Owned and operated by Kayla Harbeitner, Atelier St. Pete offers a variety of clay classes: wheel throwing, pottery, mugs, and more. If you prefer not to get your hands dirty, visit Atelier’s in-store gallery and purchase unique works of art to elevate your décor. Kayla also accepts commissions. She’s produced wedding plates, dinnerware sets, planters, and large-scale art displays, even bathroom sinks. Atelier St. Pete is located at 5298 Haines Rd, St. Petersburg, FL 33714.
After Kayla graduated from Ringling College, she apprenticed with Charlie Parker in St. Pete for four years, and then opened Atelier St. Pete. Kayla teaches beginner-friendly classes for everyone to enjoy.
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You can purchase memberships, reserve group classes, and for the approaching holidays, make a pinch pot. Kayla is developing advanced classes that will be offered soon, and for the plucky do-it-yourselfers, one-on-one instruction is available for $65 a session.
So, it’s your first time behind the wheel
As a first timer, I stuck to the beginner-friendly offering: one-on-one instruction in wheel throwing. Since I’ve never sat behind the wheel, Kayla offered a suggestion: “Clay is a feeling,” she said. “Not what it looks like, but how it feels in your hands.”
Working the wheel is about pressure, hand form, posture, and a number of other technical skills I’m too novice to articulate.
“Clay is a life philosophy,” joked Kayla. But joking aside, I found myself palming raw, spinning earth—like a new planet in my hands—dragging a fanned glazing brush around the interior, and zoning out in the best way possible. I looked down. The bowl was done, and ready to be finished in the kiln. The philosophy here is one of attention, or, maybe, non-attention.
“Over thinking is not your friend,” said Kayla.
The wheel throwing class went as I feared: it was too much fun. Now I fantasize about filling all my cabinets with every kind of bowl, plate, and mug.
User beware, this activity is addicting. You’ll leave Atelier St. Pete with a fine, polished product to display pridefully. If it’s your first time throwing clay on the wheel, Kayla won’t let you fail, even if she has to hold your hands, which in my case, I needed.
Follow Kayla and Atelier St. Pete on instagram.
Visit Atelier St. Pete’s official website.
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