On a snowy or rainy day at Deep Creek, the lake goes quiet. But, inside Deep Creek Pottery, it’s the opposite.
The first thing you notice is how much work lives in this room. Shelves lined with hundreds of finished pieces, all of it real-deal pottery you’d actually use. Mugs with weight to them and bowls you can picture holding coffee on a kitchen counter. Glazes with colors borrowed from the lake and shapes morphing into ridgelines.
And then you notice that right alongside the “professional” pottery are paint-your-own stations, mosaic projects,s and tools ready for the next person to sit down and start. It’s part shop, part studio, and part “come on in, you can do this.”
That’s the thing Ron and Lorie Skidmore have built; that’s easy to miss if you only stop in for a quick gift. Deep Creek Pottery isn’t just about what they make. It’s about what they make possible for everyone else.
When most people hear “pottery,” they picture the wheel. Maybe even that scene from Ghost. Lorie laughs because, yes, people absolutely mention it.
But the wheel is only one piece of what happens here. You can walk in during open hours and paint pottery with no appointment needed. You can also create mosaic tile projects that you can take home the same day, which is a big deal for visitors who are only here for a weekend.
And then there’s the newest project that’s been turning heads even on cold, gray days: crushed glass and resin sun catchers. You choose a shape, fill the sections with colored crushed glass, and they pour resin over the top. The result looks like stained glass without all the intimidating parts. They cure overnight and are ready to take home the next day.
Going back about 30 years ago, Ron and Lorie were creating as Laurel Ridge Pottery and working out of their home studio. They did farmers’ markets and shows,s and they taught a few wheel lessons. Ron also spent years teaching at Garrett College. And when he retired, he realized something that surprised him after four decades of a busy classroom: he missed people.
Now their studio, known as Deep Creek Pottery, sits on Deep Creek Drive, just above the lower level near Pine Lodge and the Fun Zone. It has a view of the lake and, some days, they’ll spot bald eagles flying out front.
To throw clay on the wheel, beginners are absolutely welcome. Lorie does a demo of slamming the one-pound ball of clay into the center and pulling the walls up as it spins. She gets them on the wheel and guides them through it, hands-on, so they leave with something they’re actually happy with.
The part most people don’t realize is an art form: glazing. If the wheel is the thing people expect, glazing is the part that surprises them.
Ron loves it. He calls it a dance. He pours glaze, turns the pot, layers colors, uses an eye-dropper for contrast. The pieces they’re known for, especially their landscape-style glazing, are “abstract but suggestive,” as Ron puts it. People swear they see barns or wagons in the pattern. Others see trees, sky, shoreline, and their own memories.
One of the coolest parts of talking with Ron and Lorie is realizing that pottery is not just creative. It’s scientific.
They fire pieces twice. The first firing is called a bisque. It hardens the clay and burns off organic materials so the piece can accept glaze. Skip that step, and the “bad stuff” bubbles out through the glaze and can ruin a piece.
Then comes glaze firing, and the temperatures are intense. Paint-your-own pottery is low fire, around 1,800 degrees. Their functional pottery is fired higher, which makes it more durable and kitchen-friendly.
Before the conversation ends, Lorie shares something they’re excited about: bringing the Empty Bowls project to Garrett County for the first time. It’s a global movement where handmade bowls and a soup event raise funds for local food banks.
Deep Creek Pottery is partnering with Community Action and Community Works, with plans for a fall event. Details are still being finalized, but the idea is simple: bowls are created and donated, soup and bread bring people together, and the money raised supports neighbors who need help.
It’s exactly the kind of project that fits their whole vibe: art that’s meant to be used, shared, and felt. A warm, happy spot on a rainy lake day. A studio where the talent is real, but the door is open, and there is a chair waiting for you.