Hudson Valley Pottery: Creating Art Is An Earthy Experience
Hudson Valley Pottery encourages courageous creativity without pretentiousness.
There’s something calming about the smell of wet clay when you enter Hudson Valley Pottery in Rhinebeck, New York. Working a lump of mud into something useful and beautiful is an elemental experience that satisfies both primordial and intellectual creative instincts at once.
“I love it when people come here with an idea and I help them make it,” said Judi Esmond, owner of HV Pottery. “I’m open to the experience.”
Classes taught by Esmond and a cast of accomplished ceramicists run the spectrum from one-off “sip and spins” to comprehensive six-week classes. Esmond said working with clay can mean different things to different people, from lighthearted and fun to therapeutic and even scholarly. The key, though, is that at its heart the experience is communal.
“It’s the opposite of working alone on a computer,” said Esmond. “There’s a makers movement happening now. It’s a revival of the Arts and Crafts movement. People are reacting to everything becoming digital. Here, you’re in a community using the earth.”
Esmond’s fine arts and pottery education and teaching career are long and varied. She received a master's degree in studio art and ceramics, and has taught at both SUNY New Paltz and in the New Paltz Central School District. She was an instructor at HV Pottery when it was run by Ann Moring and took over in 2013 when Moring was ready to move on. Along with her artist’s eye, Esmond's background in ceramic instruction gives her the ability to help her students create work that feels personal and connects them to something bigger than the day-to-day grind.
With open studio hours and classes for adults, kids and families, the come-as-you-are vibe at Hudson Valley Pottery elicits a community atmosphere that encourages individual expression. Adult throwing and/or hand building classes are just $285 for six weeks and open studio hours are $15 an hour. Private lessons are also offered and in August HV Pottery will host two weeks of Summer Clay Camp for ages 6 to 16.
“People usually want to make something for their home, or someone else’s home as a gift. Big bowls are practical. I encourage people to be courageous with surface design. I don’t push people to be pretentious,” Esmond said.
While a big bowl might be one of the most straightforward things to make on the potter’s wheel, it can have a striking visual and emotional impact as a handmade vessel for a shared dish. And perfection is not expected, or even necessarily preferred.
“I think imperfect things are better than perfect things,” Esmond said. “Pottery that shows the hand of the person who made it has energy."
The front of HV Pottery also houses a wonderful array of pottery for sale. Everything is reasonably priced and here’s a tip: HV Pottery is just across the street from Northern Dutchess Hospital — and a handmade vase for some "get well" flowers beats a generic teddy bear from the gift shop.
Hudson Valley Pottery
6536 Springbrook Ave., Rhinebeck, NY
(845) 876-3190
