A Place To Play Seriously
By Charles CarreonIf you ever tried to pursue the pleasure of creating fired pots, and discovered just how much equipment you need to pursue this art form, you’ll appreciate the Phoenix Clay & Steelworks located on the Phoenix southbound main drag at 310 North Main Street. The facility, a converted auto-body shop, was developed by serious students who are dedicated to turning earth and glazes into ceramic creations, sharing their knowledge and resources, and providing a gallery space to display work to the community. Last week, Nick Geankoplis and John Mack, two founding members of PCS, took us on a tour of the workspace and gallery. What do they have? What do you need to create ceramics? They have it all, a big clay mixer to whip up big batches of mud, lots of electric wheels set up in a classroom arrangement, three kilns for different sized loads, including one with a roll-out floor for supersize pieces, a spray booth for applying glazes safely, and nice tidy workspaces that rent by the month. Every Saturday is Open Studio Day, when visitors can observe artists at work. We watched Peter Cerola, an artist-in-residence, working steadily on one of his imaginative handbuilt pieces, smoothly carving the leather-hard clay into a curved architectural shape that will receive a warm, natural finish, if it follows the design of his past creations, some of which were on display in the bright, spacious gallery. Gallery 310 currently has on display a number of large freestanding sculptures and a number of attractive paintings on the walls. This could put Phoenix on the map.
[Editor's update as of November 2006: The Phoenix Clay & Steelworks venture appears to have closed its doors. Went by the other day and see it's for rent. Ah, art, how unloved thou art.]