It Takes Two

STEPHANIE BENNETT and SARAH WORLEY started at Fat Cat Pottery as students. Bennett, a retired hairstylist, was looking for something to do with her hands and found the practice as a therapeutic outlet that instantly drew her in. Worley, who had previously been a studio member but took a hiatus to homeschool her children during the pandemic, returned to clay as a means to do something for herself.

As they sit in Fat Cat Pottery, at ease in an environment that feels like a second home and amongst members whom they regard as family, Bennett notes, “It takes two to make a Mary.”

Longtime Fat Cat owner, MARY HOLDEN-HALL, has been practicing pottery for almost fifty-six years. In October, she handed over ownership to Bennett and Worley for a retirement filled with travel and a renewed focus on teaching classes at Fat Cat Pottery.

Bennett and Worley are no strangers to the studio.

“I was a member in 2012, and it was time for me to come back to clay,” Worley says. “Before I knew it, Stephanie was teaching me how to load kilns and firing processes and studio management. And so, I worked my way from the warehouse through the studio, up to assisting Mary with operations, and Stephanie and I have been a fantastic match. We bring some strong skills.”

Holden-Hall first got into pottery by chance. An exercise class she signed up for was full, and the secondary option offered was arts and crafts.

“Well that seemed to be pottery,” she says. “I haven’t had my hand out of it since. Within six to eight months my mom bought me a small wheel, and my husband bought me a small kiln.”

Holden-Hall opened Fat Cat Pottery in 1998, and it quickly became a staple for local artists to embrace a collaborative experience, for beginners to take classes, and as a storefront for professionals to stock up on ceramic supplies. Education has also always been prominent, which Bennett notes will continue to grow under their ownership.

“The biggest thing to us is education and membership. We supply clay to most of the schools in the area, to art departments, starting off in elementary school all the way to high school,” Bennett says. “We also like to do things for our members and promote them, including markets and craft shows. We even have an upcoming pottery festival celebrating twenty-five years in business and it will be a craft fair, so members can show their wares and sell them.”

The typical class size is around six to seven students, with both evening and morning classes offered throughout the year in five-week spans.

“One of the reasons I sold the business was so I could get my hands back in,” Holden-Hall says. “I was spending all my time in the office, and I couldn’t get out to talk to the students.”

Classes range from beginner-intermediate hand building or wheel throwing to specialty workshops taught by Holden-Hall.

In January, she plans to  teach an all-women class series called Throw Like a Girl.

Currently, the studio has forty-six members with membership available to potters looking to truly hone in their craft alongside 24-hour access to the studio.

Holden-Hall describes pottery as grounding.

“I had been taking yoga classes and doing meditation, and when I started with clay it was like ‘This is my meditation,’” she says. “I get into it, and I forget everything else.”

When asked about their pottery styles, Holden-Hall definitively says, “eclectic,” with whimsy and an art-forward approach shining through. “I focus on functional, everyday wares that bring you back to the earth,” says Worley. For Bennett, thirty years spent in Carolina Beach is emulated through her nautical creations showcasing sea life in glazes of blues and greens.

Although it takes two to be a Mary, the three forces combined all present unique skill sets and styles.

“Sarah does a great job with administration duties; I love dealing with the members and classes, as well as teaching. There’s no one alike person, everyone comes here for different reasons,” Bennett says. “We’ve been fortunate to have the best community here, and Mary has laid the groundwork for that. Organically it’s become a beautiful thing. Our studio is rich with culture, life, and love for one another.”

To view more of photographer Allison Joyce’s work, go to allisonjoyce.com

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