Spotlight: Hand / Thrown on Clay for the Community
Photo: Alexis Courtney
At Hand / Thrown you will find a meaningful network of creativity with an open-door policy to accessibility. With the RVA Clay Tour on the horizon, former CultureWorks grant recipients, Emily Wicks and Alexis Courtney have made it a priority to share the craft of clay-making locally and intentionally with the community.
Read on for Emily & Alexis’ words:
CultureWorks: Who are you and what is your relationship to Hand / Thrown?
Emily & Alexis: We're Emily Wicks and Alexis Courtney, Co-Owners of Hand / Thrown. She/Her/Hers.
CW: Tell us a bit about Hand/Thrown! What is it, and how did it get started?
E&A: Hand / Thrown is a community pottery studio nestled in the heart of Northside's Brookland Park Blvd. Emily and I met at the Visual Arts Center in 2018 and immediately bonded over our love for pottery. We were interested in finding a studio for ourselves, but that snowballed when we found the location on Brookland Park. We saw so much potential for creating a community-oriented studio that everyone could enjoy. So, Hand / Thrown was born!
Photo: Ethan Hickerson
CW: Are you working on any projects at the moment? Share whatever you would like about the present of Hand / Thrown!
E&A: We're getting ready for the RVA Clay Tour! The weekend of June 4th and 5th the clay community will open its doors to anyone who is interested in exploring some of the many ceramics studios in Richmond. We will have demonstrations from teachers and staff at Hand / Thrown as well as a selection of work for sale. We hope to sneak away to see other studios as well!
CW: How have you felt your space connect with the community around you?
E&A: Northside has a flourishing community of small businesses, including other art spaces like Scrap RVA and Alma's. We frequent Scrap RVA for affordable art supplies and just about everything you could possibly need and then some, and we’ve both exhibited work at Sarah Mizer’s beautiful gallery Alma’s.
The Brookland Park community comes together every year for a Taste of Brookland Park Block Party, an event highlighting Brookland Park businesses and Richmond vendors. We set up a table with clay and invite anyone attending to make something with us. We make it a priority to partner with local organizations and host open studio access days at the studio for the surrounding community. It’s important to us to make our studio accessible and that anyone who wants to take a class with us is able to.
Photo: Alexis Courtney
CW: Has Hand / Thrown collaborated with any other artists or organizations recently that were meaningful for you?
E&A: Our NextUp after-school programs have been extremely meaningful. When Richmond Public Schools went to virtual learning, we offered virtual after-school instruction and created take-home kits for middle school students. Our teachers worked with students virtually to share lessons each week and we drove around Richmond picking up the works in progress and delivering finished pieces. We loved seeing the work they made each time we picked up and knew they were excited to receive their final pieces once glazed and fired.
CW: Do you have an experience or moment that made you feel like all the hard work was worth it?
E&A: Every time we open the kiln and see a new batch of wares from our students, members, and firing clients. It's always so exciting to see what people are making in the studio and in our classes, from slip casting to wheel throwing and hand-building. We're thankful people continue to share their talents with the studio.
Photo: Alexis Courtney
CW: Where do you look for inspiration these days, and how do you stay inspired?
E&A: We're inspired by the community studios we've been a part of and the ones we continue to keep up with today. The clay community is incredibly open online with resources like Glazy, for glaze recipe sharing, and general skill sharing on Instagram and Youtube. Alexis took a History of Clay class online with Gasworks NYC in 2020 and the oldest known piece of ceramic inspired our design for our Hand / Thrown T-shirts.
CW: What do arts and culture mean to you? Why does it matter?
E&A: Arts and culture offer outlets for expression, experimentation, and connection. We are lucky to have a thriving community at the studio that welcomes new ideas. Everyone in the studio is always learning from and sharing with one another; this collaborative mindset is extremely important to us.
To learn more about Hand / Thrown & sign-up for classes: https://www.handthrown.studio/
To keep up with Hand / Thrown: https://www.instagram.com/hand.thrown/