All Fired Up: Local business offers anyone chance to become artists

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Paula Williams, a Lexington resident, adds the finishing touches on her pottery piece in The Mad Potter. Williams said it took her four visits to The Mad Potter to complete the totem pole pottery. Photo by Megan Hurt l Staff

By Martha Groppo
Some people are artistic — and others struggled to complete third grade art. But Erica Durso thinks The Mad Potter, Lexington’s only do-it-yourself pottery studio, gives everyone a chance to be artsy.
“If you don’t think you have a creative bone in your body, you can still come in and create a great piece,” said Durso, manager of The Mad Potter.
Durso said walking into The Mad Potter for the first time can be overwhelming for some. The walls are lined with shelves full of pristine white pottery, waiting to be painted. But the atmosphere of the small, locally-owned store in Lansdowne Shops on Tates Creek Road is unintimidating; artists sit in bright purple chairs at wooden tables, painting while listening to soft rock. The carpet is worn, just in case someone drips, and the staff is willing to help the unsure.
“We’re good with helping out with ideas,” Durso said.
Before the creativity starts, however, artists must select their pieces. Durso said this step is harder than it sounds.
“We have a bigger selection than most,” she said. “We are big fans of original shapes.”
The Mad Potter constantly orders new designs, and Durso said the possibilities of what to create are virtually limitless. She referenced a three-spouted tea pot and a giant cupcake-shaped container as two examples of unusually shaped items.
Picture frames, serving bowls and piggy banks are popular, but mugs are the all-time favorite, Durso said.
Prices depend on the piece, and range from a $1 decorative add-on to a $117 four-piece art deco Christmas tree. Durso says most people pay an average of $20 for their first visit.
That price includes the next step of the creation process: decoration.
The Mad Potter has over 100 paint colors to choose from — including a popular UK blue.

A rainbow painted dinasour pottery piece sits next to some ready-to-paint pieces in The Mad Potter. Such painted pieces are scattered throughout the store to inspire people who come to paint. Photo by Megan Hurt l Staff

“People do UK stuff all the time,” Durso said. “We price everything to include as many colors and as much time as you need.”
The price of the pottery includes the paint you might use as well as the firing process. After decorating, artists leave their pieces for firing and come back in one to two weeks to pick up the finished products. Durso said most people give their creations as unique gifts.
“Anything you make here makes a good gift because you can’t buy it anywhere,” she said.
Durso said items intended for Christmas presents should be made by Dec. 13 to insure they are fired in time.
She said the typical Mad Potter patrons are adult females, but college students and sorority groups also enjoy the experience. The Mad Potter carries Greek items, and even goes to sorority houses for pottery parties.
Durso said most men seen at Mad Potter are “on dates — or on a forced date.” The experience makes a good date, with plenty of time for talking, and live music on Friday nights.
Glass fusing, another art form available at The Mad Potter, is popular with men, Durso said, because they “get to use tools and break stuff.”
Glass fusing involves creating frames, votives, coasters or other items by melting bits of glass, and costs from $9 to $30.
Durso said most men who come to Mad Potter, whether they try glass fusing or something else, end up truly enjoying the experience.
The Mad Potter’s silver jewelry-making is a popular new option because of its simplicity.
“Everyone can paint something, but (silver jewelry is) even more accessible,” Durso said.
Artists simply stamp designs or fingerprints into a silver polymer. During the firing process, the polymer burns away leaving, “99.9 percent pure solid silver,” Durso said.
Artists can make necklaces, bracelets or earrings, and a ring-making process is still being perfected. Thirty dollars buys a block of polymer that makes one large, two medium or four small pendants.
The creative options available at Mad Potter are immense, but Durso said the special thing about Mad Potter is the experience. She said time spent at Mad Potter is unique because patrons get to create memories together and then have something permanent to keep. The experience of creating something is increasingly unique in our society, Durso said.
“Movies get old … TV gets old,” Durso said. “A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to be creative.”