Local artist offers lessons and art in her studio By Janet Redyke Franklin Heather Kovach has lived in many Sussex County towns throughout the years, but says she has now found a home for her pottery shop and studio on Route 23 here. The business started as a retail store in 2006, selling pottery, jewelry and paintings by local artisans. Inquisitive patrons soon started requesting pottery lessons, so Kovach obliged by switching her space to a potter’s studio. Down to Earth Pottery Studio and Shop began offering four-week lesson sessions last May. “Our name is synonymous with being natural or organic,” said Kovach. “Clay is natural and from the earth.” Classes are multilevel and age-friendly, from the brand-new potter to the pro. She has six potters’ wheels in her studio, and keeps the classes small one to a wheel, no doubling up assuring everyone the attention they need. She teaches both hand-building and wheel-throwing and offers classes five days a week. Kovach juggles her teaching with a part-time job as a graphic artist for a label printing company in Fairfield. She trained as a graphic artist at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, but her love for pottery goes back further. She first took pottery classes in high school and has continued taking classes at various locations since 1989; she’s been creating her own designs for 25 years. If you go Down to Earth Pottery is located at 53 Route 23 in Franklin directly across from the Hardyston Elementary School.