In October 2015, when the Kimball Art Center hosted the grand opening of its temporary home at 1401 Kearns Boulevard (the search for a permanent home is underway), it was lacking what was, prior to the move, one of the Kimball’s most used and beloved spaces: the ceramics studio. Well, last spring, that conspicuous deficiency was remedied with Kimball Clay, an 1,800-square-foot, free-standing creative space—located adjacent to the main center—dedicated to throwing, sculpting, and, as Kimball Clay Manager Kristen McDermaid puts it, getting dirty. “It’s funny to me how people are afraid to mess up a clay piece,” she says. “It’s really just playing in the mud.” There, one-off and repeating classes and studio memberships are available to aspiring potters ages 3 and up. Not ready to commit or maybe looking for something creative to do while in town for a week? Sign up for Friday Open Studio, where you can spend an hour making up to three pieces for just $10, firing and glazing included.

Masters Class

The Kimball Art Center’s first-ever ceramics exhibit Groundbreaking: Innovations in Clay—featuring work from Molly Hatch and Akio Takamori, among others—will be on display in the center’s Main Gallery Feb 18–April 16. Check kimballartcenter.org for details about the exhibit’s opening reception, workshops with the artists at Kimball Clay, and more.