Painting of people resting on a riverbank on a slow, sunlit afternoon

The Pottery Loop

Mindful Fridays

Phone Free Fridays

A slow, BYOB Friday night in the studio, for anyone closing out a week that asked too much. Two hours, a table of others also relaxing, and clay that sculpts around the relaxation of your mind.

Two Fridays, one price. One for sculpting, and one for painting.

Reserve two Fridays

One $60 ticket covers both workshops · 7 to 9 PM · BYOB

Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884 to 1886. Public domain, Art Institute of Chicago.

The studio is a third place. Every Friday we throw it back, avoiding any screens and focusing on our desire to create and unwind.

We invite everyone to slow down and work on their senses. Soft clay, the drag of a tool, the creativity of a studio, a room full of creative people: this is relaxation you can feel in your hands, and most people find it lands somewhere close to therapy. Allow your shoulders to drop, your breathing to slow and the stress of the week to subside. Nothing created has to be perfect. Just enjoy the moment.

A guest leaning over the worktable, hands in clay, entirely absorbed

Seven o'clock

You put the phone down

We have a basket and lockers, and we kindly ask you utilize these to stay mindful and present. What follows is two hours where nothing pings and nobody needs an answer from you, which, if you have had the week most people have had by Friday, is most of the point.

Two hands rolling a coil of clay on a worktable beside a finished mug

Half past seven

Your hands take over

Clay is slow and a little stubborn, and it demands your attention. That is the trick of it. You stop narrating your week in your head somewhere around the second coil, and you come back to yourself without ever deciding to.

Guests around the long studio worktable, handbuilding together and talking

Somewhere near nine

Connections are made

Connect with a group of people around one long table. Chat, unwind, and feel free to BYOB. Nobody is testing you, because almost everybody is a beginner and everybody is a little covered in clay. Most Fridays somebody stays talking in the hallway long after we have turned the lights off.

Humans had thousands of years to create with their hands. Almost all of them were able to without a phone to distract.

Take a seat

Pick your two Fridays

$60 covers both workshops

Good to know

What will we make?: We focus on bowls, mugs and simple work in coils, so you can be extra mindful of each layer you build. This night is not for charcuterie plates or any large slab work: it is coil building, making slow progress toward a final result.
What happens on the two Fridays?: Friday one you build by hand. Your piece dries, then on Friday two you add your designs, and we do the final firing to make it food safe and durable.
Do I need any experience?: No. Most people at the table are beginners, and someone is there to teach you the whole time.
What is included?: Both Fridays, all clay, glazes, and the tools and aprons to use during the session, plus the final firing to make your piece food safe and durable.
Can I bring a drink?: Yes. BYOB, bring whatever you like.
What if I can only make one Friday?: Book the build night on its own and we email you a code to glaze any time in the 30 days after, on any session we are open. Reach out to potterychicago@gmail.com with questions on how to pick a different date.
When do I get my piece?: About ten days after you glaze. Pick a time at thepotteryloop.com/pickup.
Can I come alone?: Most people do. You will not be the only one.
Where is it?: 1770 W Berteau Ave, Suite 407, Chicago. Fridays, 7 to 9 PM.

Painting of wheat stacks in a field at the end of a golden autumn day

It is Friday. You have done enough.

Reserve two Fridays

Questions? potterychicago@gmail.com

Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn), 1890 to 1891. Public domain, Art Institute of Chicago.