LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A trip to a pottery studio has brought Renee Harley not only joy, but has helped her ease her physical pain.

“Making a pumpkin. I just made a, I just made a, like, a globe and closed it up on top,” said Harley.

Harley loves forming objects in clay while spinning away her pain.

“I have, just some tendinitis,” Harley said.

She also uses her weekly appointment at Payne Street Pottery and Gallery to release all her frustration by literally beating the clay.

“I don’t have it on my now, but you can see the marks from I wear some arm bands like for like tennis elbow. I have [a] thing so that, just to try to relieve the strain,” Harley said.

By day, the 58-year-old is a software developer working from home and on devices.

“I mean, it just, it hurts from, thumb joint all the way up to here. And it’s like this muscle that goes through here and also this tendon that goes through the inside of my wrist,” Harley said. 

For her, pottery helps.

“My doctors recommended that I try the arm bands for a while before we try to do any kind of specialist or anything to do anything more serious with it,” Harley said. 

The clay-making is something she started before her pain surfaced.

“They were hurting pretty bad before I came in. And I don’t know if it’s just that I don’t think about it while I’m doing this or if it’s just that it does help,” Harley said. 

Harley’s sister has rheumatoid arthritis. She’s not as concerned, because the clay-throwing, ceramic making process manages her pain.

“I mean I have I have some arthritis. I do take a meloxicam for some arthritis joint pain, but it’s not terrible,” Harley said. 

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