Balls of paper clay morphed into endless iterations of beetles, flowers, petals, and leaves when we hosted our debut creative workshop at 7x7 Social Club on June 25th.

In the house was Mendocino-based ceramic artist Malia Landis, who let us into her world of beautiful organic objects in this two-hour, sold-out class.

Guests donned their aprons and settled in with some wine and pastries from Maison Nico as Landis talked about her material, a proprietary mix of porcelain clay and paper newsprint. Paper, she said, makes the clay more forgiving, and leaves a transparency behind after a piece comes out of the kiln. It's this technique that gives her exquisite pieces their signature delicacy.

To demonstrate, Landis began with a golf ball–sized patty of clay, pressing it into the cavities of a homemade plaster mold of a leaf. She focused on making the edges thin to achieve the illusion of a willowy leaf, while the body remained more substantial. “Meat in the middle is good," she said. “Take that home with you.”

The resulting leaf, delicately pried from the plaster with the aid of a small hunk of clay, garnered oohs and ahhs from the crowd after she gently shaped it into a leaf's natural bow. Then, after showing us how to create beetle bodies using more homemade molds, the eager would-be ceramists dove right in.

The intimate crowd—10 women, plus the three-year-old daughter of 7x7 Social Club contributing artist Caroline Lizarraga—was eager to start. Some had previous experience working with clay—after all, 7x7 collaborator Erin Hupp was also in the house)—but all were new to the art of hand-building in porcelain.

Jane Dulay from Berkeley has a pottery studio but left the craft behind for the past decade after switching over to painting. The timing of the workshop was serendipitous; she heard about it right as she was considering coming back to it.

“It’s nice she has so many easy techniques, I don’t have to start from scratch,” she said.

With Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong as a soundtrack, an easeful focus took over the space as the group immersed in the task at hand. Dulay began by making a beetle, dozens of which would come to life in various sizes and iterations. Slip, a liquid mix of clay and water, helped add texture to the shells, dotted and painted on to provide ornamentation.

Guests chattered with each other as well as to their own creations while coaxing the clay into the flora and fauna inspired by Malia's home in Mendocino. Some commented on the fun and playful nature of the tactile activity (“I haven’t done this since I was a little kid"). Engineer Georgina Baca, who had never worked with clay, delighted in the new experience.