Member Spotlight: Indian River Clay
How many great adventures have been hatched over lunch with friends? One of them happened last year for a group of local potters “bemoaning the fact that we had no place to get together and play with clay whenever we felt like it.”
Maria Sparsis, of Tea & Chi fame in downtown Vero Beach and former owner of Flametree Clay Gallery, said there were almost a dozen potters at that lunch. Among them were Linda Thiesen, Linda Drake, Marie Martin, Janen Bass, Katie Santomarino, Carol Peterson, and others, and more joined the group before even the first decision had to be made. By the end of that lunch, the game was afoot. Sparsis got the support of the Becker Foundation with a text, and “the next big moment was signing the lease for Indian River Clay.”
You might think an undertaking as big as creating Indian River Clay from scratch would be a tough haul. I did, but Sparsis said it hadn’t been hard. “The right group of people came together at the right time and things fell into place. It has been a lot of work but the result is so rewarding and the camaraderie so contagious that we truly feel we can do anything.” Ginny Piech Street got onboard as studio manager and everything was a go.
Memberships are open with benefits to accommodate everyone. A member gets a key, a shelf for tools, and full access to the studio 24/7. For those who want to give it a try without a major commitment, there’s a special summer membership of $95 per month for up to any 3 months from May through October. Current members, full and seasonal, number 25.
Indian River Clay offers six hours of open studio per week for non-members during designated hours for $50 per month. The hours: Monday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. and Friday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. Non-members are also eligible to sign up for classes. To date, 43 have been completed and 29 more are on the calendar.
One of the initial goals of the founders of IRC was a scholarship program, and that goal has been met. Teachers, teens, and younger children have benefitted from the community outreach.
It couldn’t have happened without the many donations of money, equipment, and supplies. “Even the paint was donated,” said board member Susan Scarola.
Indian River Clay is accepting proposals from potential class instructors. See the website for details and for the lineup of classes coming up. All the membership and independent class information is there, with a form for subscribing to the mailing list.
Visit www.indianriverclay.org or call (772) 202-8598 for more information.
Written by: Willi Miller.
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