A new community art space has come to Hackensack, one that believes in learning through doing, connecting, and exploring. Untamed Arts offers small group pottery wheel classes (up to eight students) as well as handbuilding clay classes.
Both options are available as either one-time experiences where the studio finishes your pieces for you; or multi-week classes where you learn every aspect of making ceramics from start to finish. Other workshops include painting, drawing, leather work, and cyanotypes. Untamed Arts also hosts parties, team-building events, birthday parties and group activities.
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A Laid Back Artistic Experience
“I love teaching both teens and adults on the pottery wheel,” says Mel Hirschfeld, founder. “It’s my specialty.”
Besides pottery and clay classes, Untamed Arts is frequently adding new activities. “I partner with artists who want to share their work and teach the community,” Mel explains. “Untamed Arts is a real working studio where people can come, unplug, and connect in real life creatively.”
While building Untamed Arts, Mel took inspiration from other community art spaces. “Community art spaces helped me thrive and connect with other artists,” she recalls. “The friends I have made in those spaces shaped who I am. I have been lucky to be a part of many creative collectives and art studios throughout my life. Untamed Arts is a place for that to begin for so many others.”
About Untamed Arts
Prior to opening Untamed Arts, Mel would frequently visit Hackensack. In particular, she is a longtime patron of local businesses like Lido Restaurant, Cosmo’s Italian Salumeria, and White Manna. So it feels a bit like destiny that her business is now situated between Cosmo’s and Lido’s. Plus, it’s only two blocks from Hackensack Brewery (the studio is BYOB for those over 21 after 5 pm).
As for Mel, she is a Portuguese American who grew up in Brooklyn. She first learned how to make ceramics at age 19. Her grandfather hand-painted pottery in Portugal his entire life, retiring when he was 90 years old.
Future plans include a 24-hour makerspace for advanced creators. It would be for those looking to create on a larger scale or start their own small creative business. “I believe artists work better together, inspired and supported by each other,” Mel says. “I love witnessing the sense of pride people have when they see pieces fully finished by them.”
Visit Untamed Arts at 705 Main St, Hackensack. Look for them online to learn more.
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All Photos: © Untamed Arts
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