Who is Melissa Thomson? Melissa, the owner of The Ceramics Studio, in San Juan Capistrano, is impressively familiar with all types of clay bodies and their potentials, but relishes in experimenting endlessly with glazes and organic materials. Venture into the back room of the studio, and you’ll find a series of bags containing a strange array of nature’s best; sawdust, cow manure, seaweed from local beaches, and dirt samples collected on road trips from here to the State of Washington. Her most prized “specimen” is a jumbo-size mayonnaise jar full of ash from the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Most of these back-room materials are employed during the studio’s beach pit firings.

Her love for the beach and pottery collide for one of her specialty techniques: the "Beach Pit Fire" Students take their pre-fired pots to the local beach. There, instruction is provided in the wrapping of ingredients around unglazed pots which are then carefully positioned in the pit fire. When the objects are shaken from the ashes the following morning and buffed, they reveal strikingly beautiful marks and colors!   A dedicated teacher Melissa takes great joy in showing others the remarkable interactions between natural elements that result from shaping and firing. Children and animals are especially drawn to her quiet demeanor and she, in turn, draws joy and energy from their honesty, uninhibited curiosity and willingness to let their creativity run wild.   * Melissa L. Thomson has taught art for over twenty years in every venue from preschool thru the university level. She earned her Masters in Fine Art in Ceramics from Cal State University, Northridge, and her Master of Arts from Pepperdine University. Each summer, she teaches the kids at Mission San Juan Capistrano’s Ceramics Camp, in addition to her own class offerings held at The Ceramics Studio. She is also the official ceramics instructor for the Dana Point Community Center.

 

 

 

The Ceramics Studio is located in South Orange County in San Juan Capistrano. The studio is minutes from Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and Laguna!

Less than a 10-minute walk
from the SJC train station! Exit
Ortega Hwy off the 5 freeway.

3 doors to the right of Marshalls at
31878 Del Obispo Street, Suite 106, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 (949)412-9241
melissa@theceramicsstudio.com

owner/teacher - Melissa L. Thomson, M.F.A. in Ceramics
www.theceramicsstudio.com