Couple channels creativity into pottery through Lucas Clay Studio

by Erica Peterson 

It all started with a fruitcake. 

Sagamore Hills couple Chip and Christine Lucas won the treat at a 2003 Brecksville holiday art show. When they went to the Brecksville Center for the Arts to pick it up, they saw a list of classes. They signed up for pottery. 

Chip had always wanted to try his hand at pottery, and Christine had recently rekindled her love of the craft through a college class.  

“I grew up doing ceramics with my mother, and I needed an easy elective,” she said with a laugh.  

Both of them enjoyed the BCA pottery class immensely, learning throwing and hand-building techniques.  

“We did it once a week, and it just wasn’t enough,” Christine said. “Next thing I know, we have a wheel in our garage and we’re taking stuff to Brecksville to be fired. We were hooked.” 

The next step was to finish their creations at home, Chip said. By 2005, they converted his workshop – built when they moved into their Carlin Drive home 30 years ago — into a studio, complete with kilns.  

They started selling their pottery in 2010. Chip was working in the mail department of the University of Akron, which gave him access to free pottery classes. As a student, he took part in a holiday sale at the school, and both brought some of their pieces to sell.  

They did really well, Christine said.  

Soon friends who owned a business wanted gifts for clients, so the Lucases sold more items. “And we’re like, ‘Gee, we can get paid for this?’” Christine said. 

Lucas Clay Studio and Gallery was born. 

Today, Christine works as a human resources manager at Stakes Manufacturing in Eastlake, and Chip is retired. That allows them time in the studio, Christine said, as Chip can work in the studio while she’s at her job.  

“We’re a team,” she said. “In the morning, maybe I’ll leave things for him to do, he’ll do them, I come home from work and pick up where he left off.”  

Christine enjoys the freedom of hand building over creating pieces on the wheel.  

“When you throw, you have to decide what you’re going to make right there,” she said. “I kind of transitioned into hand building, which is kind of like making cookies.” 

Chip prefers throwing, especially the firing process and working with glazes. He does raku firing with a gas kiln, which allows him to finish pieces with different surface work in exotic colors. Each piece has a distinct look.  

He said they aim to create unique pieces, operating differently than a production potter, who might create 50 identical bowls or only work in one or two colors. 

“We do nothing like that,” Chip said. “When we make coffee mugs, they’re all different.” 

Christine also enjoys the finishing process, likening it to decorating. “That’s the fun part, because that’s when the piece comes alive,” she said.  

They work with 25 different colors of glaze. Working with glazes can be unpredictable, because potters don’t know exactly what the finished product will look like if they use the glazes in combinations.  

“You could have a blue glaze on something, and it could turn pink after firing,” Chip said.  

The couple likened anticipating the finished product to Christmas Day.  

“When you put something into the kiln, you don’t know what is going to happen,” Christine said. “It could be fabulous or it could be a disaster.” 

The experimentation keeps the process fun, she said. 

It’s the variety of colors that makes Lucas Clay pieces stand out, Chip said. They use bold, contemporary shades for their more whimsical creations, like their smiling fish and snowmen. 

“Our stuff makes people smile,” Christine said. “We like to bring happiness.” 

Added Chip, “I think this year especially, people are going to have to get really light-hearted about what they are doing.”  

The couple is looking ahead, hopeful there will be opportunities in 2021. Christine plans to concentrate on building up Lucas Clay’s website and online store and looks forward to the possibility of returning to art shows in the fall. 

Until then, it’s play time, Chip said, when they can experiment and try out techniques. 

Chip, who uses five different raku firing techniques, hopes to explore alcohol raku finishes this spring.  

It’s the variety of the art form that keeps him coming back. 

“Pottery or ceramics is endless,” Chip said. “You could live for 100 years and never do every process.” 

Lucas Clay sells its pieces at a retail space in the Northside Marketplace in Akron, as well as at River Light Gallery and The Log Cabin Gallery in Peninsula.   To learn more, visit lucasclaystudio.com or Lucas Clay Studio on Facebook and Instagram.

Feature image photo caption: Chip Lucas works on a piece of thrown pottery in his home studio. Photos courtesy Lucas Clay