Where Clay, Community, and Pure Joy Collide

By Ryan Leighton, Communications Director | Maine Arts Commission

Beneath a ceramic bust of Beethoven and the paintings of Fort Halifax, art-making is absolutely alive in the colorful children's corner of the Winslow Public Library. This is where we dropped in on one of the five Maine Creates community arts pilot programs, funded in partnership with Side x Side and the Maine Arts Commission.

Every other Friday, Children’s Librarian Catie Joyce-Bulay invites a teaching artist to lead a spirited, multi-generational group of preschoolers and their adults in Art Play Dates, and yes, it’s exactly as fun as it sounds.

Clay Day: Chaos → Magic → Clay Masterpieces

Today’s session centered on clay, and teaching artist Marie Palluotto, a ceramicist and recent Springboard Grant recipient, arrived with a trunk full of tools and the kinetic energy of a fairy godmother. She flitted from table to table laying out clay kits, greeting each participant with:

“Thank you for coming and playing with me!”

Parents and guardians started out hovering, guiding small hands toward tools and textures. But then the wooden paddles came out.

If you’ve never witnessed twenty preschoolers discover a wooden paddle at the same time, know this: the percussion section of the universe briefly relocates to that room.

Marie loved it. She kept asking,
“Do you need more colors?”
And obviously, the answer was yes.

Then, like someone flicked a switch, the room shifted. The pounding softened. The energy settled. Small hands began shaping cars, imprinting patterns, forming tiny snowmen. You could almost hear the collective exhale of creativity taking over.

Catie calls this the “magic moment,” when focus blooms and a calm, lovely hum replaces the frenzy. Parents who intended to spectate were suddenly elbow-deep in clay themselves.

Take Ravi Sayakaram, who recently moved to Maine from California. He had brought his two young grandchildren. At first, he sat quietly in the back reading a book while the kids worked.

Ten minutes later?
The book was abandoned.
Ravi was shaping clay into what looked convincingly like an Egyptian sphinx.

“I read about this program, and now I keep coming back,” he told us mid-sculpt, still chiseling the face. “Now I’m enjoying myself like a kid. Thank you for what you do,” he said to Catie.

That’s the contagious thing about communal art-making: it reels everyone in.

How Winslow Became a Maine Creates Pilot Site

For Catie, this project began months earlier during the Maine Creates cohort training with Side x Side. She wanted to strengthen the bridge between Winslow and the thriving arts ecosystem across the river in Waterville—Colby Museum of Art, Waterville Creates, and more.

She knew not all families can easily reach those resources. So she brought the creativity to them.

Her proposal was funded as one of five Maine Creates pilot programs statewide. The grant supports:

• Supplies
• Teaching artists’ stipends
• Exploration of new mediums: stencil work, jelly plate printmaking, clay, dance, and more

The program’s mission?
Make creativity accessible, joyful, and communal.

And seeing this room in action, it’s clear that mission is being exceeded.

When the hour-long session wrapped, kids munched on snacks while adults chatted like old friends. Everyone left smiling, carrying clay creations and already asking about the next session.

Marie and Catie exchanged a look of shared triumph.

“I’m both energized and exhausted,” Catie said. “Most times, the setup and cleanup take twice as long as the session—but it’s worth every second.”

Because when creativity builds connection—and that connection is open to everyone—that’s community-building at its finest.

What’s Next

Art Play Dates will continue through the spring, with new teaching artists and new mediums rotating in. Follow Winslow Public Library for updates.

We’ll also continue following the four other Maine Creates pilot projects happening this winter and spring, including:

• With Love, From Van Buren: A Community Mural Project
• Family Pottery Classes at Southern Maine Re-entry Center
• Spatial Design Academy for Kids in Lewiston
• Library Art Kits & Exhibits in Guilford

Stay tuned for deep dives, photos, and stories as these projects unfold.

The creativity is just getting started.