PennOhio Clay Guild: Nurturing Artists

 

Something has been brewing in New Castle, Pennsylvania among the area’s clay artists for a few years.  At the PennOhio Clay Guild, people are talking, equipment is changing hands, ideas are percolating.  To understand this association of potters, you must try to wrap your head around two wandering pioneers named Septimus and Jen Bean.  The couple made a home in this small Northwestern Pennsylvania city in 2018, stopping along a circuitous route that they have travelled together since their college days at Kent State University in Ohio.  Both consider themselves educators, not only in the traditional sense but through a far-reaching conceptual ethos that defines their lives.  At first glance, one might think the PennOhio Clay Guild is like many collective clay studios run by artists searching for a way to balance a creative life with paying the bills, but a conversation with Septimus and Jen will take you on your own journey that quickly lets you know that this is much more than a studio.

If Jen’s early interest in clay is the seed at the beginning of this story, Septimus is the cultivator who nourishes the soil and supports her growth.  Jen’s introduction to ceramics had humble beginnings in a bisqueware painting class in a community center.  “It was all about friendship, a fun activity, a new community,” she says.  Her “real life” was establishing her career as a teacher, marrying Septimus, and starting a family.  When the couple were both offered employment at a private, art-centric boarding school in Sedona, AZ, they moved west.  Jen’s creative energies led her to the local art center, where she took an introductory course in clay under potter Dennis Ott.  “I loved it,” she says, “and I repeated that class many times.  Septimus was intrigued by raku firing and says that something became part of their essence in Sedona that would blossom later.

By 2010, the couple were on the move again, this time with their first daughter and two more whom they adopted in Arizona.  The stopping point was Baltimore, MD, where Jen immediately sought out new clay classes through Towson University’s Saturday community program.  “This opened a completely different model for me,” says Jen.  “The dynamism of working side-by-side with professors, asking questions, being part of the energy of a communal learning experience in the studio – this was wonderful.”  The Baltimore years were ones of family life and professional development.  Jen continued her teaching in secondary education while Septimus pursued entrepreneurial ventures in software development for behavioral health and education. “I have diverse interests,” he says.  “I am a chameleon who can morph into what I need to be at the time.”  He says that “I can do that” is his education mantra and Jen confirms: “He likes a challenge when it comes to learning new things and he likes others to be inspired by it or make use of it.”

By 2018, all three Bean daughters had graduated from high school and were pursuing their own lives, sparking the question, “What’s next?” Septimus and Jen looked north, closer to their roots in Buffalo, NY and Indiana, PA and found the small city of New Castle.  Situated equidistant between Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Erie, this town offered some intriguing real estate, including an old church and several buildings that the couple purchased with plans to renovate.  As usual, Jen sought out local pottery classes.  “By now,” she says, “I was getting tired of repeating the process, just for access to a studio.”  Septimus saw her frustration.  “I saw a kiln and a wheel for sale, and I bought it,” he recalls.  “I said, ‘I can do that to help her,’ and I did it.  They set up a home studio in an out-building on their property, enabling Jen to work whenever she desired.  They named it BeanPod Studio and Jen’s creative energies blossomed.

As the couple assimilated into the New Castle community, they began to meet other artists as Jen joined several local art centers.  Bobbi Monsour, a clay artist who was also taking classes at the Hoyt, approached the Beans and began to share her frustrations with finding flexible access to equipment and a studio.  “I was a homemaker who loved working with clay but was a little unsure of my skills,” she recalls.  “Septimus and Jen were gracious and generous.  Without hesitation, Septimus offered to share BeanPod studio with me.  He said, ‘Here’s a key.  Use it.’”  Soon, they built out the studio, and what would become PennOhio Clay Guild was developed.  The trio thrived on each other’s enthusiasm and interests.  Bobbi used the space during the day while Septimus and Jen were busy with their day jobs.  Jen shifted gears from her day work, devoting evenings and weekends to her pots.

    

The hunger for learning and sharing knowledge began to foment in the small studio.  Soon clay artists who had been working alone began to stop by and share their experiences.  Septimus and Jen welcomed everyone with open arms, sharing his ideas about learning and creativity.  “We came at it from the perspective of engaging the community in a learning environment,” he explains.  “I never have all the answers – we don’t have to know everything.  I say, ‘Let’s figure it out together.’  We value life-long learning.  The more you learn, the more you realize there is always more to learn.”

