If Shame Follows You Everywhere, Pottery Gives You Somewhere to Let It Go

Maybe it’s from mistakes you made. Or things that happened to you. Or just the way you were raised to feel not good enough. Shame can seep into every part of life—and feel impossible to shake.

At The Clay Hole in Draper, Utah, we meet people every week who carry that same heavy weight. And pottery meets them with something different: acceptance. Play. Process. You don’t have to hide here. You don’t have to perform. You just get to create—and slowly let some of that shame fall away like dried clay on the floor.

You are not your past. You are not your shame. Pottery gives you proof.

Why Pottery Helps People Living With Chronic Shame

Shame thrives in isolation and silence. Pottery interrupts that cycle with shared experience and tangible progress. You shape something. Finish it. Glaze it. Fire it. And you hold it in your hands. That simple act can begin to rewrite the stories shame told you about who you are.

• No one here cares if you “get it right”—there is no “right”
• The process itself is forgiving and affirming
• You'll create something real—and be proud of it
• You're met with kindness, not critique
• Every person here is healing something—you’re not alone

A study on shame regulation through art therapy found that ceramic-based creative work helps reduce internalized shame by facilitating emotional expression, nonverbal processing, and confidence through mastery.

How Pottery Gently Lifts the Weight Off Your Shoulders

There are no grades here. No one critiques your work. You show up, center the clay, and breathe. People laugh. Mistakes become masterpieces. And over time, you realize you’re not broken. You’re human. Pottery lets you feel that—through your hands, not your head.

• Studio located in Draper—central to Salt Lake and Utah counties
• Membership includes weekly classes plus a free bonus day each week
• Kind instructors and hundreds of tools to try—no pressure or expectations
• Studio founder Dan Pearce often joins members and believes shame can be softened through shared creativity

“Shame ruled my life. I always felt behind, wrong, or broken. Pottery didn’t erase that overnight—but it gave me moments where I felt proud. That was everything.” — D.T.

*You are not your shame. You are what you create when shame steps aside. Let clay show you.*

Conclusion

If shame has become your baseline, know this: you don’t have to carry it alone. Pottery gives you a way to reconnect with the parts of you that deserve compassion, pride, and joy. No one’s perfect here. Just present. Come let some of that weight fall off your shoulders with each piece you make.

This content was created in collaboration with Dan Pearce, owner of The Clay Hole—a professional potter with nearly 3 million followers across social media who regularly joins members in studio classes.

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