About Soos Creek Studio

A pottery studio isn’t always easy to access. Soos Creek Studio brings the experience of working with clay to schools, community groups, and workplaces throughout the Puget Sound region.

Through Clay-Go, we bring the clay, tools, and instruction to you. Your group creates pottery together, and we bring each piece back to our Kent studio for finishing and firing before returning it as functional pottery made for everyday use. No studio access or prior pottery experience is needed.

We believe making something by hand can be a meaningful way to learn, connect, and share an experience. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, we support accessible clay programs for young people, families, and communities with limited access to arts programming. Pottery sales, paid Clay-Go experiences, and community support help make this work possible.

Early days, holding Youth & Parent pottery classes in the garage.

Weekly classes held at the community centers

How the Studio Grew

When we opened our pottery studio in Kent, where we raised our family, we hoped to bring more art, craft, and cultural activity to South King County. After decades of running a fine art gallery and curating exhibitions, we saw a need for more opportunities to experience art close to home.

We opened in early 2020 with a simple idea: build a small pottery business in Kent and make functional pottery people could enjoy in everyday life. Then the pandemic changed the pace of our plans. During lockdown, we helped care for our newborn twin grandchildren while their parents worked. Those days brought the next generation into focus and led us to think more deeply about how the studio could serve children and families.

After retiring from the gallery business, Bryan returned to his first artistic passion: ceramics. He had been a young potter on Orcas Island before his career led him into exhibition curation. As he returned to clay, the studio’s purpose began to grow. We wanted to create opportunities for young people to make, explore, and learn through hands-on experiences.

Once in-person gatherings resumed, we began offering free pottery classes for local youth in our garage. We later brought classes into schools, where opportunities for hands-on arts programming can be limited. Today, most of our youth programs are free or offered at a reduced cost.

Our classes include children with a range of interests, abilities, and ways of learning, including children with ADHD and children on the autism spectrum. We pay attention to each student and work with families to understand how best to support their participation. Parents have shared that their children have had meaningful experiences in class. We value that feedback, while recognizing that every child and every class experience is different.

We’re also developing ways to connect clay activities with math and language. In class, we’ve explored how working with clay can make ideas such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and circles tangible. We’re also trying activities that invite students to describe what they’ve created and find words to express their ideas. These approaches are still developing. Our experience so far has been encouraging, and we continue to learn from students, families, and educators about what works.

Alongside our community programs, we make functional pottery for everyday life—from a child’s first cup to pieces people use throughout their lives. The studio continues to grow around both parts of our work: making pottery and creating welcoming opportunities for the next generation to make, learn, and connect.