St. Pete Ceramics rebounds with 'Out of the Ashes' exhibition after devastating fire

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A St. Petersburg ceramic studio that was destroyed by a fire in January is displaying its members' artwork at a local gallery to raise funds for its rebuilding efforts.

A Safe Space Cut Short

The backstory:

When St. Pete Ceramics opened its doors in June 2024, it quickly became a sanctuary for local artists and community members seeking creative relief. The small, intimate studio offered a place where people from all walks of life could decompress through clay work.

"It's like a third space really for folks that are working in positions that might be very stressful in one way or another, and they need some kind of reprieve, and clay offers that, no matter what walk of life you're in," St. Pete Ceramics Co-Owner Ethan Fielder said. 

That sense of security was shattered in January when a destructive fire wiped out the studio space. The loss was immediate and emotional for the community that had grown around it.

"They were showing up crying cause this was their other space, and I'm like, we have to fix this. We have to figure it out. We need a plan," St. Pete Ceramics Co-Owner Beth Miranda said.

Resilience in the Making

What they're saying:

Refusing to let the loss put an end to their creative outlet, members rallied together. Supported by the local ceramics community, artists adapted to any space they could so they could continue crafting.

That perseverance has now taken shape in a new exhibition titled "Out of the Ashes," currently hosted at The Werk Gallery in St. Petersburg. 

"The idea behind this show really is the resilience behind everything we've been doing," Fielder said. "Having our members have their work in this space is so cool because some of them have never shown in a gallery space before."

The exhibition displays new works created in the wake of the disaster alongside a handful of charred pieces that remarkably survived the blaze. Proceeds from the showcase will go directly toward rebuilding the studio, with the owners setting their sights on reopening later this fall.

"A lot of this work has been made since the fire. These people have been working in teeny-tiny spaces or firing in my backyard," Miranda said. "I hope they just come here and see who we are, how we made it through."

Looking Forward

What's next:

The exhibition will be on display until the end of August. Fielder and Miranda hope to re-open the studio, located in the Warehouse Arts District, later this fall. 

St. Petersburg