If you’re looking for a way to fill the creative void, a local artisan is here to help.
Melissa Gabrielsen, who runs Plants and Clay, recently began hosting workshops out of her home as a way to share one of the oldest art forms with others.
“I’ve always been an artist at heart,” the 28-year-old Greenport resident said. For several years, she expressed that creativity through hair. While she still styles hair for weddings, clay has become her medium of choice. “No matter what I’m doing, I have to do something with my hands,” she said. “Being able to make something and then, a couple of weeks later, use it in your daily life is so rewarding.”
A few years ago, Gabrielsen began creating beautiful statement earrings made from polymer clay. The line of earrings includes moody neutrals and bright, bold options you may have seen around Greenport at the Times Vintage, Special Effects Salon and The Market or in Amagansett at Stick + Stone.
Then, on a pre-COVID-19 trip to Indonesia, Gabrielsen took a pottery workshop in Ubud and was hooked.
When she returned home, she sought to continue creating pottery — but found there was a dearth of local options without having to commute a far distance west. She soon began exploring on her own, following online workshops and even investing in her own kiln and wheel, later discovering that she prefers hand-building pieces to spinning them. “I prefer those more organic, wonkier shapes,” Gabrielsen said.
Soon enough, people were reaching out and asking her to host a class.
The $80 workshop includes all tools, clay, glazing and firing of your piece as well as some snacks to enjoy during the class. Since launching them, she’s hosted courses ranging from mug making, planter pots, pipes and ashtrays, flower press and free sessions.
Space is limited to six participants and open to all skill levels. “My view on pottery is that it doesn’t have to be perfect,” Gabrielsen said. “If you are a perfectionist, then it can be, sure. But you can make something misshapen and it’s cool, it still works.”
Throughout the course of the workshop, which generally lasts 2.5 hours, Gabrielsen leads participants through the process of building their own pottery piece by hand (sorry, fans of the movie “Ghost”!) and gives step-by-step instructions. When you’re done shaping and sculpting, you’ll leave your piece with Gabrielsen to fire and glaze, selecting between a light white or shiny black glaze. Just like art class!
“I feel like everyone says at first, ‘I haven’t done this since kindergarten,’” Gabrielsen said. Her favorite part has been seeing what people come up with. “You’re teaching the same basic thing and everyone has such a different vision and can take it to so many different places,” she said.
Gabrielsen is currently looking around for a potential studio space that will allow her to expand workshops and has also partnered with local wineries like Corey Creek Tap Room.
New workshops and dates are announced regularly on her website and Instagram @plants.and.clay and if you’re not a DIY-er, you can also browse her selection of ceramics, earrings and other goodies there.
