Founded in 2022 in the San Francisco Bay Area in the Mid-Peninsula in the City of San Mateo as a for-profit community-focused pottery studio. It is a teaching studio where memberships, teambuilding, classes and private lessons are offered in Wheel Throwing, Hand-Building and Sculpture for adults and youths. Email info@theclaylife.com for more details.
The owner of Clay Life Arts Studio & TheClayLife.com is David Paulley. David has been a graphic designer since 1988. Though art has had a presence in his life growing up it wasn’t until 2011 when he joined a local clay studio near where he lived where he had the opportunity to learn and practice pottery, eventually teaching and managing the local studio there. The wealth of experiences learned there, not only in clay, but in the people he met there and in running a studio and positive feedback from members and students there gave him the confidence and experience to bring into focus his life goal of having his own membership-based teaching studio in the Mid-Peninsula in the city of San Mateo.
David Paulley originally hails from Wyoming and is a self-taught potter, sculptor, instructor and active community member and founder of CLAsS & TCL. He uses his unique skill set to offer educational opportunities – creating opportunities for potters in local communities.
The studio practice he has established provides a vehicle for him to continually learn about material, connect with the community, and create intersections between ephemeral ideas and functional forms.
“Your support also means that I have your vote of confidence and trust. That means a lot to me. It also means that I am making a pledge to do my best to create a space that fosters the next generation of ceramic artists and that knits our community together through shared creative experiences.”
–dp
Sculpture Instructor Tuesday Evenings Megan Masnaghetti
Megan Masnaghetti is traditionally a 2D artist working with chalk pastels to create surreal, figure-based paintings. Five years ago, she turned to sculpture as a way to quite literally carve out space for mindfulness and community during the busy work week. Studying under Cindy Chan and David Paulley, Megan quickly found passion in sculpting and sharing these skills with others. In her intro to sculpture class, she hopes to inspire joy in learning the clay process and help students connect (or reconnect) to their desire to create.
Sculpture Instructor Monday Afternoons Cindy Chan
I love the medium of clay! I have been working with clay for 25 years and sculpting for over 15 years. My clay journey started with handbuilding and then branched out to sculpture where I found a fascinating home away from home. My teaching approach is to meet students where they are as newbies to clay or as experienced sculptors. Everyone is welcome in my classes!
Tuesday morning Sculpture Instructor Sam Blauw
Fifteen years ago, I got my hands into some clay and haven’t stopped playing since. Sculpting is my passion, my outlet for imagination. I love turning whimsical and bizarre ideas into tangible forms, bringing any concept to life. My mission is not only to create but to connect—with the art, the process, and especially a community of fellow creators.
Studio Manager & Hand-Building Instructor Cathy Spitters
I’m so happy to have found The Clay Life!
I have a background in elementary education and private art classes/camps for both children and adults. My aim is to help each student feel confident in exploring their creativity and in learning to embrace obstacles as readily as successes. I believe focusing on the process rather than the product inevitably develops a more satisfying product and stronger, happier artists!
I look forward to creating a fun, educational environment for students to learn new or hone existing hand building skills. My classes will guide you through the creation of a series of practical household objects, or facilitate the construction of your independent hand-built projects – it’s up to you!
I am also available for private lessons for those who would like a more personalized approach.
If you want to be part of the team, you can send us an email on our contact page and tell us what you would like to bring to the table in making our clay community better for various roles and duties ranging from watching the studio during certain times, to teaching opportunities and even tech assistants and web development.