Pottery In Boston

Answer

Hi Pat,

Thanks so much for your Boston question. As I don’t know what type of activity you’re interested in (buying pottery, learning more about/ making it, or simply seeing it), I thought I’d find a bit of everything to pass on.

So, here’s what I’ve found…

Creating Pottery In Boston

1. The Clayroom is a paint-your-own-pottery studio for all ages. It’s located in Brookline and is super easy to get to by public transportation. Their pieces range in price from $1-$24 ($10 on average) and there’s an $8 studio fee.

Here’s the part I’m most excited about… Once a month, they host a Marguerita-Burrito night for $40 during which you get to eat (fabulous food from a local Mexican restaurant), drink, and create!

Address: 1408 Beacon Street, Brookline
Phone: 617-566-7575

2. Mudflat Studio is a ceramics school in Somerville (an area relatively close to Harvard Square).

They don’t have a whole lot of activities scheduled for December, but they will be holding an “Open Studio & Pottery Sale” in the first part of the month.

Address: 149 Broadway, East Somerville
Phone: 617-628-0589

3. Feet of Clay Pottery is a cooperatively run pottery studio, also located in Brookline. They do ongoing classes as well as private sessions for $25/hour. In addition, they do some Saturday workshops.

Address: 21 Station Street, Brookline
Phone: 617-731-3262

Viewing Pottery In Boston (Museums & Galleries)

1. If you’re more interested in experiencing other artists’ pottery during your time in Boston, the Vessels Gallery might be a good choice for you with a slogan that reads, “A passion for pottery.”

They have a variety of artists’ work on display which they insist you hold, feel and examine as desired to enjoy the full experience pottery has to offer. They also provide gallery shows with demonstrations, explanations and talks by the artists themselves.

Address: 450 Harrison Avenue #71, Boston
Phone: 617-426-1950

2. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will probably be the easiest option for you to get to as far as more traditional museums go. In their vast collections they have a huge amount of ceramics, porcelein, and (as my aunt put it) really, really old pottery. Of particular note are the MFA’s ancient Egyptian pottery collection and the Japanese ceramics from the Morse collection.

Address: 465 Huntington Avenue, Avenue of the Arts, Boston
Phone: 617-267-9300

3. The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum includes 35 acres of rolling woodlands which are open every day of the year from dauwn until dusk. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday (10-5) and some holidays.

The deCordova is located about a half-hour drive from Boston so, unless you’re renting a car while you’re in town, this one might be out of the question.

They have a variety of family friendly activities from Story Hour to activities with guest artists. And they even provide free Family Activity Kits at front desk.

Address: 51 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln
Phone: 781-259-8355

4. The Fuller Craft Museum offers a wide variety of exhibitions, some of which are clay related. They also provide clay workshops but they don’t have any listed for December at this point.

Unfortunately, the Fuller Craft is also about a 30-40 minute drive from Boston, so probably won’t work unless you have a car…

Address: 455 Oak Street, Brockton
Phone: 508-588-6000

Note: Admission to the Fuller Craft Museum is free on Wednesday nights from 5-9pm.

Buying Pottery In Boston

As I don’t personally have experience in buying pottery, I probably can’t be a big help here, but I found great reviews on the following, so I thought it was at least worth listing them for you.

Simon Pearce: Blown Glass and Handmade Pottery.
Address: 115 Newbury Street, Boston
Phone: 617-450-8388

GiFtED: Variety of gifty type things including Handmade Pottery.
Address: 2 Dartmouth Street, Boston
Phone: 603-494-8391

I hope that’s helpful and that you have a wonderful time exploring pottery in Boston!

Cheers,
Deborah
Boston Tourism Made Easy