By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Hand-painted plates made at Fire It Up!
Say you've always harbored a secret wish to be a ceramist, but your only confrontation with a potter's wheel resulted in something resembling a wilted flower rather than a vase. There is a remedy. Paint-it-yourself pottery
satisfies creative urgesFire It Up! is the newest entry into the do-it-yourself pottery trend, which allows would-be artists to select from a variety of ready-made greenware - coffee mugs, plates, picture frames, etc. - which you paint, they fire, and voila! Instant art that can be displayed and/or used.
Although owner Carolyn Hall said that many are apprehensive on their first visit, "they get inspired when they come here. When they pick up their pieces they're amazed at themselves.
"And they get addicted. They come back every day for a while. A lot of people come to make gifts, but when they pick up the finished piece they don't want to give it away."
Artist John Young never lacks for huge canvasses, but he is among the Fire It Up! devotees, having painted some 20 plates, some with his signature horses, Hall said.
Studio time runs $7 an hour and the only other cost is the ceramic piece you choose. Those prices range from $3.25 for a piece of tile to $27 for a 16-inch food platter. Coffee mugs run $7.50.
Fire it Up! also hosts paint parties at a cost of $25 per person, and $15 for children below age 12. People have hosted birthday parties and bridal showers here. At the showers, pieces are painted with a motif for the bride, and she keeps the finished set.
And in case you're afraid you have nothing to put on your piece, be aware that newborns have done it. Parents bring them in to imprint their hand and foot prints on future heirlooms.
Fire It Up! is at 3045 Monsarrat Ave. Call 924-4444. Also, inquire about hand-building pottery classes.
By Nadine Kam, Star-Bulletin
