Two New State-of-the-Art Ceramics Studios Open on Cleveland's East and West Sides

As schools like Cleveland State University close their ceramics programs, access to crucial tools and resources is becoming scarce. Thankfully that’s all about to change.

This Friday, two new state-of-the-art ceramics studios are hosting grand opening ribbon cutting ceremonies on opposite ends of the “East/West” spectrum. In Bay Village, BAYarts opens its Karen Ryel Ceramic Art and Education Center. Meanwhile, in Collinwood’s Waterloo Arts District, Valerie Grossman opens the doors of her new BRICK Ceramic + Design Studio.

At 6 p.m. this Friday, May 1, BAYarts celebrates the grand opening of their new 2,500-sq.-ft. Karen Ryel Ceramic Arts and Education Center on the BAYarts campus in the Cleveland Metroparks Huntington Reservation.

“The ceramics community at BAYarts has been making pottery magic in the basement of our 123-year-old main building for years and it never deterred their devotion or output,” explains BAYarts Executive Director Nancy Heaton, “but the new studio, which they helped design, is well lit and surrounded by a deck and gardens. So you can imagine how thrilled everyone is.”

Following the ceremonial dedication, the adjacent Fuller House Sullivan Gallery hosts an opening reception for the Annual Advanced Student Ceramic Show. This year’s exhibition theme is “Field of Dreams,” inspired by Karen Ryel’s signature, award-winning flower bowls, which she made in the former studio. Ryel’s daughter and grandchildren will be some of the first students to take classes in the new space.

From 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, BRICK Ceramic + Design Studio hosts a Grand Opening celebration during the district’s Walk All Over Waterloo. Val Grossman and company have spent months converting the spaces, originally a house with a rather large auto garage behind it. Grossman graduated from Cleveland Institute of Art in 2012.

BRICK is modeled off of Zygote Press’ model. Zygote Press is a local, 20-year-old, nonprofit organization specializing in printmaking. Like Zygote, BRICK will feature studio and storage space for members, classes, workshops and a gallery space.

“It is our dream to create an affordable studio where ceramic artists can access the necessary equipment and space to produce their art,” says Grossman. “We also want to teach beginners about ceramic processes so they too can learn traditional methods of working in clay.”

Refreshments will be served, with music by René Schiffer of Apollo's Fire on cello and a DJ set by Twizz later in the evening.

Both events are free.

Stay tuned for more big things from Waterloo next Month as Jessica Pinsky’s Praxis Fiber Workshop hosts its Grand Opening Celebration, during next month’s Walk All Over Waterloo on June 6.

(BAYarts) 28795 Lake Rd., Bay Village, 440-871-6543, bayarts.net
(BRICK Ceramic + Design) 420 Waterloo Rd., 216-744-4689, brickceramics.com