Potter opens Cold Spring shop for lessons, fun
During college, Kent Henrickson briefly worked with clay at a summer job in Colorado. It wasn’t until a decade later, when he was in his 30s, that he was inspired to dive into the process. He had visited the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. and admired its collection of Chinese porcelain.
He focused on utilitarian stoneware, such as vases, a change from an earlier artistic focus on embroidered paintings and installations that are among museum collections in Finland, Japan, Germany and South Korea. In 2015, he and his family moved to Philipstown, and in 2017 he began selling his stoneware at stores such as the Cold Spring Apothecary, Cold Spring General Store and Cold Spring Cheese Shop.
There was often more demand than supply, so earlier this year, he and his life partner, Kate van Voorhees, opened Cold Spring Ceramics at 165 Main St.
“I know some artists want to be a ‘pure’ person and not deal with the commerce,” said van Voorhees, who handles the business side. “But the result is you end up not selling, so he wasn’t selling as much as he could have.”
In addition to stocking Henrickson’s pieces, which include bowls, plates, mugs, jewelry stands, a match striker, candlesticks and a dinosaur bank, Cold Spring Ceramics hosts lessons and workshops. Participants can create vases, mugs, bird feeders and bowls at their own speed, with as much help from Henrickson as they desire.
“We’re one of the few studios in the Hudson Valley where you can come in and make something,” said Henrickson.
“All of a sudden, the pressure is gone because there’s no expectations,” adds van Voorhees. “We can agree in advance what the object is, or have only people who know each other, and it feels like a safer space.”
Cold Spring Ceramics also offers workshops for children, and Henrickson says his three sons have been an inspiration. “All of them have been in the studio with me since they were around 4 years old,” he says.
Not long after Henrickson started selling his ceramics in Cold Spring, he began leading classes for children in partnership with the Haldane School Foundation. The store offers a dedicated space for after-school classes, with pickup at the Haldane blacktop. (Registration is open for seven-week fall courses.) Henrickson is assisted by two Haldane High School students, Sachi Starbuck and Lenny Chandler. This summer, the shop offered two week-long camps for elementary and middle school students.
The favorite projects for students focus on Minecraft, castle and fairy houses and Pokémon. For the latter, students brought in a favorite card and sculpt the creature in clay. “We’re always playing with the clay and playing with ideas and using creativity as a vehicle for enjoyment,” Henrickson says.
Cold Spring Ceramics is open Thursday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Its schedule otherwise varies because of classes. The shop will host a Saturday workshop for kids dedicated to Pikachu on Aug. 23 and offers ongoing walk-in sessions. See coldspringceramics.com.
