A couple works on a pottery wheel during a Date Night event at Wheel Art Pottery Studios at 1101 S.W. Washington in Peoria. The studio also offers classes for all ages, themed parties and a family-style studio tour on the first Friday of each month.

Date night in Peoria can be a whole lot more interesting than the typical dinner and a movie for anyone willing to get their hands a little dirty on a pottery wheel.

Wheel Art Pottery Studios at 1101 S.W. Washington is taking reservations for its next date night scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. March 14. The cost is $60 per couple and includes all materials.

“It’s a fun concept,” said Susie Mathews, who co-owns the nonprofit pottery studio and school with Jacob Grant. “It’s a little hand building, a little wheel throwing, a little snack. Anyone over 21 can bring their own beer or wine.

“Then we finish the evening with the ‘Ghost’ moment, because you can’t do a date night with clay without bringing up ‘Unchained Melody’ and recreating that scene,” she added, referring to the iconic movie that starred Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Another date night is set for April 18.

Susie Mathews is co-owner of Wheel Art Pottery Studios in Peoria. Mathews earned her BFA at Bradley University in 2002 after teaching art in schools, church centers and community colleges. She also coordinated and taught various art classes at the Peoria Art Guild.

Wheel Art Pottery Studios, which opened in 2010, is not just for couples, though. Grant and Mathews both have a teaching background and offer classes for beginning and intermediate adults, kids from preschool age up to teenagers, homeschoolers, and even an art camp in the summer. Past events and workshops have included Raku workshops with area high schools, ornament making, papermaking, glaze chemistry and drum circle instrument making.

“Jake and I worked in the education department together at the Peoria Art Guild and had dreams and big plans about owning our own studio,” Mathews said. “So when the Art Guild shuttered their studio school, we opened our own. We wanted to offer an outlet for students who wanted to do this.”

The studio is also a co-op that offers memberships for experienced potters who want a studio to work in. The studio currently has 36 members with room for about four more.

“We want this to be a place where people can grow and keep up with, not so much a craft, but a way of life,” she said. “We have straight-up artists that work out of our studio and are selling their work and are in galleries. Then we have members who are doctors and electricians– we even had a barber –who want to keep their hands in three-dimensional art form. It can be a tremendous outlet for them.”

No previous art experience is necessary for anyone who wants to try throwing pottery.

Jacob Grant is co-owner of Wheel Art Pottery Studios in Peoria. A full-time artist/potter since receiving his MFA from Bradley University in 2008, Grant’s work has been sold and displayed at such places as Disney World and the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C. (Photos courtesy of Wheel Art Pottery Studios)

“People at any age can discover they have this passion inside of them,” Mathews said. “Some people just like the social aspect, the camaraderie of being in a class. They’re fun classes.”

Wheel Art Pottery also offers studio tours on the first Friday of each month, which is popular with families.

“For five bucks each, you can come in and throw a pot on the wheel. We have free snacks and drinks, and we usually have live entertainment. It’s a nice, fun family-style event,” Mathews said.

“Last month we had a family of nine come in on First Friday. The oldest person there was a grandfather who had taken a sculpture class in high school but hadn’t touched clay since. No one else had ever done it, and yet they all had an incredible time and they all made a pot,” she added.

Only nine spots are open for four 30-minute slots between 5:15 and 8 p.m. on the First Friday events, so participants are encouraged to reserve their spots early.

While First Friday does offer some instruction, Open Studio Saturday is more of a demonstration-only event that allows people with previous experience time to work on a project. The next Open Studio Saturday is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 21. Cost is $10 per hour and $1 per pound of clay.

Wheel Art Pottery also offers a variety of themed parties for kids, adults and businesses.

“We try to be a place where people can come be creative and have fun,” Mathews said.

For more information or to make reservations for an event, class or party, call Wheel Art Pottery Studios at (309) 306-1741 or visit the website at sites.google.com/site/wheelartpotterystudio.