New pottery studio opens for sculptors

Sioux Falls artist Skyler Stencil didn’t expect to open her new studio for beginning and experienced potters in Tea, but when she toured a new building near the Interstate 29 exit, she knew she had the perfect site.

“I did quite a few tours looking for an open floor plan, and the light was really important to me,” Stencil said. “This has a warm, open feeling without feeling sterile. I landed on it because of the natural light, but I love having so much open space just so I can see everything going on.”

Smudge Studios offers group and private lessons in pottery and is open for private parties.

Located at 2001 Industrial St., Unit 4, in Tea, the studio shares a building with a smoke shop, photography studio, and embroidery and screen-printing business. The 2,500-square-foot space includes a separate room for the kilns, 20-foot ceilings and a glass garage door that can open. Stencil has set up a loft with couches and tables and has installed refrigerators. The business has a beer and wine license.

Stencil is starting with a five-week beginner throwing class, teaching students the basics such as wedging, centering, pulling the walls up and shaping. Students will leave with at least six pieces, including a mug but focusing on bowls.

Also planned are “clay dates,” where participants can bring in a partner — family member, sibling, parent, romantic partner, buddy or whomever — for two hours of one-on-one instruction. Students will make at least one piece that will be fired and taken home a week or two later.

“It’s an easy way to get your hands dirty and mess around with clay,” Stencil said.

Private lessons will be “choose your own adventure,” as Stencil describes it. They can learn to create on a pottery wheel, which focuses on symmetrical shapes, or hand building, using coils or slabs of clay.

She also will offer classes on specific creations, such as mugs if that’s all her students want to try.

Eventually, Stencil expects to bring in local artists to offer demonstrations. For example, Tim Jewell, the owner of Heart Tattoo, uses a special technique to throw textured planters; he could demonstrate that to her students.

“I’m excited to do workshops on sectional pieces with variants on the size, some wheel demonstrations, some more focused on the painting and decorating of pots,” Stencil said.

Smudge Studios will begin offering beginner classes, eventually expanding to intermediate and advanced classes. Stencil also will offer three tiers of open studio memberships, giving potters 24/7 access. 

Potters will have access to all the glazes and equipment, and can use it whenever it fits into their schedule.

Smudge Studios houses a new industrial kiln that can hold multiple pieces. Stencil also purchased 10 new wheels, the necessary equipment for them, work tables and a slab roller.

Preparing Smudge Studios has been a labor of love, Stencil said. She first worked with clay as a student at O’Gorman High School, then studied at Creighton University. About six years ago, she began dreaming of opening her own studio.

She has leaned on others in preparing to start Smudge Studios. Molly Uravitch, an assistant professor of art at Augustana University, and her “old professors and old bosses” have been particularly helpful, said Stencil, who has worked at Dakota Pottery.

Her mission statement is to create an inclusive space for people of all skill levels and a community of mindfulness and connection, making it as accessible as possible.

“I’m most excited to have a community of art around me again,” Stencil said. “Pottery and art should be communal.”

Reprinted with permission from Sioux Falls Business