  You seriously should contact them and sign up for a class.  It looks like so much fun!

We hope you enjoyed a little bit of the arts today, we know we did!