Growing Greenup MRP Open House

Growing Greenup MRP Open House

Anne Stephens

For The Ashland Beacon

Have you heard about the pottery studio that opened in August of 2025? It is a community teaching studio that is an outreach project of the Greenup County Extension Community Arts program in collaboration with The Edge Business Center.  The big news is that the studio has moved into a new home in downtown Russell! 509 Bellefonte Street, Russell, KY 41169. You can still call the Extension Office at 606.836.0201 or stop by M-F, 8-4:30 for information.  

Merging Rivers Pottery (MRP) Studio is named for the unique fact that Greenup County has multiple merging rivers as part of our geographic location. Our community is a beautiful place to live, work, play, and create! Working with our hands is something that Greenup Countians are accustomed to. Manipulating clay, both with a wheel and by hand, has been done for many years to make functional art pieces. We think of items such as mugs, plates, and bowls but that is only the beginning!

The instructors at MRP all have fine arts degrees and many years of experience in the world of pottery. Sherry Hopper is the owner/operator of Pondhawk Pottery. Tom Hudson is the owner/operator of Pigpen Pottery. Rachel Robins is the owner/operator of Robins Crafty Creations which is not focused on pottery but a wide variety of handmade items. Sherry and Tom teach the wheel classes and Rachel teaches the hand-building class.  

Make plans to come and see for yourself what is happening at MRP! We are hosting an OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, January 17^th from noon-2:00 PM. You’ll find wheel demonstrations, hand-building demonstrations, work samples, light snacks, and a community of potters who are ready to welcome new members. If you have never seen a working kiln, we’ll give you a tour although it won’t be firing that day. Our instructors take care of that when the studio is empty – it gets very, very hot! You’ll also see our custom glazes, classroom tools, and the chemicals that Sherry uses to mix glazes. We don’t use any premade glazes because we have our own skilled chemist!

Evening classes are offered on Mondays (wheel), Wednesdays (wheel), and Thursdays (hand-building) from 6-9PM. Daytime classes are offered on Tuesdays (wheel) and Thursdays (wheel) from 9:30 – 12:30PM. Studio members have class once per week and access to open studio time – discussed in class. All classes are 8-week sessions at a cost of $200. All supplies, firing, and instruction is included. Scholarships are possible – reach out to Anne Stephens anne.stephens@uky.edu 606.836.0201 if you are interested in this option.

MRP is for adult students. Watch for some special summertime offerings for kids!   

The process of working with clay to make pottery is a learned skill that takes time, expertise, space, and specialty supplies. It is a hands-on experience that provides a practical creative outlet, a means to build physical and cognitive skills, and a pathway to improved mental health. Pottery trains concentration, emotional resilience, flexibility, patience, and social connection in a studio setting. 

Because of the partnership between the Greenup County Extension Service and The Edge Business Center, Merging Rivers Pottery Studio can provide the needed resources and has been in operation for six months with two volunteer instructors. Thirty individual students have taken classes to learn how to throw clay on a wheel with seven returning for additional classes. These students have reported that they learned new skills, made new friends, enjoyed their time in class, and felt proud of their accomplishments.  

One wheel student who came to the studio with an educational background in fine arts has progressed quickly and has been approved as an Extension volunteer to lead a hand-building class that adds to the offerings of the studio. She worked with the other instructors (also approved Extension volunteers) to add specialty classes over the holiday season that reached a homeschool group and an adult group of coworkers who reported that their experience was fun and educational while encouraging team building and camaraderie.

The studio staff have reported that they are excited to be providing this experience for the community in a meaningful way that has been established carefully to provide longevity of the program. All the originators are continuing in the program and have helped move the studio into a new location in the community of downtown Russell. One third of the start-up costs have been reimbursed to the Greenup Extension District Board. Class rosters continue to fill and student skills continue to progress which may potentially lead to a new business opportunity for those who wish to pursue pottery making as a small business. A connected and resilient artisan community of potters is growing in Greenup County under the leadership of the Greenup County Community Arts Program. 

For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu Greenup County Cooperative Extension Service, 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144. This institution is an Equal Opportunity Provider.