 

As Septimus and Jen got to know the other local potters, it became clear that many were facing certain barriers that arose from the rural locale.  The ready availability of supplies was a problem.  For many, taking a day or half-day to travel to Pittsburgh or Cleveland is not convenient, especially for those who work traditional hours.  In an area with economic struggles, affording high priced equipment such as wheels, kilns, and extruders can be an obstacle to pursuing ceramic arts.  Similarly, attending shows featuring important artists to expand one’s ideas might be beyond reach.  The Beans were discovering a community of artists who were outside the academic norm of MFA degrees, internships, and residencies, but nevertheless had vital interest, enthusiasm, and the ability to develop skills and artistic visions.

 

Seeing a need, Septimus, Jen, and Bobbi worked to offer solutions.  Soon, they were drawing people to their studio, loaning a potter’s wheel here, offering studio space there.  Septimus says, “We wanted to help potters and we led the way because we see how it can create personal change.  We try to remove external barriers, but there are many ways to succeed.  We have seen personal barriers of confidence, feeling safe in a space, the need for inclusion – all of these can fall away in a supportive community.”  It was becoming apparent that BeanPod Studio was transforming into something greater.  They wrote a mission statement, applied for non-profit status, and officially called the enterprise PennOhio Clay Guild.  They began to look for a larger space to accommodate the growing group of artists that had grown from the original three.  

 

The Guild articulates its mission in five “pillars” that summarize the tenor of the group: Inviting, Connecting, Learning, Uplifting, and Reaching.  Cooperation is a hallmark.  Septimus says, “We are a guild of many colors, backgrounds, sensitivities, politics and religions.  We leave our dogmas at the door.”  The focus is on removing barriers on a person-by-person basis. 

Bobbi Monsour tells of meeting a recent graduate of Youngstown State University who majored in Psychology but felt driven to pursue a different direction after minoring in art and serving as the Studio Assistant in the Ceramics Department.  Maggie Paul says, “I was at the Youngstown Flea and started talking to Septimus and Jen about how I missed the unlimited access I had to the studio at college, now that I was on my own.”  They introduced her to Bobbi, who says, “I saw myself, 30 years ago, in Maggie.  I want her to have the resources that I didn’t have.  I don’t want her to have to wait 30 years.  There are too many 50-year old housewives with unrealized artistic dreams.”  The Guild loaned Maggie a wheel and welcomed her.  Septimus invited her to New Castle and they developed an Artist-in-Residence program that benefited from her skill set.  She says, “The energy of the group in the studio feeds my creativity. They’ve taught me new technical skills and ways to market my work.”

This past summer has been a turning point for the Guild, having acquired a building in downtown New Castle that expands the organization’s space from 3,000 to 17,000 square feet.  Work has been underway to transform the space in time for an October 2024 soft opening.  The main floor provides making space for clay work, firing, and glaze application.  A “Pottery Shoppe” will offer equipment, supplies, and tools from major suppliers such as Standard Clay and glaze manufacturers, in addition to members’ finished pieces.  The second floor plan includes a lounge and resource library, private artist suites, a ceramic materials lab, and a new technology lab with a 3-D printer, laser cutter, and vinyl cutter.  A small gallery is located on this floor temporarily until the third-floor gallery is completed.  The facility offers 24-hour access to members.

 

In keeping with the organization’s focus on accessibility, the Beans have structured a model for membership and participation that allows artists to contribute what they are able.  Septimus says, “There are no prices, fees, or costs.  There are no contracts, leases, or agreements.”  Instead, contribution options are presented in a Membership structure that supports the organization’s mission.  Members are asked to make a minimum 30-day commitment at a level that is sustainable for them. 

In the short two years of the Guild’s existence – and only six years since the Beans wandered into New Castle – clay artists in the area have realized over $10,000 in pottery sales through the help of the Guild at regular, monthly sales opportunities.  Jen and Septimus tell of the Guild’s tradition of documenting each artist’s first real sale: “When someone you don’t know – not your Mom, not your Dad or your cousin or your best friend – chooses your piece, something that was mud a few weeks ago, and purchases it – that is so empowering and is at the very core of what we aim to accomplish here.”

Encouraged and enthused by these successes, the Beans look forward to the future of the PennOhio Clay Guild.  The Guild has recently launched PROJECT: Starfish, a campaign to formally organize and bring together POCG artist members to focus creative energy and work efforts on one single vision: the new POCG studio building as a locus for advanced offerings of artist support and increased community outreach through established operational systems.  The image of the five-armed starfish is a nod toward the five pillars of the organization’s mission.  As the PennOhio Clay Guild moves forward, buoyed by the strength and clarity of these goals, we can expect much new fruit in this Pennsylvania/Ohio corner of creativity and beyond.

 

For more information, visit www.pennohioclayguild.org.