ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After a fire reduced St. Pete Ceramics to little more than concrete block in January, co-founder Beth Miranda and her team spent months rebuilding their pottery studio and finding temporary places to work.
Now, the Warehouse Arts District studio is back in its original home at 593 22nd St. S., and the team is preparing to celebrate with a grand reopening party on Saturday.
The fire broke out Jan. 28, displacing the studio for about seven and a half months.
"This place was literally just cement block after the fire," Miranda told Patch.
In the days after the blaze, members of St. Petersburg's arts community showed up to help clean out the damaged building.
"It was nonstop," she said. "We were so blessed by everybody in St. Pete and beyond."
The studio initially relocated to two small spaces at Five Deuces Galleria, courtesy of Three Daughters Brewing. In June, the team moved to a larger temporary space at the Warehouse Arts District ArtsXchange, where it remained until construction was far enough along for the studio to return in September.
The rebuilding process also allowed Miranda and business partner Ethan Fielder to rethink the studio's layout.
"It's my dream," Miranda said about the rebuilt space, which features an open floor plan designed to accommodate pottery classes, workshops and community gatherings.
They removed an interior wall to create a larger, more open area, with movable tables that can be rearranged for different activities. A wider hallway in the back accommodates the messier parts of pottery-making, including clay preparation and tool storage, leaving the front of the studio available for classes and other events.
St. Pete Ceramics has resumed classes and memberships, and the studio will expand its community programming, including craft nights and workshops focused on emotional well-being.
A new series called "Inside Out" will offer opportunities for people to gather, make art and talk about emotions. Miranda plans to begin the series, expected to launch in January, with a workshop focused on grief, drawing in part from her own experience following the fire.
The studio's grand reopening party on Saturday will run from 5 to 9 p.m. with live music, food, raffles, giveaways and interactive art activities. Guests can paint magnets, experiment with clay and explore plans for a mural on the side of the building.
A donated bus from the Dunedin Fine Arts Center also will be on display, with pottery wheels available for visitors to try. The bus is intended to support the Clay Collective of Pinellas, a nonprofit initiative focused on supporting clay artists and businesses throughout the county. Fundraising will be needed to get the bus ready to travel.
For Miranda, the celebration marks a major milestone after months of uncertainty. Returning to the studio has also meant confronting the anxiety that followed the fire. When she first began running the kilns again, she found herself constantly checking on them, even asking her husband to install cameras so she could monitor them remotely, she said.
Although the studio is back up and running, Miranda looks forward to settling into a more predictable routine after months of upheaval.
"I just want to be normal," she said. "And I don't know if that's a thing that will ever be again."
For now, she hopes people will come see the rebuilt space and celebrate alongside the community that helped make its return possible.
"Mostly, it's a party," Miranda said. "It's a 'come see us, we're back, we made it through this less-than-fun part' party."
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