Off Hours: Feel like a kid again by painting some pottery in Des Moines, plus Middle Eastern food and more
Andrea May Sahouri, Des Moines Register
January 28, 2022·6 min read
Hi, I'm Andrea, the social justice reporter for the Des Moines Register. I can't stand watching a movie based on a book before reading the book first. I refuse — the book is always better.
Welcome to Off Hours, a free weekly newsletter on all things entertainment from the Des Moines Register. Let's do some painting.
Andrea May Sahouri, Des Moines Register
January 28, 2022·6 min read
Hi, I'm Andrea, the social justice reporter for the Des Moines Register. I can't stand watching a movie based on a book before reading the book first. I refuse — the book is always better.
Welcome to Off Hours, a free weekly newsletter on all things entertainment from the Des Moines Register. Let's do some painting.
It's me, Andrea, Des Moines' social justice reporter.
The Deal
Here's the deal. I'm not "artistic" in the traditional sense — other than writing, of course, and some photography skills — meaning I suck at painting, drawing, etc. I've accepted it. You can't be good at everything.
While I might not be "artistic," I am spontaneous. And when I'm not good at something, that usually doesn't stop me from doing it. So that brings me to a few weeks ago when I was walking around Valley Junction for only the second time since I moved to Iowa in 2019.
I saw a storefront that caught my eye: Five Monkeys Inc., a paint-your-own pottery studio.
Instantly, it took me back to my childhood birthday parties while I was growing up in Michigan. I'm a December baby, so there's not much to do outdoors when it's freezing outside. So my mom, who is much more artistic than I am, got creative. She'd go to Michaels craft store or Hobby Lobby Arts & Crafts Stores and get ceramic figures to paint at my birthday parties. There'd be ceramic Santas, Christmas trees, snowmen, angels — I always loved the angels — and we'd paint while sipping tea in Arabic coffee cups.
"I'm not going to front, I loved painting the Santas. They were my favorite thing. They always turned out really ugly, but I loved the fact that we did something creative to celebrate your birthday," said Danielle Rabie, one of more than 30 first cousins I am blessed to have.
It became a tradition until I was about 11 years old and traded ceramic figures for sleeping bags and movie nights.
I recently kept the tradition alive at Five Monkeys. I painted a bowl. Yes, less exciting than Santas and angels, but more functional.
"Keep it slimy," said Dina Bechman as she guided me through painting my very own bowl a vanilla bean beige and cantaloupe yellow. (It was $20, by the way. That price includes the ceramic itself, the paint, and a glaze in a kiln. Some ceramics cost more, some cost less).
Dina is the lively owner of the small, cozy shop — a place where both rainbow unicorns and really cool bowls can come to life. And it's BYOB. She named the shop in honor of her five children, and around the shop, she has their creative pursuits on display.
After painting, all that was left was to give Dina my number so she can call me when my bowl is done glazing in the kiln, which would be about a week, she said.
Honestly, painting was therapeutic and fun. And it made me feel like I was that little girl again at my birthday parties — carefree, and ready to take on the world.
I'll be back.
