Pot Daddy Studio has offered barefoot-friendly pottery classes nestled in the trees of West Austin since 2023.

Meet the owner

Pot Daddy founder John David Rutkauskas honed in on his pottery interest during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After relocating back to Austin, he began connecting with locals at yoga studios and coffee shops about pottery.

"One of the most common reactions is, 'I follow accounts on Instagram; I've always wanted to do it,'" Rutkauskas said. "Or, 'I love watching pottery videos on YouTube, can I come?' ... People started coming over and I'd give pointers and eventually bought a couple of [pottery] wheels."


Respecting the craft

While the studio started off offering a traditional pottery class experience, it shifted its class structure last May and potters do not take home the piece they work on during class.

Pieces require ample time to dry between each step, and there were "very few people" that would come back to complete or pick up their piece, Rutkauskas said.

Now, each two-hour class—which includes up to eight participants—starts with a demo of the process before working at the potters wheel for an hour.


Afterward, participants decorate and glaze pieces from another class that are ready, and wrap up by taking a completed piece from another class.
Participants can create a variety of pottery pieces during class, and all skill levels are welcome. (Courtesy Gabi Patracuolla/Pot Daddy Studio)
This method allows people to be less attached to making a "perfect piece" during class and helps takes some of the pressure off of beginners, Rutkauskas said.

"When you're picking up the piece to take home, you recognize—because you've just participated in the whole process—that the piece was made by one person, it was decorated by yet another person, and then now you're the one who takes and interacts with it in [your] home," Rutkauskas said. "You blend yourself into this community of nameless potters."
Classes are taught in Pot Daddy's air conditioned plexiglass and wooden dome structure. (Courtesy Pot Daddy Studio)
What’s special about it?

The studio is donation-based, although suggestions usually range from $50-$100. The approach stems from Rutkauskas experience first teaching pottery to curious Austinites years ago, where he would ask people to pay what they thought the experience was worth.

"It just feels so much a part of how we got started, and has its own kind of side effects that I think are really important—giving access to art and creativity to everyone," Rutkauskas said.


Rutkauskas is also working toward offering pottery excursions to Colombia, where he has over 100 acres of land and is planning to build a studio and cabins for workshop retreats.

"We can hike to a waterfall and actually bring our potters wheels with us and have this perfect union of nature and creativity," he said.