The Shadow
VIRGINIA BEACH (VR) — From broken pieces of ceramic interred in soil to modern designs displayed in galleries, human hands have been shaping clay into objects for millennia.
Clay artist Kiki Rangel, pottery manager of Bailey Ceramic Studio at the Virginia Beach Art Center, shares this tradition with anyone willing to get their hands wet.
“I can have the worst day ever, sit in front of the wheel, and it’s magic to take a lump of nasty, dirty clay, and create a beautiful bowl or vase,” she said. “The motion is very therapeutic. Your hands are going slowly. You forget about all the troubles in the world. You’re in the zone.”
The studio offers weekly classes on wheel throwing and hand building, with 12 pottery wheels, a glazing and kiln room, and plenty of workspace.
The Artist Gallery is brimming with handmade, original pieces that reflect the heritage of coastal Virginia, priced and grouped by co-op artists. Crabs, seashells, honeybees and cows are depicted on the gallery’s highly stylized ceramic creations, among other mediums.
In the studio, pottery novice Shameka Harris of Chesapeake held an edger to the bottom of a spinning bowl. The space offers an opportunity for artistic development, plus personal reprieve.
“It’s a form of self-expression that’s also very calming,” she said. “I have small children at home, so this is my getaway! The more I do this, the more I want to do it.”
For clay artist Sherry Stainback of Fluvanna County, a patch of mud was a source of artistic childhood inspiration.
“All kids played in mud,” she said. “But I was always trying make something with it.”
Stainback took pottery classes following the loss of her mother, eventually transforming a small guest bedroom into a home pottery studio. She’s now known for creating eye-catching bowls finished with glazes and textures inspired by nature.
Once the bowls are dry, she drives them across the property to the kitchen-turned-kiln room in her mom’s house.
“It’s a long, slow process, gradually heated. If you open the kiln too soon, it can cause a piece to crack or explode. You don’t want that on your face. We have a healthy, healthy respect for 2,000 degrees,” Stainback explained.
She takes the pieces back home to glaze, and fires them again to set the colors.
“Before you glaze, it can be really muted,” she said. “But when you open the kiln the second time—wow!”
