AUBURN — Lindsey Tomlinson-Peck’s pottery studio contains many of the usual objects for making ceramics: tables and tools, wheels, drying racks and slabs of raw clay. But what strikes the visitor to The Mudroom Pottery Studio, located in the Great Falls School building, are the sort of objects being produced here.

On the many racks that line opposite walls of the large space are African masks, fairy houses and Christmas ornaments, not to mention the more traditional bowls, vases and pots.

At The Mudroom Pottery Studio, Tomlinson-Peck instructs children and adults in the art of ceramics, through classes, workshops and private lessons. “I see a lot of beginners,” she said, “who just want to learn,” while other students already have experience and come to work on specific pieces.

Most of the unique pieces that line the walls have come out of the themed workshops taught by Tomlinson-Peck. Last Saturday, she offered to show me — definitely a beginner — some of the basics of “throwing,” creating a piece using the potter’s wheel.

She started by instructing me in the technique. She cut a two-pound lump of clay and, after some kneading, slapped it onto the center of the wheel. Wetting her hands every few seconds, she centered the lump on the spinning wheel, then slowly built it up into a squat cylinder. “I always say to my students,” she told me, while hollowing out the cylinder, “you start the wheel spinning fast, and slow down as you go along.”

In a few minutes, the mass of clay was transformed into a bowl. Slowing the wheel, Tomlinson-Peck used both hands to reshape the clay walls, until she had produced a little bulging vase. “That’s it,” she said, as if this act of artistic creation were as easy as tying your shoe.

Now it was my turn and I took my own lump of clay, albeit only half the size of Tomlinson-Peck’s, and tried to mimic her technique. Easier said than done. I needed her help several times — to center my clay, to thin the walls of the vase, to even out the rim, and so on. But after only about 10 minutes, I had what resembled, basically, er … something you might call a vase.

OK, my piece wasn’t great, and it wasn’t as easy as Tomlinson-Peck had made it look, but I had as much fun “throwing” at The Mudroom as Demi Moore did in the movie “Ghost.” 

“There’s something mesmerizing about the wheel,” Tomlinson-Peck said. “I’ve been doing this for 15 years, and I still go to fairs and just stand watching people throw.”

A Maine College of Art grad, Tomlinson-Peck spent five years as an instructor of ceramics at the Fiddlehead Center for the Arts in Gray, before opening her own studio. In March she relocated to the Great Falls Art Center.

Walking around the studio, she showed me some of the pieces produced in her most recent classes. She took a piece down from the rack. I assumed that the small, elaborate, yellow house was for birds. I was wrong; it was for fairies. And in front of the little door was a tiny, hand-made welcome mat. The house is organic and uneven, but inspired, colorful and creative. The piece was from one of her children’s classes.

“I’ve taught kids as young as 2,” she said, “though at that age, I ask that their parents do it with them,” she added jokingly. Hoping to avoid embarrassment at my own efforts, I kindly requested that she not show me any of the work done by her 2-year-olds.

Joking aside, her young students have made some great pieces, from colorful masks to animals to ornaments. Tomlinson-Peck also showed me work by her adult students: large plates with complicated ingrained patterns, perfectly symmetrical bowls and beautifully crafted vases.

I had no hope of attaining that sort of perfection, not without a few more lessons at least, but the enjoyment that came from producing something was immediate. The experience was unique, tactile and fun. “We should probably glaze and fire it,” Tomlinson-Peck said, looking down at my humble vase. And though I didn’t think it deserved it, I took her up on her offer. I left looking forward to my next lesson, on glazing.

The Mudroom Pottery Studio is open to the public. Tomlinson-Peck teaches regular weekly group classes, eight-week lessons, workshops and private lessons. To see The Mudroom’s upcoming schedule of classes, go to www.themudroompotterystudio.com or visit the studio at the Great Falls Art Center.

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