We were lucky to catch up with Wren Appleby recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

The nudge to learn pottery was an intuitive download. I started feeling the pull in 2021 and by June I had signed up for my first class at a local studio, I had done some ceramics in high school back in the 80’s but that’s all the experience I had. For me, it was a nudge to connect to a part of myself I didn’t know yet. Pottery was something my birth mama learned in midlife and somehow I felt I needed to do that too. Maybe as a way to connect to her on the other side. So, in June 2021 I took my first class and I was hooked. I started working with clay on the wheel which can be pretty hard to learn. Something about the clay spinning around and having to get in centered before you can really form it into anything. The metaphors with pottery are endless. Weekly classes weren’t enough so I took a few other courses at another studio. Learning from different teachers is super important. Everyone has their own style. I found a third studio that I drove an hour and half each way to take classes on Saturdays. With each experience my skills increased. Of course there were lots of failures as well.
In the fall of that year I was able to acquire a small pottery wheel. Now I could practice even more. That was a game changer. There is no substitute for time with the clay. Learning how it works and finding the ways it doesn’t. Pottery got set aside in October 2021 when a massive tragedy hit me and my family; the sudden loss of my 17 year old son. My life stopped. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t do much. Deep, deep grief enveloped me.
I thought I would work with the clay as something to do, I didn’t touch it for a few months. Then in January my first pottery teacher reached out to me. I thought, maybe it’s time. So I went to clip my fingernails. (You can’t have fingernails when your’e throwing pots!) I grabbed the nail clippers and wedged in them was a dime. A sign. Coins are often used by our loved ones on the other side, Thanks mammers. Yes, I will go back.
So, I returned to the studio and learned some more. By March, I had my wheel out at home and a small studio set up. My teacher said to me one day “you know, you should sell some of your pottery, at least it would help pay for your habit.” Huh. yah, maybe. By August I had purchased a small kiln and now I was in business. My first market was in October of 2022. I did a few holiday markets but I’ve come to realize that there’s a different direction I need to go the with the clay. It has been a massive part of my healing journey and I want to share that with others. So now I teach workshops in my home studio.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I shared a lot of this in my previous response but here’s some more:

I went into pottery as a hobby, an extra. It has turned into so much more. It has been a tool to help me ground when it felt like everything I knew was swept away. It became a way to connect: to earth, to myself and now to others. From creating pieces that I love and seeing others find joy in them too.

When I sold my first pieces at a local maker’s market it was scary. Will anyone like what I make? Turns out they did, But I also had to be ok if they didn’t. My work is not for everyone. I want my pieces to go to homes where they are loved and cherished. Now that I’m branching into more of the teaching end of pottery I want to help people connect too. I don’t want to be another ceramics studio. There are lots of those and I’m super grateful for them. They were places I could go to learn and practice. I will probably go again. We never stop learning. I will still sell my pottery when I feel that is appropriate but it’s not my main focus.

I see Wren Studio as a place where people find connection through the clay, the horses and each other. My workshops are a bit “woo.” We pull cards, we ground in through meditation, we introduce ourselves to the clay and ask it what it wants to be. I do teach my guests some basic hand building techniques to guide them to create the piece that needs to be born. Recently, I held a Strength Totem workshop. We took some time to ground in and get in touch with our strengths. Through that experience I guided them to create a physical manifestation of that strength. For some it was a power animal that shows up for them and gives them strength. For others, it was a human form that exhibits how they feel alive.

The horses are an additional part of what I offer. As mirrors to ourselves and powerful wisdom holders they help us ground and connect to our higher selves. I am learning the ways of horse medicine and how to welcome others into that space. My own horse has been another integral part of my healing journey and a provider of unconditional love and support. I want others to feel that too. The work with the horses is all on the ground. There is no riding involved. It is a time of deep soul connection and reflection. These sentient beings have so much to offer if we just slow down and listen. Its’ more about “being” than “doing.” We are human beings after all. Sitting in a space of horse medicine is being open and allowing what needs to come through. It might be something that’s hard to hear. It might be an affirmation, a gift or a healing. It’s up to the horse what they bring. They will also call us out on our stuff. They are incapable of being incongruent. Something that humans are quite good at. If one is feeling angry deep down but smiling on the outside the horses know and will reflect that. I have seen a horse put their nose in someone’s heart space when they were sad. I’ve also seen a horse challenge someone to consider the boundaries in their life. The lessons and teachings of the horse are endless if we open up to them.

So, as a 55 year old “teacher” I am evolving and transitioning into this new way of teaching, outside of the elementary classroom. It feels like the classroom of nature and the connection to all that is. I’m not quite sure where this is all headed but I will keep paying attention and do the next thing I think I’m supposed to do.

I’m very proud of the healing work I have done and will continue to do. I feel that we all have a soul purpose on this planet and I’m trying to live within mine. I hope to be a guide to others who might be on a similar journey. Aren’t we all healing from something?

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to help people connect to themselves, the great mother (earth) and spirit through experiences with clay and horses. These are things that have been pivotal in my healing journey and I want to share them with others who are grieving, hurting and feeling disconnected. Clay and horses are deeply grounding. They take you out of your mind and into your body. One must be completely focused on the clay or the thousand pound prey animal in front of them. There is no other option. One must be fully present and in the moment.

Another goal is to help folks be in a state of awe and wonder. Amazed at what they are able to accomplish. Attuned to the messages that the horses have. There is so much out there for us. So much support when we tune in. So much connection that is ours when we know how to get out of our minds and find new frequencies.

I see myself as a teacher, intuitive guide, creative and human on a journey of healing. I desire to support others on their path.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like I’m in the midst of a major pivot right now. I have one foot in two different worlds. I have been an elementary school teacher for most of my adult life. I still love working with kids and continue to do so part time. Since the death of my son in October 2021 I have been trying to find my way and that has brought me to a massive spiritual awakening. I am going through a transformation and dark night of the soul. I am seeking to know my soul purpose on this planet. As I go through this healing journey I pay attention to what is feeding me, helping me. For me, that’s nature, connection to spirit, working with my hands in the clay and connection to horses. In the last year I have completed the California Naturalist course and I’m finishing up a Shamanic practitioner’s course. When the world you know shatters you look for touch points, ways to ground and connect. I’m going in the direction of a creative healing arts studio, A place where folks can connect to themselves, the earth and spirit through the clay and experiences with horse medicine.

Contact Info:

• Website: wren-studio.com
• Instagram: @wren_clayandhorses

Image Credits
Sarah J. Bennett (personal photo and additional photos 3, 4 and 8)