My Blogs

It's in June of 2003 that The Ceramic Garden was founded and on May 1st, 2005 that my story started, right when I bought this little 1000 square feet Paint Your Own Pottery studio, in Northdale.  After being laid off four times in seven years, this art business quickly became my escape from the corporate world.  My entrepreneurial spirit and I set off on an adventure, learning hands on and from trial and error, without even knowing what a kiln was.  And with some very hard work, before I knew it, the passion took over. This small business quickly became my “thing,” my joy, especially when playing with clay and teaching. Who wouldn’t love an occupation where you get to constantly create and where you can express yourself at the same time you meet people who become loyal customers and friends. That’s how I became the self-taught artist and teacher I am now.  I want to ad that I didn't see the years fly by and just celebrated the 15th anniversary of The Ceramic Garden, Where Art is Therapy!

I've had the pleasure of teaching art in several major venues: the YMCA, McKitrick Elementary School, homeschooler cooperatives, Wellcare, TECO, SunTrust, Hunter Warfield, St. Timothy’s Catholic, Shiloh Baptist Churches, Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation, Carrollwood Cultural Center, Boy Scouts of America, among others. Let's not forget several communities' yearly Family Fun Days, festivals, West FL Ceramics Guild, and Land O Lakes library.

When we outgrew the Northdale location, we already knew we were going to head North, where the majority of our customers lived.  And because 65% of them were in Lutz, an empty place at 19213 N. Dale Mabry, right next to a Publix in Lutz Lake Crossing Plaza, became our new location, to their delight, at the end of 2019. 

I am grateful and proud to say that I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I know I have impacted the lives of many adults and children. I have helped grown ups realize their dreams of opening their own art studios, I helped others by leveraging my knowledge with my consulting services. I also made an impact on many children who are now attending art colleges or who have become teachers themselves. I could not be more content for them. I love the fact that they chose to be happy by doing what they love, and some with the support of their families. Even if you don't think of yourself as an artist,  sometimes that trait gets pulled out of you through playing and creating.  And that my dear, is how you discover your talent and creativity. You discover who you really are. You discover the "I".

Artfully yours,

Christine Terranova, Owner/President