Community art space behind Letna Park

Pottery and art workshop in Prague

By Nikola Ivanovski

Published in At the Lennon Wall, student paper of the Anglo American College

June 13, 2006

Somewhere between India and Nepal, while on a six-month tour of Asia two years ago, Joe and Klara Dodds were inspired to open "Muddum," a pottery place where Czechs and foreigners could express their artistic impulses and share experiences. Recently, Muddum flyers were all over the post boards on the walls of the New Anglo-American College (AAC). The flyers invite students to "get muddy" at art studio just a two-minute walk from Letna Park, and three minutes from Strosmayerovo Namesti.

"It's great having our own space which we created ourselves and where people can try out different fusions of art in a rich cultural environment," says Joe, while standing at Muddum next to a table overflowing with various earthenware, ranging from tiny little human and animal figures, to pots, plates, and vases. The gallery name, he explains, is a play between the English word mud and the Czech word dum or house.

Joe, who has been living in Prague since 1999, had studied Psychology and Neuroscience in Manchester University. He finds the art of pottery complementary to psychology. "Art and therapy are very similar," he explains. "Both require a space in which it is safe to be absent minded, where it is possible to let go of normal rational ways of thinking and access deeper levels of the mind. Clay is a very therapeutic medium. It is a very tactile physical activity, working with earth as one of the basic elements."

His volunteer work as a writer for the European Voluntary Service' Car Busters Magazine and Resource Center in Prague qualified him to obtain a 5000-euro-grant from the European Youth Foundation. The grant was designed to help Joe set up his community-based project. The inspiration to establish Muddum was the result of his earlier involvement with many grassroots organizations supporting artistic and social activities within the London and Manchester communities, as well as his fondness of art.

The idea to merge pottery and cultural events in Muddum, though, came from Joe's Czech wife Klara, who was his girlfriend at the time. Klara has an M.A. in Theory of Culture from Charles University and had practiced pottery as a hobby for 13 years with a professionally educated potter. She also volunteered teaching ceramics to Romany kids.

The Dodds' applied and got the grant, which covered the primary costs of starting the project, including rent for the first few months and renovation of the space, which was abandoned for quite a while and needed serious work. "It was been a pub before Communism and only used as storage since the 40's," Joe says. With the help of friends, the Dodds managed to transform this dead space to a place buzzing with life, creativity and community in 2004.

The reconstruction, in Joe's words, was "one of the hardest things we'd ever done and we couldn't have managed without the help from our friends." But, after two months of hard work, the place was ready to roll.

The activities one can do at Muddum are plenty: film nights, pottery workshops, poetry readings, private parties, children's Saturdays, art exhibitions, concerts, and art therapy workshops. For around 60 Kc per hour for a trimester course, people can shape, mold and play with clay to create earthenware.

As you enter Muddum you are surrounded by photographs. The photos on the left depict an ancient ceramic center in Thailand, the Sawankhalok kilns dating from the mid 14th to end of 15th centuries, producing some of the finest ceramics ever created. Some more photos follow, pictures of the ancient city of Bhaktapur in Nepal, and its potters quarter, with pictures of how they make the clay outside in the squares, dry it and even fire it in the square outside.

On the right side of the glassy entrance there are photos that depict various workshops and events along with "memories of Muddum pictures," which depict the history of the place and reconstruction process.

The current location for Muddum was actually a second option. The Dodds' had already found a place at the beginning, but the owner raised the rent 100% a month before they were supposed to move in. How they found the current place was maybe by pure chance.

Joe remembers with a smile on his face, "Klara kept looking for a space and one day was looking at what is now Muddum when a car drove by with two guys in it. One of them was quite drunk and when Klara told him that she was looking for a space, he said his uncle owned it. His friend said not to listen to him as he was talking rubbish."

But, Klara gave him her phone number, Joe continues. "It turned out to be true and the landlords were really nice. They could get loads more money from someone else probably but they really liked our idea." Joe says that "they helped with reconstruction. The landlord even got his hands dirty with the cleaning."

As you enter the main room, you are already feeling the warm and friendly atmosphere. You are generally greeted by the smiling Klara, the "queen of Muddum." The main room has two big tables on which people get busy with clay. Klara and other teachers are there to oversee and help with advice. At the far end there is a smaller table with a few crimson old chairs, where you can read books and magazines from the assorted small library that Joe has placed for visitors. The books cover various areas, like ecology, politics, psychology and psychoanalysis, as well as a lot of books on art and pottery.

