Going potty for pottery
11 June 2020
Making is good for your mental health
Pottery engages the ‘effort-driven reward circuit’, which provides meaningful relief from depression on a neurochemical level. As educator Jenni Lukasiewicz puts it: ‘You put clay on the wheel. It gives you a little fight, and you get past it, and there is this object.’ That ‘little fight’, or the resistance the clay gives back, is part of what gives the practice power, and what can alter the brain’s natural pathways, helping alleviate symptoms of depression.
Celebs are getting in on the act
Supermodel Emily Ratajkowski and actors such as Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio, Seth Rogan and Spider Man star Laura Harris are all new fans of getting down and dirty with clay.
It is so satisfying to watch
From the BBC’s Potter’s Wheel interlude film of the 1950s to the ever-popular Great Pottery Throw Down – not to mention that scene in Ghost – people love watching pots being thrown. Now potters such as Florian Gadsby and Jon Almeda are delighting millions with making videos on Instagram and YouTube.
Pottery is more collectible than ever
Ceramics are often affordable and easy to collect and enjoy at home. Our Market for Craft Report shows that, out of everybody buying craft between 2018 and 2020, a whopping 74% chose to pick up pottery. Craft collectors are getting younger, too: the biggest buyers of craft today are aged under 35.
You don’t need lots of money to start making
Woman’s Hour Craft Prize winner Phoebe Cummings started working with raw clay after graduating with no money so she could test out ideas and then re-use her materials. You can practice your skills with play doh, clay or air dry clay. So if you fancy having a go, try this lovely pinch pot tutorial by Sam Andrew. But if you do want to further your skills…
… There are more places than ever to learn
Membership studios are cropping up all over the place from Turning Earth, Kiln Rooms and Crown Pottery in London to Clay Studio Manchester and Glasgow Ceramics Studio.
