Sam Morrow has always loved the arts.
Art was a way to entertain herself when she was younger and, as she grew older, she found a passion for creativity, finding her niche in ceramics and watercolor.
“Both are fixing things,” Morrow told the Voice while she took a break from setting up her new studio, Clay-Mations, at her brick and mortar location at 207 Stanton Ave. “I’ve always liked to fix things. Watercolor, you mess up, you just kind of fix it. Ceramics, you fix it.”
Morrow, who is 24 and originally from Waukee, began her journey at Iowa State in 2019 because she was drawn to the slogan “choose your adventure” — so she did.
She originally came to Ames to complete the industrial design program. Then the COVID-19 pandemic derailed her plans.
“I always knew I had (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), but I kind of found out I had autism when I was in the industrial design program, and it wasn’t what I wanted,” she said.
So, she went back to her roots and started taking studio art courses.
“It was a good choice for me,” she said with a smile.
But she couldn’t stop there: she took an extra year to learn about the art of teaching the arts and she fell in love with the idea of bringing art to everyone.
“I saw out of class I sat in as a job shadow, the (studio) turning away business,” she said. “They were like, ‘We’re not offering any more classes this week, this month,’ … and I realized people want, like, just a lot of ceramic lessons.”
Cue the CYstarters program.
“Without them, this would not be possible,” she said.
Current Iowa State students and recent graduates are eligible to participate in an 11-week summer program designed to help create startups or businesses. It is a competitive and selective program.
Students earn $6,500 for individual endeavors, while teams of two or more will receive $13,000 per student team in order to make their dreams reality.
For Morrow, the dream looked like creating an art studio that filled the gap between the supply and demand of ceramics.
With funds in hand and ideas in mind, Morrow found a studio near campus that was affordable, had the space she needed and would allow her to grow her business into a creative hub. She envisions a space where makers can create, shoppers can buy handmade goods, and, possibly, customers can buy a coffee to keep things caffeinated. She’s also hoping to offer future classes in watercolor and photography.
“The Ames marketplace is such a great opportunity,” she said.
Morrow has begun offering ceramics lessons at her new studio, including group sessions.
