Visual artistry can be found just about anywhere in the Florida Keys. Inspiration might come from palm-fringed shorescapes that edge the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, or the orange and purple abstracts unrolling against vast skies at sunset.
Aspiring potters working from the clay of the earth learn, find inspiration, and practice their craft at Middle and Upper Keys studios. And opportunities abound around the island chain for people eager to explore their own potential and discover others’ artistry.
Artistry flavors every aspect of the atmosphere at Morada Way Clay in Islamorada.
For example, there’s Morada Way Clay, located at 140 Morada Way at mile marker (MM) 81.5 oceanside in Islamorada. The fine art gallery and ceramics studio features local potters — and if you’re considering flexing your own artistic muscles, it offers multi-session clay classes, single-day workshops, open-studio experiences and individual private instruction.
You’ll find a variety of facilities for creativity: two electric kilns, a gas-fired raku kiln, four wheels, tools and molds. Students learn how to apply glazing through silk screening on moist clay.
Pottery-painting sessions are offered too. You might choose to paint ornamental items, or functional bowls and cups — all designed and handcrafted by Morada Way Clay’s studio potters.
Also in Islamorada, check out the Old Road Gallery at MM 88.8 between U.S. Highway 1 and the Old Highway (aka Old Road). After more than 20 years inside the eclectic Rain Barrel Sculpture Gallery, Dwayne and Cindy King relocated and opened their own showplace where they display and sell their customized bronze, copper and clay creations.
Dwayne King (who’s self-taught in bronze, clay, copper and hard woods media) grew up in the Florida Keys and spent years as a treasure salvor. His early inspirations for a jewelry shop were Spanish coins he mounted in gold.
A potter works with skill and care at The Art Studio in Marathon.
Cindy moved to the islands in the late 1980s after earning a degree in graphic design. Although her early drawings included pen and ink or graphite sketches of ancient coins and diving artifacts, she’s the whimsical influence behind many of the studio’s clay sculptures.
Together the couple brings the soul of each piece to life. And not only is the pottery studio on-site, but you can also explore the hardwood forest and nature trails that wind throughout the property.
If you’re vacationing in Marathon, you can express yourself in media including oil paints, watercolors and acrylics at The Art Studio at MM 53.6 oceanside. But among the spot’s most popular activities are sculpting and paint-your-own-pottery experiences.
The studio features one of the Keys’ leading facilities for throwing clay, and classes are available for everyone from age 5 on up. In kids’ clay hand building classes, students ages 5 to 11 can create a small sculpture with basic techniques. For ages 12 and up, clay hand building classes offer instruction in making free-form sculptures or plates, a house address plaque, a teapot, pitchers or vases, animals and more.
In addition, visitors to The Art Studio can learn the basic techniques of how to center and throw a pot on a wheel — in clay wheel–throwing classes that include glazes and kiln firings.
Amanda Jorgensen displays one of her compelling creations.
But that’s not all the engaging emporium offers. Families, couples and even girls get-together groups can enjoy painting and glazing their own “art” on already-thrown pieces of pottery, creating both personalized items and lasting memories.
One of the Keys’ notable new creative spirits is Amanda Jorgensen, who works from her home studio, Coral Shores Ceramics Inc., and from Morada Way Clay. She displays her handmade pottery primarily at Keys-based art shows and at Marathon’s newest — and exclusively local — Shady Palm Art Gallery & Photography at 2888 Overseas Highway.
Amanda relocated from Minnesota two years ago. These days she specializes in functional wear like pendants as well as ornaments, bowls and Florida Keys–stamped mugs, the gallery’s best-selling items.
Amanda will schedule personalized, one-on-one pottery-making classes — including hand building and wheel throwing — or plan group sessions like ladies’ night pottery parties. And even after a decade of honing her skills, she admits she’s always learning.
Want to know more about the vibrant community of artists, including potters, whose talent enriches the Florida Keys? Just click here.
