Hello! I’m Vanessa, the hands and heart behind VARA Studios.

What started as a way to quiet my anxious mind and a means to find stillness amid life’s chaos soon became a lifeline. For me, pottery and ceramics isn't just a craft, but a meditative practice that comes with constant lessons applicable to life.

There’s something profoundly powerful and transformative about clay. Shaping raw earth with your hands, feeling the wheel’s rhythm, learning to balance control with release—it’s an experience that demands your attention and presence. Over time, I realized just how much pottery can support mental well-being. It’s taught me patience and how to embrace imperfections, and the beauty of non-attachment. The process itself became a form of therapy, one that quiets the mind from the constant noise.

VARA Studios is rooted in the simplicity of a basement studio. It’s here, stripped back and unadorned, that the focus stays on what truly matters: the art of pottery and the grounding process of working with clay. It’s in this distilled space that well-being meets art, where distractions fall away, and where shaping clay becomes a way to center ourselves, spark creativity, and connect to something deeply human.

Our personalized class sizes allow each student the freedom to fully engage in the process, explore their relationship with clay, and experience the benefits that come from working with their hands. Whether you’re a first-time potter or have long felt the pull of the wheel, there’s space here for you to create, reflect, and grow. Pottery has given me a deeper connection to both craft and self, and I hope that VARA Studios will offer the same to you.

It’s a place to give time to yourself to slow down, to breathe, and to find your own stillness. I can't wait to see what you create.

- V