Coffee, Tea and Pottery at a Paint-your-own Café

By Lisa Strong-Aufhauser

Petroglyph calls itself a “ceramic lounge.” Just what that might be becomes more apparent when you walk into the storefront in Santa Cruz, California. The front is filled with sleek café tables and chairs, the latter occupied by folks busily painting designs on unfinished pottery pieces. Petroglyph is a paint-your-own pottery place with a cafés social atmosphere - a cheerful spot to hang out with friends, take the kids, throw a party, or make a unique gift all by yourself.

Just walk in (or make reservation for a party) and head for the shelves of unfinished pottery. Choose a piece - anything from a refrigerator magnet to a wok-size bowl - then select your colors and get busy. You design and paint your own piece while chatting, sipping coffee or tea, and listening to music. A helpful staff is on hand to get you started and offer tips and encouragement. Once you've completed your masterpiece, the staff will fire it. You can pick it up within 48 hours at a specified time. It's fun and creative, and you'll end up with something special to take home as a gift. It sure beats another T-shirt.

Unfinished pieces are individually priced from $5 to $50 plus the painting fee which includes firing, paint and materials. For more information or to make reservation, call your local studio or go to www.petroglyph.com