With the Clay Collective, local artists are working together

Members of Clay Collective of St. Pete, a co-op of eight community clay studios, want to put St. Petersburg on the map as a clay destination. 

St. Pete Ceramics co-owner Beth Miranda explained the collective’s 2024 origin story: “I basically went around in August to everybody and said, ‘I’m starting a club, and I want you to join because I want us to be a clay destination, and we need to get on the map. Let’s work together. Let’s raise each other up.”

With the goal of joining the ranks of cities like Asheville and Seagrove as clay meccas, member studios alternate hosting monthly meetings to discuss strategy, collaboration and opportunities. By raising awareness of the multitude of ceramics offerings available in the area, members of the collective hope to make clay arts more accessible to the public.

Future plans include tours where the studios open their doors to the public, and bi-annual clay markets for participating artists to showcase their works. Participants envision St. Pete as future host to clay conferences that attract people from the international ceramics community – with the ultimate dream of hosting the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), the preeminent annual conference gathering in the U.S. 

The current roster includes 18 individual ceramicists; any clay artists in the area are encouraged and invited to apply to be part of the Clay Collective’s membership. 

Charlie Parker retired in 2022. Photo by Bill DeYoung.

Collective members (and Clay Co-Op co-founders) Bo Countryman and Gabriella Schmid purchased the former Charlie Parker Pottery space in 2022 and have worked to honor the legacy of clay arts that Parker, who retired in 2022, left in the city.

“He was a fixture in the community of clay, and we’re a new iteration of that vision. Clay Co-Op is a community-driven, safe space for creatives that is multigenerational and multidisciplinary,” said Countryman.

“Just like you’d go to the gym to work your muscles, we view the Clay Co-Op as a space for artists to work out their creative process.” 

Members of the collective have big ambitions for the future of clay arts in the city, but acknowledge that these goals are only achievable if they work together and pool resources. “It’s a beautiful thing to have other studio owners and artists from our community understand the importance of collaboration,” Countryman stressed. “We can all exist as independent spaces or we can collectively strive to bring our whole city to celebrate our medium.”

The Clay Collective will host its first clay market May 3, rain or shine. Location TBD. 

Participating Studios:

• Atelier St. Pete
  • IG – https://www.instagram.com/atelierstpete/
• Clay Center of St. Petersburg
  • https://www.instagram.com/clay_center/?hl=en
• Morean Center for Clay
  • https://www.instagram.com/moreancenterforclay/
• Practically Pikasso
  • https://www.instagram.com/practicallypikasso/?hl=en
• St. Pete Ceramics
  • https://www.instagram.com/stpeteceramics/
• Sugar Cream Clay
  • https://www.instagram.com/sugarcreamclay/reels/
• The Clay Co-Op
  • https://www.instagram.com/theclayco_op/
• The Hive Community Clay
  • https://www.instagram.com/thehivecommunityclay/