Do-it-yourself pottery painting studio inspires artists

WASILLA — You don’t have to be a trained artist to create a unique gift or personal piece in Noelle Umbarger’s studio.

Umbarger opened Just Add Paint across from the post office on Main Street in Wasilla in May as a sort of present to herself for her 40^th birthday. Born and raised in Anchorage, she and her mother often made trips to the Valley with the express purpose of visiting Knik Knack Mud Shack, a pottery studio and gift shop out past Settler’s Bay.

Umbarger dabbled in painting and pottery in high school and college, not thinking of herself as an artist, and got “a regular job” in plumbing and heating, she said. She got married, had kids, and watched them grow up. With just one child left in the house, she decided to come back to pottery.

“I’ve just always loved it, it’s always been a huge hobby,” Umbarger said.

Last year she set out to do some research on interactive pottery painting businesses, to see if she could create one of her own. She looked into the California-based franchise Color Me Mine — which according to its website has 150 studio-stores in 26 U.S. states (including Alaska) and 10 countries — but found the name too expensive to tack onto her potential new shop.

Like many small business owners in the Valley, Umbarger sought to do what she wanted, how she wanted, and came up with Just Add Paint as it exists now. She told herself (and her husband) that if nothing else, the business would give her the time and space to create art out of the house.

She wasn’t expecting to see droves of people come through her doors just six months after opening.

“The past two weeks have been super crazy busy all day,” she said on Tuesday, Dec. 29, as she seated the third party to come in since the doors opened half an hour earlier.

With students out of school and relatives visiting for the holidays, it makes sense that people are bustling about the business now, Umbarger said. But the other months she’s been open have been fairly busy, too.

“I had no idea it would be as popular as it has been,” she said. “It’s been so much better than I projected.”

There is a downside, though — she doesn't have as much time to create for herself.

“I think the hardest part so far has been just having to watch everybody paint,” Umbarger said.

But she still enjoys it, she said, as she gets to encourage people in their art — especially those who, like her, think they have limited artistic talent.

“This is my favorite art form (because) nothing’s permanent until it’s been glazed and fired,” Umbarger said. “If you just hated how it looked, you could wash it off completely and start over again.”

How it works

In the shop there are hundreds of pieces of pure white pottery called bisque, meaning they have been fired in a kiln once without glaze. Wares range from functional to decorative, including mugs, coin banks and animal figurines. Acrylic paints can be used on anything that doesn’t need to be food safe, while things like plates, bowls and cups can only be decorated with non-toxic glazes.

All pieces are priced with painting supplies, traceable designs and two hours of in-studio time included. Purchases can be made at any time, and painting scheduled later if needed. The studio seats 24, though Saturdays are often reserved for parties that fill about half the space.

Once a work is completed, the decorator hands it off to Umbarger, who then puts it in the queue for firing. Pieces might not be fired right away, based on how many others were made the same day or are waiting to be fired. Umbarger said about one third of all the pottery painted in the studio comes home with her so she can use both the store studio kiln and her personal studio kiln, which for the past month and a half have run at full capacity every night.

Creating keepsakes at Just Add Paint can be as easy and satisfying for children as it is adults, she said, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

“My rule of thumb is, if they can sit for 30 to 45 minutes and can hold a paintbrush, they’re old enough to do it,” Umbarger said.

She said she finds the process of painting pottery a relaxing distraction from the troubles of daily life, and enjoys meeting new people while doing it.

Carole and Gabrielle Menard, who stopped in the store on Tuesday for a midday mother-daughter date, said they appreciate the accessibility of the activity.

“This kind of stuff is fun because you don’t have be the best artist — you can still do it,” Gabrielle Menard said.

Her mother agreed.

“It’s not difficult.”

Just Add Paint is located at 472 N. Main St. in Wasilla. The store is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 357-6500.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.