Kickstarter

We're more than a quarter of the way there thanks to our week 3 backers! :

Claire Zarcone, Harriett Heller, Emily Bald, Phoebe Sharp, Amanda McFaul, Jessica Toner, Christine Seelye-Kign, Sara Uruburu, Cheena Jain, Karrie Gurnow, Erin Dwyer, Jen Rampe, Christian Claessens, John Roberts, Daniel Casey O'Donovan, Evelyn Pincus (award for youngest "backer"!), Bradley Butler, Jay Barczykowski, Kristina, Ray Recchia, Bunny.

A reminder of why the Genesee Pottery is so important, here's an article about a special group of women who have found support at the Pottery. Written by Stuart Low and published in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle last October. Photos below by Jamie Germano.

The Art of Hope

            For some breast cancer patients, the most healing touch is the one they use to make art.

            On a recent night, four Monroe County women create decorate tiles at a Rochester pottery studio. One of them stamps delicate floral patterns on a clay slab. It feels like moist cookie dough—and she uses a cookie cutter to slice off the imprinted design. Then she fastens it to a ceramic tile for slow firing in a kiln.

            Across the work table, another woman coats a silk screen with purple glaze. It seeps onto a tile below, creating a textured fan shape.

            “You can wipe it off with a sponge if you don’t like it!” says instructor Marsha King, 60, a Brighton potter. “Make sure it’s what you want. When you’ve finished, it’ll take the clay several weeks to dry.”

            But artistic perfection isn’t what lures these four students to Genesee Pottery at 713 Monroe Ave. All of them have survived breast cancer—from near-fatal ordeals to successful lumpectomies. They gather here to share stories and encouragement while making ceramic gifts for their families and friends.

            The Rochester area offers an exceptional variety of activities for breast cancer survivors. The Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester alone serves about 2,500 people a year in classes ranging from t’ai chi to drawing.

            Often run by volunteers, such local programs offer emotional support and group activities that help jump-start patients sapped by chemotherapy and radiation.

            Genesee Pottery’s classes are believed to be among the few anywhere that use ceramics. They have been administered since 2008 by the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education.

            “Everybody here has gown down the same road,” says participant Kate Chace, 50, of Fairport, who had advanced metastic cancer. “This is a sisterhood, if you will, where we laugh a lot. The biggest thing it represents for me is hope.”

            She has undergone weekly chemo sessions since 2008 and was declared stable just three weeks ago, after trying new drugs She celebrated by making a mug for her daughter, Courtney, to put on her desk at the Pentagon.

            Ama Merla joined the pottery class after having a bilateral mastectomy and plastic surgery.

            “I was diagnosed last year on 9/11.” Says the Henrietta resident. “After that, my twin towers came down. The recovery took a lot longer than I expected, and I just wanted to withdraw and heal. But now, thanks to my lovely husband Bruce, I have the feeling ‘Let’s get on with it.’ ”

            As a massage therapist, she’s aware of the healing that can take place through touch.

            “I really enjoy the tactile part of clay,” she says. “I had a zest for pottery in my youth, and my hands were yearning to touch it again. For me, it connects back to the creative spirit.

            She recently made a ceramic “wish fish” with bulbous eyes and a picture of the sun on its belly. Whisper a wish to this strange creature and it’ll give you a new beginning—guaranteed.

            King herself is a breast cancer survivor and started the class as a part of her healing process. A retired nurse, she has seen the benefits of hands-on art activities for a wide variety of patients. She teaches four pottery classes a quarter. Each session begins with women talking about their personal lives and building a sense of camaraderie.

            “Some of the women are doing well,” she says. “But we had one person pass away and it profoundly affected the entire group. We made a collective pot and gave it to her family.”

            King had a lumpectomy in 2007 and underwent radiation treatments. She wears a compression sleeve to control swelling in her left arm.

            “I’ve never had any additional evidence of cancer,” she says. “But you can never say that you’re cured.”

            Among local breast cancer programs, the Genesee Pottery class might be unique. It welcomes back “alumnae” if they have a relapse or just want to make a few more pots.

            Class member Mary Pat Magde has found the studio a good place to make friends. Old and new participants can share their experiences with surgery and chemo while shaping a vessel on the wheel.

            “It’s great to be with people who are going through the same things,” says Magde, 53, of Irondequoit. “A lot of have never done pottery before and make a million mistakes. But it challenges us to keep going and move on to new experiences. I call it the Zen of letting go.”