There must be something cool and creative in the bones of the sprawling 7,500-square-foot space at 150 W. 22nd St. Formerly the house of Inked NYC Tattoo Shop (which has relocated to West 23d Street), it is soon to become a destination for sculptors, potters, and couples intent on reenacting their own Ghost moment, à la Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore.
The Pottery Studio is the brainchild of Marshall Blair, the chef and owner of Blair’s, a restaurant with two locations in California. In 2015, he happened upon a pottery studio, and exclaimed to himself “Oh my god I’ve got to do this!” And do it he did, because as it is with so many creative people, he was as good at pottery as he was with pastas and pizza. Thus, he now serves his much-applauded cuisine on the plates and bowls he created with his own hands.
It began with one studio adjacent to his original restaurant in Los Angeles seven years ago, and has burgeoned into a mini-empire of locations across the nation, from multiple locations in California to Chicago, and finally a grand leap to Brooklyn for their first studio in New York. Now, in just a matter of weeks, they will open their newest location right here in Chelsea.
The operation is pretty simple, as it should be when dealing with material so elemental as clay. The material they use is sourced from across the country, and each has different attributes from which students can choose. Students can choose from around 20 colors of glaze on hand, offering a range of hues and textures. Manager Kelley Burnett says they want a variety of glazes to inspire creativity and provide myriad unique outcomes. There are 22 wheels total at the studio, which typically accommodates classes of around 10 students, just so each individual gets adequate attention and guidance. To finish the pieces, they are fired twice in one of the two electric Geil kilns they have currently (a third is planned), which heat up to a scalding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or more to cook, and then vitrify, each piece.
They also offer a few free-form hand-building exploration classes, which focus on the basics of using slab, coil, slump molds, and other manual techniques to construct project-based creations with clay. But mostly they focus on wheel-throwing, or turning, using spinning potter’s wheels, which operate basically like high-speed turntables.
Classes are four weeks long, although they have, on occasion, offered private lessons at their other locations. They offer a range of instruction for any level, and the proficiency of students runs the gamut. According to Burnett, some arrive as “true beginners” who have “never touched clay before!” After that, she says “it really depends on practice. Some folks get into it and are really productive within a few weeks, others take a bit longer but enjoy the process of learning.” And most end up with several finished pieces after the month-long course, all of which are, of course, theirs to keep.
A waitlist has already been established to accept upcoming reservations for when they open, starting Sept. 1. Much of the instruction at the begining includes just learning the lingo of the métier; there is a lot of industry-specific verbiage, like wedging, pulling, vitrify, kiln, bisque, and pugged. . . . So, if you are curious to find out what all these things mean in a potter’s context, The Pottery Studio is your chance. To receive updates about their opening and for first dibs on class reservations, visit:
The Pottery Studio, 150 W. 22nd St., www.thepotterystudio.com
A waitlist has already been established to accept upcoming reservations for when they open, starting Sept. 1.