Former teacher turns pottery into a second career!
When Jenifer Gine sits down at the pottery wheel in her Dunwoody home studio, she sees well beyond a blob of clay. “The possibilities are endless,” she says. “I know I can create a look that’s uniquely mine, that’s colorful, layered and playful.”
A former elementary teacher in the City Schools of Decatur and Atlanta Public Schools before home-schooling her two now-adult children, Gine doesn’t think of herself primarily as an artist. Her creative endeavors were limited to crocheting and classes in photography and watercolors at the Spruill Center for the Arts.
“I love learning and trying new things,” she says. “But those classes didn’t light a fire for me the way pottery did.” A friend and enthusiastic potter convinced Gine to give it a try, and she took her first class at Spruill in 2019.
“There were so many things and ways to learn,” she says. “I felt I could get better the more I practiced. And I was surrounded by people with great suggestions and encouragement.”
Gine also picked up pottery making tips from online videos. “There are so many on YouTube, I could watch for days,” she says. “Even though I wasn’t a natural at first, I was determined.”
The key component to being a “natural” is mastering the wheel, Gine says. “It can take a really long time to learn how to get the clay centered, and you really can’t learn just by watching somebody do it. But once that clicks, you’ve got it. You can feel it when it’s right.”
Gine admits her learning curve came with many recycled attempts—like starting out to make a bowl and ending up with a spoon rest—but continuing to take classes and getting her own wheel for her converted garage studio have made a difference.
“Pottery is a really dusty hobby, so I’m happy in the garage,” she says. “I have a heater in there, and I’m happy to park in the driveway, so it’s working for me.” She also has her own kiln and plenty of space for painting.
Since her first foray into the artform, Gine has focused on developing a style all her own that she demonstrates in the decorations she adds to each piece.
“I got into surface decoration about two years ago and have been perfecting those techniques,” she says. “Initially, I was very minimalist, but I’ve moved to using different ways to carve the clay, to add layers of under-glazing to get unique effects. And I play around with different forms; I’ve gotten more curvy. That’s been really exciting.”
After selling her creations on Etsy since 2020, Gine was also excited to be invited to add pieces for sale in Spruill’s gallery shop. Large mugs are her bestsellers.
“For someone to spend money on something I made is a huge boost of confidence,” she says. “And it’s funny because I still consider it a hobby in many ways. But I spend four or five days a week doing something pottery related, whether it’s working in my studio or helping out with a class at Spruill. It’s still so exciting.”
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PHOTO: Erik Meadows
