Pottery class is about learning and connecting with others

The first time Pottstown resident Jeff White took a pottery class at the University of Minnesota, he fell in love with the art form.

“My teacher was a Native American man who taught me to learn to persevere through failure and I apply this to my personal life,” Jeff said. “He was really inspirational.”

Despite initially failing in his attempt to make ceramic vessels on a pottery wheel, Jeff kept pushing through it and would spend 40 or more hours at the studio every week. He found that he reaped other benefits beyond learning to make artistic objects that were functional.

“It can center your life,” he said. “You are taking raw earth and forming it, but It’s not just the clay — it’s learning and connecting with other people — the communal aspect of learning together.”

Relationship with pottery

After graduating Jeff eventually based himself out of Colorado and began working in the restaurant industry. It was an opportunity to open and manage Movie Tavern in Collegeville that got him traveling to Pennsylvania.

“I had that same mentality that my teacher taught me when I opened up the Movie Tavern,” he said, adding that despite many challenges in the opening of the business, his focus and determination led to things running smoothly over time. “You need grit to pull through it.”

In Colorado, Jeff continued his relationship with pottery and became part of an artistic community of potters that included his mentor, the late John Hansen, who founded Mudslingers Pottery School. After meeting his now wife, Alex, during his time spent working in Pennsylvania, Jeff decided to make Pottstown his home ten years ago and said goodbye to his beloved community that centered around the pottery school.

Creating an artistic community

With an interest in creating an artistic community in the Pottstown area, Jeff and Alex opened Mudslingers Pottery Studio in Pughtown last month. As the main educator at the ceramics school and creative studio, Jeff’s passion for clay is infectious.

“It’s a tradition that’s thousands of years old and you are taking raw materials, learning something new, firing it and using it as something functional,” he said. “The functional part is why I love it so much – the fact that it’s functional and not just art.”

Jeff delights in seeing his ceramic students, wife and daughter, Winona, 7, working at the wheel.

“I love seeing others experience the magic on the wheel,” he said. “I can give them a basic foundation in two hours and they can learn the ceramic process and become friends with other potters.”

Beginner to experienced potters

Located in a stone farmhouse on Route 100 that was formerly The Plaid Pig, the interior of Mudslingers is very charming with wooden floors and exposed beams. Nine pottery wheels are positioned on the main floor, not far from a large fireplace and a nook for socializing around a wooden dining table.

At Mudslingers, beginner to experienced potters of all ages can get introduced to the art through a five-week immersive course, take a two-hour weekend workshop, or become a member to receive 24/7 hour access to the studio and 50 percent off of classes.

“The membership is designed for those who really want to get good at it,” Jeff said.

Children can also partake in the experience through weekend workshops centered on the wheel or the hand-building of clay pieces, which can serve as a good foundation to set them up for success on the wheel.

“We have a small wheel and I have kids on the wheel who are six years old,” he said. “They can just have fun on it with my help to make it safe.”

Calming effect

Jeff introduced Alex to working with clay early in their relationship and while her main profession centers on the healthcare industry, she helps in the operation of the clay studio and will get her hands dirty from time to time. She also finds pleasure in just sitting and watching her husband and daughter create pieces at the wheel.

“Work is so busy, hectic and stressful,” Alex said. “Working with clay has a calming effect — taking a ball of clay and throwing it on the wheel, even if it’s not something that turns out great — is so cathartic.”
It can provide a moment of mindfulness that can be much more rewarding to your well-being than free time spent on the phone, computer or cleaning the house.

“I can tell you as a health professional that self-care and overall health and wellness is very important,” she said. “People need an outlet to relax their mind.”

Through clay you can find peace

“When you are sitting there at the wheel, you will start to let go,” Alex said. “You are allowing yourself to be at peace regardless of whatever else is going on in your life — it’s very healing.”

Mudslingers began in 1997 with John Hansen in Louisville, Colorado. Since then, they have helped hundreds of people learn the ancient method. Jeff White, co-owner of the Colorado location, now in Lafayette, recently opened Mudslingers at 2311 Pottstown Pike, Pottstown. Jeff, who has taught ceramics since 1998, works with small groups of 2 to 12 people to enable him to focus on the foundation of throwing and hand-building. Mudslingers offers workshops, classes, memberships and private events. For more information, visit www.mudslingerspotterystudio.com or call 484-796-1638.