Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Raskin
Hi Phil, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Midway Clay is a ceramics studio that offers classes, studio memberships, firing services, gallery space and community. Though I have been the owner for less than a year I am pleasantly surprised that we have been so welcomed and productive in such a short time.
The building looks like just a normal house from the front. It’s deceptive as there is warehouse that extends all the way to the alley line in the back.
Classes are in full swing at Midway Clay.
We have a gallery in the front and a kiln room in the back. Kinda like a mullet.
Phil Raskin is the new owner after Gary Crawford owned the building for many years.
I threw production for more than a dozen different studios, learning their forms and gaining insights into running a pottery business. My longest stint was a decade at Linden Hills Pottery.
In 1995, I bought North Prairie Tileworks I ran it for eight years before selling it and stepping away from clay entirely.
By 2019, after two decades away from pottery, I realized something was missing. Aging and noticing life’s “check engine light” come on, I returned to clay, setting up a home studio and signing up for art fairs. Then came COVID, which changed everything.
Midway Clay wasn’t without its challenges, but today, we’ve hosted three gallery openings, taught over 75 students in classes, tackled significant building repairs, and made many new friends.
I’d like to bring attention to Marguerite Wildenhain and the legacy I work in. As a woman in a man’s ceramic world it seems she’s passed over or excluded from much of the artistic content provided in pottery lore. I find all too often she is not known or is known as only a glimmer of recognition. To learn more, here’s a link to the PBS documentary on her:
https://www.pbs.org/show/marguerite-from-the-bauhaus-to-pond-farm/
I tell because the soil we walk on is the clay we make into art. It travels with us wherever we go.
Isn’t this what all these clay aficionados are looking for? The place where the mundane of daily life meets “quality”?
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
See previous entry.
Buying an old building that has been englected took a lot of work to keep the property usable.
Also, between the starting of the business, making repairs, setting schedules, hiring teachers, finding the right materials for classes and still eating and sleeping has been amore than a full time job.
There were several tenants that had been in the building for many years. The old story of the new owner coming in and doing things differently from the previous owner also created drama.
The previous owner had passed away, since the last 1 1/2 -2 years of his life he had been ill, he wasn’t at the building often and there was much that had been neglected and the tenants didn’t have the same motivation to keep things in working order.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a full time potter for more than 25 years I have a deep understanding of the porcesses invloved. I have also taught many years of classes so I know how to encourage students and describe in detail the learning needed and the practice it takes to master a skill.
For eight years I owned a company that made handmade tile. There I hired employees, managed production and equipment and did the marketing.
For 20 years I have remodeled houses in the metro area so I am well versed in building maintenence and have a cadre of trade partners that have helped with restoreing the building.
Pricing:
- Classe are competitively priced.
- We offer a class for most skill levels
- We offer classes almost every day of the week.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.midwayclay.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwayclay/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561680814627
