Earth, Paint & Fire

By: Shannon Bradford

Lisa DeLosh grew up in the Tallahassee area of Florida where she and her friends used to go to ceramic/pottery workshops. When she relocated to Woodstock, she was teaching Home Economics at Woodstock High School while trying to decide if she wanted to continue teaching or run her own business. After spending a year researching and developing a business plan, she and her husband, Kevin, opened Earth, Paint & Fire. That was 3 years ago.

What is Earth, Paint & Fire? It's a lot of family fun! You can do an assortment of projects ranging from painting ceramics to be glazed/fired in the kiln to beautiful mosaics. When I visited Lisa yesterday, there were several mothers with young children making Christmas gifts for family members that all included adding their tiny handprints.

Shown below is Sheri Sands with her daughter Samantha.

This is Avery Rylander with her mom, Sara.

Tara Hooks came in for a follow up to a project that she had yet to finish. Tara, from Canton, was having both of her children's handprints on travel mugs for their father and their aunt. Tara told me that she loves to go to Earth, Paint & Fire because she loves making sentimental gifts. She was there this past Saturday and said that there were a lot of fathers making gifts with their children. Here she is with her son, Nole:

Like any business, Earth, Paint & Fire gets very busy this time of year. Normal turn around time for having the pieces ready to pick up (they must be glazed after they're painted, fired in a kiln for a half a day and then cooled for another day and a half) is 5-7 days. Now, it's more like 7-10 days. Customers are urged to come in and get their holiday art done before the middle of the month to ensure they'll be ready in time for the holidays.

What if you need to walk away with a gift? Lisa recommends a mosaic project where you glue tiles on one of many forms she has for sale. She'll give you an easy grout kit to take home with you so that you can finish it the next day wherever you want. She also has plates that you can write on with special ceramic markers that are food-safe. You can do the artwork there, then take the item home and bake it on in your own oven. Here are some examples:Lisa not only has a huge selection of dishes and containers, but also switchplate covers, figurines and decorative tiles/trivets. I also saw Pottery to Go Kits & melted wine bottles for sale.

What if you are like me - creatively challenged? Lisa not only has a table full of books with ideas, but she also has tools such as stencils, stamps, tape & sponges. You'll also never feel alone as Lisa has "Paint Hostesses" who help you with your project - providing paint, tools and guidance.

Lisa pointed out what I was noticing while observing the parents working with their children: this is a fun entertainment alternative. Forget the germy ball pits and mindless entertainment of the movies where you have nothing to show for your time or money. Bring your kids to Earth, Paint & Fire. You'll share a table, talk, & laughter while you all work on a skill together. At the end, you'll have a unique item that will be a cherished memento of the time spent together. Lisa also informed me that Earth, Paint & Fire offers week-long camps to coincide with Cherokee County School System's breaks in February, the summer and September. Kids ages 6+ will paint, bead, work with pottery, make mosaics and more. They walk away with between 5 to 10 projects and a few new friends as well.
Earth, Paint & Fire has a private room that they use for birthday parties (FREE downloadable invitations on her site), Bunko groups, bridal and baby showers, Red Hats meetings, sports teams, homeschool groups and just about any other kind of group.

Lisa also has special days set aside for certain groups such as Teen Night (free pizza), Grandparents Day (free add-on), Ladies Night (discount for groups), and even a Wine/Paint Night where local wine merchants bring samples to taste.

If you would like to be added to Lisa's events e-mail, you can click HERE and request to be added. You can also click HERE to see her December events.

Earth, Paint & Fire is a wonderful, locally owned business that provides an excellent entertainment and artful outlet for Cherokee County & Woodstock residents. You can find them at 1432 Towne Lake Parkway (Suite 130) just off I-575's Towne lake Parkway exit in the shopping center behind Longhorn Steakhouse. (around the corner from Publix). For directions or more information, call them at 770-592-4114 or visit them online at www.earthpaintandfire.com.