Why Spa and Pottery are Deeply Connected
The path to bringing spa and pottery together began out of necessity.
When I first opened my business, I threw pots for survival. Recently divorced with two babies, ages 2 and 4, I was unable to afford childcare, so I had to find a way to make a living from home. I always knew that someday I would be a potter - the time had come. In addition to making pottery, I started teaching both children's and adult classes several times a week. While I was aware of Clay's impact on my own energy, it wasn't until I taught many classes that I realized its consistent effect on others. People always reported feeling more relaxed, grounded, and centered after a class. I became curious about the therapeutic qualities of Clay, but not as in 'art therapy'. I wanted to understand what made this material so impactful on the body. I decided to go to school to become a licensed esthetician after attending a clay bath training in AZ, so that I could use Clay in treatments.
After I completed school, I began working at a local Spa. I continued my training and became a licensed Dr. Hauschka skin care provider. Dr. Hauschka had long been a staple in my own skin care routine, and in the spa services I later offered. Those products deepened my appreciation for high-quality, natural, and biodynamically farmed ingredients, including Clay.
Clay has always had a calming effect on me. I noticed that calm most clearly during the busiest seasons of my life. Some days felt full and overwhelming, but Clay kept offering me a place to return to myself. The calm arrived while I was throwing pots in the studio. The calm also arrived while I was applying a clay mask during a facial, preparing a clay pack for the body or taking a clay bath.
That realization became the bridge between pottery and spa.
The studio and the treatment room may look different, but Clay is at the center of both. Pottery invites people to slow down, touch the earth, and make something with their hands. Spa treatments invite people to soften, receive care, and settle back into their bodies. Clay supports both experiences.
My ongoing doctoral studies have allowed me to explore Clay in even greater depth. Emerging research is beginning to support what many people have felt intuitively: Clay can affect the body in meaningful ways. My hope is to contribute to that growing understanding and to help others experience Clay not only as something we shape, but also as something that can shape us. Please stay tuned for more on all of that – and thanks again to the research participants for their patience!
Spa and pottery naturally align because both offer a way back to the body and the earth, and to a calmer state of being, where tension can soften, the body can release, and natural detoxification is supported.
-Wendy McKenzie