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Molded by hand

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Photo by Madoline Markham.

Donna Reiber rolls out a slab of clay and presses a piece of lace into it. Next to her, Denese Red molds the gray clay into a human figure. At the end of the line, Tosha Lyles shapes a head and puts it on top of what will become Mary in a Nativity set. They are working to complete 750 of them before the holiday season. 

For Reiber, this is her “happy place.” For Red, it’s a “stress reliever.” Lyles would do it seven days a week if she could.

All three ladies are full-time employees of Prodigal Pottery, a pottery studio at King’s Home, a home for women who are homeless and/or victims of domestic abuse. The studio operates in the basement of a house on the edge of the King’s Home property in Chelsea and has recently opened a showroom on its main floor. In it you can find the Nativity sets as well as platters, bowls, ornaments and herb markers, all made by hand.

Prodigal Pottery was born of two recent donations to King’s Home. The house that now serves as a studio was given to the organization around the same time that the family of Marion Pribbenow donated a pottery kiln worth $25,000 and a collection of pottery. It had long been the dream of some board members to create long-term jobs within a safe environment for women at the home, and these two donations gave them the idea to begin a pottery ministry to fulfill that dream. 

At the end of last summer, Jamie Ankenbrandt came on staff to begin Prodigal Pottery and teach art therapy classes to the children ages 10-18 who live in King’s Home group homes. Her vision was first of all to create a safe, therapeutic environment, but also to employ women and eventually generate profit to give back to King’s Home’s ministries. The response from sales last holiday season, she said, was “amazing.” 

Before long, they were able to hire eight women from King’s Home, who earn money based on hourly work as well as 10 percent commission from sales, and started to earn a profit. 

“Never in my wildest dreams did we think it would happen in less than a year,” Ankenbrandt said. 

The program also recently promoted Lyles to assist Ankenbrandt with the program and hired Amelie Thomas as assistant to the youth program.

Women at King’s Home typically stay six months to two years, saving 75 percent of what they earn to work their way toward living independently. The Prodigal Pottery employees, who also include four part-time workers, will be able to remain on staff even after they leave the home.

Ankenbrandt, who studied pottery as a fine arts major at Auburn, develops most of the designs for the studio and then teaches the women how to make them. She selected her employees based on whether they enjoyed making pottery as well as their hard work. 

Since they have started, Ankenbrandt said she has seen the women, many who are working on their GEDs, grow in their basic job skills. As they have learned how to roll clay, “love” any imperfections, paint, tag and inventory pottery, they are also creatively solving problems and developing relationships in the workplace. 

The bonds that have formed within the Prodigal Pottery studio go deeper than just professional relationships, too. Reiber, Red and Lyles said that they sometimes cry together with Ankenbrandt.

“You can tell her anything and it won’t go anywhere,” Red said.

Ankenbrandt said the ladies have opened up to her about trauma in their past. 

“They feel safe within this place to talk about things that are really hard,” she said. “Some days they are not OK and need to sit and cry and talk things through. They feel the freedom to do that, and then they get to work.”

Prodigal Pottery’s showroom is open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the house at intersection of King’s Home Drive and County Road 337 in Chelsea. For more information or to order pottery, visit prodigalpottery.etsy.com or facebook.com/kingshomepottery.

Where to find Prodigal Pottery

Prodigal Pottery Christmas Show 

Market Noel

Pepper Place Christmas Market

Prodigal Pottery Showroom

Alabama Goods

Etsy

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