Art & Clay on Main in downtown Lancaster also houses Square Seven Coffee House. This art studio is operated by the Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities. (Credit: Ken Drenten).

By Ken Drenten

I recently featured glass blowing studios in Ohio as places to try out new and different ways to feed your creative side.

Paint-your-own pottery studios are even more plentiful across Ohio than glass-blowing shops. For a fee, you can paint a piece of pottery you choose yourself, then the studio will fire the piece in their kiln. A week or so later you can pick up your piece to take home.

I remember taking my daughter Hilary to Art & Clay on Main in Lancaster when she was a teenager. It was a fun activity to do together, and I kept that coffee mug that I painted for many years until it broke, unfortunately. But I have great memories of the valuable time spent with my daughter there. That reminds me — I need to do this again with my children and my grandchildren.

In addition to pottery, many studios also offer a variety of hands-on arts activities, such as making beads and gemstones into jewelry, creating mosaics, painting on canvas, wood and much more. Regardless what you choose, making art that you can take home is a fun activity to do with families and groups.

At most of these studios and galleries, you can walk in with no appointment needed, or sign up for classes to learn an a new skill. And you can observe as artists and craftspeople demonstrate. Some of these places have coffee shops or cafes.

Dusty Tires now has a page that lists these places for easy reference. Here are some of them:

All Fired Up Akron — Paint, create and celebrate at All Fired Up Akron. 30 Rothbook Loop, Copley (330) 865-5858.

Art and Clay on Main and Square 7 Coffee House are non-profit, social enterprises of the Fairfield County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Offers paint your own pottery classes and events in a gourmet coffee house atmosphere. 150 W. Main St., Lancaster (740) 653-1755.

Art on Fire – Art on Fire offers hundreds of pieces of pottery to paint, acrylic on canvas & board art, mosaics, glass fusing, stained glass, monthly crafts and more. 11479 Colerain Ave., Cincinnati (513)923-3473.

Be Unique Studios – Create DIY kids projects, home decor, candles, aromatherapy, ceramics and more. They offer birthday parties and group events. 123 W. High Ave., New Philadelphia (330) 340-3852.

Brush Crazy – Offers a wide range of art projects and classes, including art classes, canvas painting, ceramic pottery, wood signs, pouring art, mosaic, clay crafting and glass painting. 1299 Bethel Road, Columbus (614) 929-5417.

Busy Bee’s Pottery & Art Studio –  Choose from a wide variety of arts and crafts activities and classes – paint your own pottery, wheel throwing, candle making, canvas painting, glass fusing, mosaics, clay hand building, wine glass painting, board art, stamped jewelry and more. Classes, events, studio rental, more. 6685 Dublin Center Drive, Dublin (614) 602-1802.

Delaware Pottery Studios (aka The Bare Bowl) Sculpt, create and learn at Delaware Pottery Studios; classes and parties available. 5 W. Winter St., Delaware (740) 363-4804.

Glazed and Amused – Walk-in pottery studio with paint-your-own pottery. Events and parties offered. 2193 E. Maple St., North Canton (330) 497-6445.

The Happy Pot – Paint your own pottery studio that offers space for private parties, groups, individual classes and more. 522 Second St., Portsmouth (740) 370-0193.

Hot Pots Pottery – Pottery painting, glass fusion, mosaics, candle making, wood laser cutting and more. 1840 W. State St., Alliance (330) 823-3333.

Jackpot Pottery & Ceramic Supply – Classes and workshops, glaze and clay supplies, more. 144 W. Jackson St., Millersburg (419) 792-0111.

Ken Drenten is creator and manager of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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