Saturday is children's day at Muddum. Joe and Klara have introduced something like a creative kindergarten, where parents leave their children to play at Muddum. The kids are under the supervision of the couple, now joined by a European Voluntary Service volunteer. Children's activities include: pottery, paper-puppet making, balloon animals, juggling/circus workshops and performances by the resident juggler, guess who - Joe of course.

While pottery is Klara's field of expertise, where she deals more with adults, Joe loves working with children. "Kids have a certain kind of raw creativity, though which they see the world uniquely and make things an adult may not be able to think of. They haven't internalized all the socially normal ways of thinking yet so can approach art with a fresh mind."

Each month Muddum features an "Artist of the month." It is a chance for unknown artists to break through. There the artists can organize exhibition of their works and invite people to see it for the first time. Last month featured the works of a Swedish artist, originally born in Prague and currently studying photography at FAMU. There is a special double exhibition this month, with ceramics from Cara Ernst (US) and photography from Simon Neale (UK). Next month will feature an artist from Berlin.

Even though grant money helped start this creative project, the early phase of Muddum was financially tough on the Dodds'. "The money was difficult for a while, as some months we earned less than we spent. It's still difficult but the other teachers are really great and reliable," says Joe.

In September last year, something beautiful happened to the young couple - Rosalia, the "princess of Muddum," was born. Since then Klara has not been able to spend too much time in Muddum due to her motherly chores. "We had to find other people to take the classes which made us a bit nervous as it's our first 'baby'," Joe says.

While it became harder to handle his growing family and Muddum business at the same time, Joe notes, Rosalia's arrival in a way had a positive influence on the development on Muddum. "The birth forced us to try different things and open it up more to other people to use the space."

As a result, Muddum recently has expanded its activities to include: painting classes taught by a Czech academic painter; art therapy courses with a Czech art therapist Andrea Hanzlová; Creative Explorations workshops with their Finnish volunteer; and Nomad Art classes using a mix of clay, paint, and writing to explore creatively as a group. The Nomad Art classes are taught by Alison Kailey, a Prague resident who studied therapeutic arts at the University of New Mexico, USA. In July Mudum will start offering origami workshops with a young Italian artist.'

As Muddum and the Dodds' family keep growing, Joe still keeps busy doing his own work. He currently is teaching English on freelance basis for a couple of language schools in Prague, working on his PhD in Psychoanalysis at the Sheffield University, and doing clinical training with the Czech Psychoanalytic Society.

He says sometimes managing his own work, family, and Muddum can be difficult but definitely worth it. "Now it has become more established, I see what other people get out of it...there are lots of people who have become regulars and do trimester after trimester, some are getting really good. And there's one Czech boy (8 years old) who is so great at pottery, really patient and with great ideas. I reckon he might be something of an artist when he's older. At least he could teach a class or two in Muddum."

Joe loves his Muddum concept and wants to expand on it. "I've got some contacts with artists and social/artistic centers in the UK and other countries (like Finland). I'm thinking of applying for a grant to set up a network of places like us. And try mixing it up and helping each other."

The Dodds' are offering universities and schools, including AAC, the opportunity to utilize their space for workshops. "Any class can come and do a workshops related to their course of study, regardless of whether it is an art course or not," Joe comments. The dynamic couple wants Muddum to be the hub for creative students who also want to exhibit their works. "If a student is interested to tell people something they feel passionately about," Joe notes, "they are welcome to contact us and we can arrange it as a workshop or cultural/film night."

Latest on Muddum's activity list was a double exhibition. The opening party was on Friday June 9, at 18:30 featuring: Cara Ernst from the US, with ceramics and Simon Neale from the UK, with photography.

Muddum is now about to reach its second birthday and it has come a long way. Their birthday party will be on Saturday, June 24, at 20:00, featuring a live concert from a New York band called Chad Parks and The Near Death Experience. They play a blend of surf, punk and blues. "The combination of pottery and punk will be...interesting. But all measures will be taken to prevent any gratuitous damage to students carefully formed ceramic creations," said Joe.

In July Muddum will start offering origami workshops with a young Italian artist.

For more about muddum's workshops, exhibitions, and cultural events, as well as a record of their activities so far see their website www.muddum.cz

Nikola Ivanovski can be reached at koljko@yahoo.com.