By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
It was not an accident. In fact, it probably was meant to be. At least for Monica Namyar.
“I have been floating around the idea of starting a part-time art-related business for a while,” she told the Northern Kentucky Tribune. “When I was driving home from school in September, I saw the for rent sign in the window and called. That was it. Once I committed to it, I haven’t stopped.”
Let’s back up just a minute Monica. School is John W. Miles and A. J. Lindeman Elementary in Erlanger where she teaches elementary art.
“I love my students she says.”
She must. The Park Hills native has been teaching 28 years. And as for art — well, try this. She was in graduate school – in the mid-’90s – for ceramics at the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
So, it was not a mistake when she opened the doors to The Pottery of Park Hills – 1518 Dixie Highway, Park Hills, of course. “It is next door to Loschiavos and Reality Tuesday,” she said.
“I also love to paint landscapes and, in 2023, I became the first international finalist in the 20 years of the Glover Art Prize,” the graduate of Notre Dame Academy said. said. The prize is Australia’s most prestigious landscape art prize for a painting of Tasmania.
“I was able to attend the awards ceremony with my son,” she said. “And although I was not the winner of the grand prize, my painting was sold on the final day of the exhibition and remains in Tasmania.”
It is a piece called – Sanctuary, Maria Island. Maria is a remote island on the east coast of Tasmania accessible by a 45-miniute ferry ride.
“It has a fascinating history and it is a haven for wildlife including wombats, kangaroos and is a breeding ground for relocated Tasmanian devils.
“I am obsessed with Tasmania after having visited for the first time in 2019 to attend the Australian Ceramics Triennale in Hobart, Tasmania,” she said. “And since that visit I have entered the Glover Prize every year with a landscape painting of the place.”
And that takes us back to Park Hills, Kentucky.
“Last year, my ceramics professor from my undergraduate years at Xavier University and Fort Mitchell potter Marsha Karagheusian gifted me her kick wheel that she built in 1974,” she said.
A pottery kick wheel is a pottery wheel powered by the potter’s foot to spin the wheel head. It features a heavy flywheel that the potter kicks to build momentum, then lets it slow down as the potter centers and shapes the clay, kicking periodically to maintain speed.
And, as they say, the rest is history. Or history in the making on Dixie Highway.
“Although I am primarily a hand-builder, I started practicing on the kick wheel this past summer and I fell in love with it,” she said. “I got sidetracked from my landscape painting and started throwing on the potter’s wheel – and kick wheel. I made pottery playlist on Spotify and away we went.”
Her Pottery of Park Hills is a non-profit.
“I hope to accomplish making a cozy place where anyone – all ages – can come and relax with clay and art. I hope this can be a refuge for art lovers.”
She says the art lessons will change every few months with the anticipation that perhaps 10 potter’s wheels can be purchased so wheel-throwing classes can be offered next summer
A potter’s wheel is a machine with a spinning disk that potters used to shape wet clay into symmetrical forms like pots, bowls, and vases. The wheel can also be used for trimming and adding decorative elements to finished pieces.
Wheel throwing is a pottery technique that involves shaping clay on a spinning potter’s wheel to create ceramic pieces.
“The Dixie Highway location couldn’t be more perfect,” she says, “As I live within walking distance. I also love that I am next to the Lash Bar, a personal trainer.
“I am hoping to have a Holiday sale, December 13th, and 20th from 12-4 p.m. both days. Leaf platters made from my elephant ear plant and winter bird ornaments will be some of the items for sale.”
Did you really expect anything less?