Mud Lake Studios & Supplies, located in the Old Iron Works Art District on SE Scott Street, is home to more than 80 clay-working artists. Some rent dedicated spaces. Some are cubby members. Others bring homemade pieces to be fired in professional kilns.

Though the variety of artistry ranges, the medium at Mud Lake Studios is primarily clay. Within that medium is a plethora of choices: What type and color of clay? Do you hand-build or throw on the wheel? Will you glaze or carve? What type of glaze? What color and mineral content will you choose? Do you fire in the gas or electric kiln? Most importantly, how will all of these elements and decisions interact to create a unique and beautiful final piece?

When Alder Harkin joined Mud Lake Studios, first as a cubby member, then as a studio artist, he was 18 years old and fresh out of high school. His obsession with ceramics led him to join Mud Lake Studios, where he found himself surrounded by over 80 other artists. “My progress just skyrocketed once I got here,” Alder says. “Because here, there’s infinite inspiration. If I saw something I really liked, I could just go up to that artist and ask, ‘How’d you do that?’”

Over time, Alder has developed a unique style: intricately carved vases with precise detail inspired by European cathedral windows. “I call them my window pieces just because I put windows on them,” Alder says. “I like making intricate work even though it takes a ton of time.” Playing with techniques, Alder throws clay on the wheel — turning vases, bottles, mugs, bowls, and teapots — then hand-carves intricately symmetrical designs, which require multiple levels of skill and a specialized set of tools that could easily be found in a dental office.

His work also requires patience. Peeling one sliver of clay out at a time is meditative but finicky, and the learning curve is steep. “It would be nice to make more window mugs, but hand carving takes a ridiculous amount of time, so I’m currently not making as much functional work with all these crazy designs,” he says. When you see a mug in the retail store priced a little higher than the others, look at the handwork, the texture, the detail, and the precision. Most likely, it’s one Alder has spent hours perfecting.

Another resident studio artist is Titia Barnett, a retired art teacher originally from Holland who has spent her career making, teaching, and talking ceramics. She still teaches seasonal classes as well as private lessons at Mud Lake Studios, encouraging students to follow their inspiration while guiding them through various technicalities. Primarily focused on hand-building, Titia manipulates chunks of clay into shapes and figures largely inspired by nature.

Currently, she’s working on a collection of crows, whose depth and personalities take up space in ways words on this page simply can’t. Her collection of underwater-inspired pieces doubles as vases and bowls or simply as artwork to enjoy. “That’s an inverted puffer fish bowl,” she says with a laugh, pointing to a bowl with sharp spikes lining the inside. “For people who like sweets too much.”

In her career, Titia has been commissioned to make life-sized sculptures of humans, block pillars, and abstract pieces. With such breadth of experience, she makes art profusely and prices her pieces reasonably. “Because I’m retired, I don’t need to sell pieces as much now,” she says. But when you visit her studio at Mud Lake, don’t bother asking about the two-foot-tall alligator handbag sitting in the corner — a whimsical and bold statement about fashion and animal cruelty — because that’s one piece she’s not willing to sell (I already asked).

Other artists, like Michelle Horstman of Miche’s Pieces, are busily cranking out functional art and putting their particular spin on things. A crowd favorite for Michelle has become a mainstay of her brand. Imagine drinking tea from a mug conspicuously missing its handle, but instead, your hands rest easily and happily on a pair of perky yet realistic breasts. “Boob mugs is what I call them,” says Michelle, who first made them for a naughty Valentine’s Day sale hosted by Mud Lake Studios. “Since then, I started getting requests for them, and people kept asking, ‘Can you make more? Can you make more?’ So finally I just started making them as my regular thing, and they just sell themselves.”

In addition, Michelle makes beautiful mugs (with and without handles), pots for plants, ring holders, and other cozy, colorful additions for your home. Her inspiration comes from the natural world, and her work features bold, bright colors that combine raw clay with glazes. “I really like this clay I’m using right now called dark chocolate,” she explains. “It’s like mud, and I just love it. It fires really, really dark. I don’t do anything too crazy with my glazing. Like this one here is just white and dark clay, and I love its earthy feel, its simplicity.”

Walk into Mud Lake Studios, and you feel the variety immediately in the front room gallery. Customers are also invited to wander the back hall to see artists in their studios and shop the hallway retail section.

Originally called Cindercone Clay Center, named after the iconic cinder cone on Mt. Bachelor, this artist collective opened in 2002. When current owner Alicia Renner joined as a studio member in 2015, she was focused on building her sewing and clothing company Howl Goods, located just a few doors down. In 2019, Alicia took full ownership and rebranded the space to Mud Lake Studios & Supplies. “Hosmer is my favorite lake,” says Alicia. “And Hosmer Lake used to be called Mud Lake. You can see the cinder cone from there, so it just fits.” The name is a clever and generous nod to the original owners and Alicia’s way of keeping their intentions always in sight.

Beyond the 80 artists finding home at Mud Lake Studios, the greater community also enjoys this social hub. “I always wanted people to feel comfortable to just come in and talk shop,” says Alicia. “Like the bait shop guys next door, except with ceramics.”

And people do. Grab a coffee and pastry at neighboring Café des Chutes. Walk through the studios and retail gallery. Talk shop with any artist you see. Attend their myriad events, including the seasonal Thrown Together Dinner, where guests enjoy a four-course meal served on four custom place settings made by various Mud Lake Studios members. Or join a class, a seconds sale, or a community event hosted in conjunction with the Old Iron Works Art District.

For more information, visit mudlakestudios.com, and try your hand at working with clay. Like many of these artists, you could just find your next calling.