AUSTIN, Texas — Daybreak Adventures is back! We thought we'd do something special to tap into our creativity, so we ventured west to a place called Pot Daddy. No, not that kind. This activity involved clay.
Our journey into the world of pottery begins with a cute yellow jumper, an open mind and the right guide.
“We’ve created an experience here to give people a taste of what ceramics is,” Pot Daddy owner John Davis Rutkauskas said. "This blob of clay can become whatever you'd like it to be. But there is a definite art to molding and it takes a lot of concentration."
“I don’t know if it's the hypnosis of the wheel spinning. As you look deeply into it, or if it's the intense focus that comes from trying to master this process. But something about this tactile interaction with clay pauses all the chatter of the mind,” he said.
You have about an hour to create, but the entire ceramic process takes at least a week or two. The piece needs to dry, go through a firing process, then it gets glazed or painted.
What we're making will go to another group of people, as the project gets passed down.
“By the time that you've finished with your experience here, you would have interacted with three different pieces. And so the piece you take home was actually touched by three other people," Rutkauskas said.
"Someone who makes the form and makes the object, someone who decorates the object, and then of course, you know the person who takes it home."
You pick out your favorite pre-made item to take home. The cost is donation-based, which makes this activity more accessible to everyone. Pot Daddy is located off Lake Hills Drive in West Austin.