Whidbey Clay Center is a membership pottery studio that expanded into its current space in late 2022. Months of renovation transformed what was a small studio into a ceramic arts education center with a showcase gallery.
Cara Jung, who holds a BA in Art and Communication and an MFA in Ceramics, bought the Clay Center in 2019 when she realized its potential. Since then, she has significantly expanded the studio footprint and its membership. Working as a professional artist for 22 years, Jung admits that an artist’s work can be lonely. Her concept for the Clay Center was to create a space for artists to work alongside other artists; a dynamic space where artists share critique and ideas.
Jung describes clay as a challenging medium that can also be messy. Ceramics is not an art form that most people can accomplish at home, and the challenge to getting started in clay is that it requires technical knowledge and expensive equipment. Whidbey Clay Center comes to the rescue by providing a community space that helps artists to overcome those barriers to entry. Jung reasons that it is more economical and more fun to work in a shared space.
Located on Main Street in Freeland, the Whidbey Clay Center always has new and interesting work on display. The Center currently features ceramics from more than 30 different artists. Visitors enter through the gallery where they will find a variety of practical and whimsical pieces to view and purchase. Guests are invited to shop, take a tour and observe members at work in the adjacent rooms.
“We love guests!” says Jung. “This is Whidbey Clay Center’s first summer with a gallery that is open to the public, and we are hoping to attract a steady flow of visitors.” Jung and the membership look forward to further promoting their beloved Clay Center as a space to learn and a space to create.
How to visit Whidbey Clay Center
Writer, editor, Cynthia Albers