OVERLAND — Rob Miller was inspired to open his pottery studio to people of all abilities when his grandson, Connor, was born with cerebral palsy eight years ago.
LampLight Studio now has a nonprofit arm, Blaze STL, that welcomes groups from underserved and disabled communities to create artwork and communicate through creativity.
The studio’s values are inclusion, collaboration and confidence.
Tyreese Jones, 18, from Florissant, and Blaze STL Director Rob Miller, right, from Olivette, work to remove a mold before firing Jones’ sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Miller founded the nonprofit Blaze STL alongside his wife, Colleen, in 2018. The organization hosts art work shops to make ceramics available to people with disabilities.
“It’s a way for us to give back to people with different abilities,” said Rob’s wife, Colleen Miller, who is also an artist. “It’s a chance to get out and express themselves and for us to learn about individuals with disabilities. It gives us all a chance to build relationships.”
Groups from St. Louis Arc and the Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired are among the visitors who have taken classes at Blaze. Recently, all 39 high school students from Miriam School and Learning Center came to Blaze to sculpt clay.
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Sarah Harig, a freshman at Miriam, decided to make a lifelike cat.
“I love working with clay,” said Sarah, 15. “I just let the clay tell me what it wanted to do, and apparently it wanted cat.”
Colin Lohaus, 17, from Oakville, hoists a piece of clay in the air as he puts the finishing touches on his ceramic helmet on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Lohaus is a student at Miriam School and Learning Center who, like his classmates, is involved in a variety of art forms.
Miriam is a private school offering curriculum and therapies for students in kindergarten through high school with learning differences including autism, attention deficits, language delays and other challenges.
Spending the afternoon at Lamplight Studio gave the students an opportunity to speak to each other through their art, said Bryce Kramer, 15.
“People aren’t very social, especially here, so it helps because as you see we’re all broken up into our own little tables,” Bryce said. “It helps us just work together. We talk to each other, and overall, it’s just a good experience for people to learn how to communicate.”
Ethan Rackers, 17, of Florissant, left, and Viggo Danna, 16, of Brentwood, joke around with Corbin Zickgraf, 16, of Kirkwood, as they begin a ceramics workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Students at Miriam School and Learning Center attended a ceramics workshop at Blaze STL following their field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum, where they learned about Sinichi Sawada, a Japanese artist with nonspeaking autism.
All students take art classes at Miriam, said high school art teacher Meaghan Mittler.
The students modeled their ceramic pieces in the style of Japanese sculptor Shinichi Sawada, who has nonspeaking autism and is currently featured at the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum.
The Miriam students visited the museum in November to connect Sawada’s work to their own.
“It was cool to see someone who experiences similar challenges to them in such a successful moment,” Mittler said.
Logan Schmidt, 17, of Fenton, carefully adds detail to his clay sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Schmidt participated in a ceramics workshop alongside his classmates at Miriam School and Learning Center as students created clay sculptures inspired by a recent field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum, where they learned about Japanese ceramics artist Sinichi Sawada.
At LampLight, the students created designs from animals to abstract think pieces. They will come back to LampLight Studio in January to glaze the clay. The studio will host an exhibit in May made up of work by Blaze artists.
Miriam freshman, Morgan Graham, designed a natural playscape with arches, boulders and other shapes.
“It’s very fun to play with in your hands,” said Morgan, 15. “You can do almost anything with clay.”
Zachary Linhares of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: A photograph accompanying this story incorrectly identified student Logan Schmidt, of Fenton. The caption information has been updated.
Miriam School and Learning Center students Andrew Chien, left, 17, of Creve Coeur, Addi Bertz, 18, of Chesterfield, and Logan Schmidt, 17, of Fenton, show off their work to each other after completing their clay sculptures on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland.
Utensils used to mold, design, and shape clay sit on a work table on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland.
Andrew Chien, right, 17, from Creve Coeur, rolls out a piece of clay to make a tail that he will attach to his ceramic sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Chien is student at Miriam School and Learning center who is a neurodivergent mixed medium artist who plays the drums, paints, and creates sculptures.
Sarah Harig, 15, of Jefferson County, adds texture to her clay cat on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Harig and her classmates at Miriam School and Learning Center attended a ceramics workshop at Blaze STL following their field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum where they learned about Sinichi Sawada, a Japanese artist with nonspeaking autism.
Students and educators from Miriam School and Learning Center gather around a work table as they create ceramic sculptures on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. The diverse group of neurodivergent students participated in a ceramics workshop at Blaze STL following their field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum where they learned about Sinichi Sawada, a Japanese artist with nonspeaking autism.
Andrew Chien, 17, of Creve Coeur, uses a tool to add texture to his clay sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Chien is student at Miriam School and Learning center who is a neurodivergent mixed medium artist who plays the drums, paints, and creates sculptures.
Daytona Bennet, 17, of Chesterfield, covers her hands in gloves as she smooths out a piece of clay to add to her sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. LampLight studio is home to Blaze STL, a nonprofit that specializes in making ceramic art accessible to everyone despite their learning differences.
Ethan Rackers, 17, from Florissant, begins shaping and cutting his clay for his sculpture on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at LampLight Studio in Overland. Rackers and his classmates at Miriam School and Learning Center attended a ceramics workshop at Blaze STL following their field trip to the Contemporary Art Museum where they learned about Sinichi Sawada, a Japanese artist with nonspeaking autism.
