After 5: Finding creativity behind the potter's wheel

“It’s one thing in our lives that you don’t mess with,” says Kit Creemer, a part-time nurse in St. John’s Hospital’s cardiology department.

Creemer and her St. John’s networking engineer husband, Davif, mess with clay weekly at Springfield Pottery in downtown Springfield.

“We started pottery when my now 7-year-old son was four months old and my daughter was 16,” Kit Creemer explains. “We decided to do something fun with our adult daughter, so not everything was focused on the baby.”

After taking pottery together for three years, until their twins arrived, the Creemers took three years off and started again last fall.

“It turned out to be like a scheduled date night,” Kit Creemer says.

Throwing clay, as it’s called, is growing in enthusiasm in the community, according to Springfield Pottery owner Nathan Falter.

Classes now average about 60 students per session, up from 15 to 20, he says.

David Hoover, Ozark Health Ventures’ Region D hospital disaster coordinator, is a 10-year veteran of classes at Springfield Pottery. He identifies about half the class members now as beginning potters.

“It’s fun to be with people who are brand new to the process as well as experienced people,” Hoover says. “I like the creative side of it, and you get your mind off anything else. Your entire concentration is right there in that moment.”

Hoover has an art degree, but after working in the medical field he strayed before returning to the potter’s wheel at Springfield Pottery. He hopes to make it a commercial venture, and for now sells works at shows once or twice a year. “Otherwise,” he jokes, “I’ve got too many pots around, and my wife asks me, ‘Where are we going to put this one?’”

Relaxation and being able to create something are what Kit Creemer enjoys about pottery.

“I never thought I was creative, but you can become that way. It really helps your self-esteem,” Creemer says.

She also likes visiting with other adults in their class. She and her husband learn the techniques of throwing clay three hours a week during their eight-week session.

Falter, who owns Springfield Pottery with his wife, Jennifer, says classes average $165 per session, which includes all materials, firing and instruction.

“We’re extremely lucky to have (the Falters’) quality and dedication to teaching,” student Creemer says. “They sell pieces in New York City galleries and all over.”

Pam Parker, a former elementary teacher, owns Pam Parker School of Pottery in Springfield. Her company focuses more on children, but she does teach adults on a one-on-one basis.

“I teach adults just like little kids, only their hands are bigger and they’re stronger, so they can do bigger pieces,” Parker says.

Falter adds, “People in their workplaces don’t get to see the physical manifestation of their work oftentimes. If you’re in health care, the patient gets better and goes home. In computers, what do you have, data? With pottery, you work with your hands and can hold the results.”

Spin the Wheel

Pam Parker School of Pottery

Address: 1807 E. Seminole St.

Phone: (417) 883-6840

Classes: Children through adults; call for details

Rates: $135 per six-week session

Web site: www.pamparkerpottery.com

Springfield Pottery

Address: 416 S. Campbell Ave.

Phone: (417) 864-4677

Classes: Functional, hand-building and others for ages 16 and older; kids camp starting with first-grade

Rates: $165 per eight-week session

Web site: www.springfieldpottery.com