Over The Moon Ceramic Studio - Art And Dreams On Madison Avenue

Carolyn Turcotte, proprietor of Over The Moon Ceramic Studio on Madison Avenue in Lakewood.

Over the Moon Ceramics Studio is the enterprise of Lakewood resident Carolyn Turcotte, who is a workforce analyst by day and ceramics artist and teacher by night. Carolyn learned ceramics as a kid from a neighborhood teacher, and over the years she dabbled off and on in the art, participating with her children, and often dreaming about having a studio of her own.

In fall of 2013 the wheels were put into motion to make Carolyn’s dream a reality. Carolyn had returned to school at Tri-C  to pursue some computer programming classes and increase her skill set to enhance her career. Needing a “filler” class to round out her schedule, Carolyn chose a ceramics class - and almost immediately her passion was reignited for the art. Three weeks later, she dropped the programming classes and focused her energy on learning new techniques and refreshing the skills previously learned. Within just a few months Carolyn had secured funds, located a kiln, molds and all necessary equipment – much of it on Craigslist. She found the perfect storefront on Madison Avenue – a former jewelry store and furniture refinishing company and with some elbow grease and assistance provided by her kids and their friends – she opened Over the Moon in January 2014.

The studio features a growing selection of ready-to-paint figurines, dinnerware, candle holders etc. The process of creating a one-of-a-kind ceramic piece is easy enough for any skill level. The average price of a piece is $25 which includes all paint and glazes as well as firing. Smaller and larger pieces are available and priced accordingly. Artists are given all the time they need to complete their work. A common sentiment of customers is the relaxed atmosphere and never feeling rushed to finish a piece. Carolyn refreshes her inventory of pieces based on upcoming holidays or seasons, and listens to suggestions from her growing list of repeat customers.

“I’ve partnered with Groupon and Amazon Local to get the word out about my studio and market myself to local people who are looking for an artistic activity” explained Carolyn. "I’ve been delighted to see some of these customers returning with their friends, planning date night, girls’ night out or birthday parties for their kids. The growth of the business has been really organic in that way." Over the Moon also has classes in hand building of ceramics and wind chime making, which have been increasingly popular.

“Lakewood is the perfect place for this type of business” continued Carolyn, “It’s known for being arts friendly and the neighborhood is walkable and safe. I get a lot of folks who pop in out of curiosity because they’ve been walking by and noticing the activity.”

The Madison Arts District has been organizing art walks throughout the year which have been well attended and beneficial to the numerous artists and studio galleries like Over the Moon in showcasing the art and the Madison Avenue Arts Community. The next art walk will be on October 25, 2014.

Over the Moon is located at 17001 Madison Ave, Lakewood, Ohio. Phone: 216-571-3622, Email: overthemoonstudio@live.com. They are open Tuesday – Saturday afternoons and evenings. Hours are listed on the studio’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/overthemoonstudio/info.

Kelly Quinn-Sands

Lifelong CLE-lander, graphic designer, singer-songwriter, lover of the arts.

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Volume 10, Issue 21, Posted 2:02 PM, 10.14.2014