Pottery and Ceramics During Perimenopause: The Grounding Hobby You Did Not Expect
Find out why pottery and ceramics have become a go-to hobby for women in perimenopause, from stress relief and focus to social connection and a calming creative routine.
Hands in Clay, Head Out of the Storm
Perimenopause can feel like living inside a weather system you did not consent to. Mood swings, anxiety, and a background hum of stress can make it hard to settle. Pottery, of all things, has emerged as one of the most enthusiastically recommended hobbies among women navigating this transition, and the reasons are not incidental. Working with clay is tactile, repetitive, and absorbing in a way that almost nothing else replicates. It requires enough focus to crowd out anxious thoughts, but not so much that it becomes mentally exhausting. For women who spend most of their time in their heads, the physical directness of clay is a revelation.
The Nervous System Effects of Working With Clay
Tactile grounding is a well-established technique in anxiety management. Engaging the sense of touch with something real and present interrupts the cycle of anticipatory worry that many women in perimenopause find themselves caught in. Clay is cold, dense, and responsive, qualities that make it particularly effective as a grounding tool. The repetitive compression and release involved in wedging clay, centring it on the wheel, or smoothing a coil also mirrors the bilateral stimulation used in some therapeutic approaches for processing stress. The physical rhythm of the work creates a kind of meditative state without requiring any deliberate meditation practice, which makes it accessible to women who find sitting still and trying to clear their minds deeply uncomfortable.
Joint Pain, Hand Strength, and Physical Considerations
Joint pain is a common and often overlooked symptom of perimenopause. The hands, wrists, and fingers can be particularly affected. This raises a reasonable question about whether pottery is a good fit for women experiencing these symptoms. The answer is nuanced. Handbuilding techniques such as pinch pots, coiling, and slab building are generally low impact and can be done at your own pace. Wheel throwing requires more sustained grip strength and may need to be modified if wrist pain is significant. Many ceramics teachers are experienced in adapting techniques and will be happy to work with whatever physical limitations you bring. Starting with handbuilding is a sensible approach and gives the hands time to strengthen gradually.
Studio Classes Versus Working at Home
Most people start pottery through a community studio class, and for good reason. Access to a kiln, proper clay, and a teacher who can correct technique before bad habits set in is genuinely valuable in the early stages. Studio classes also provide a social environment, which matters. Many ceramics classes run in the evening and attract a diverse mix of adults looking for a creative outlet, which creates a low-pressure setting where conversation happens naturally and nobody is there to perform. Once you have built some skills and decided the hobby is a keeper, a small home setup is possible. Basic handbuilding requires very little equipment, and some local studios offer kiln-firing as a service for outside work.
Creativity, Identity, and Perimenopause
A recurring theme among women in perimenopause is the sense of losing touch with who they are outside of their roles as mothers, partners, employees, or carers. Creativity offers a direct counter to that erosion. Making something with your hands that did not exist before is a small but meaningful assertion of identity. Pottery in particular produces objects you can use: a mug you drink your morning coffee from, a bowl that sits on your kitchen table. Those objects carry a quiet pride that is quite different from anything you can buy. For women who have spent decades prioritising practicality over personal expression, that shift can feel genuinely significant.
Sleep, Cortisol, and the Value of a Regular Creative Practice
Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, tends to be elevated in perimenopause, particularly in the evening when it should be falling. A regular evening activity that is absorbing, low-stakes, and physically engaging can help bring cortisol levels down and prepare the body for sleep. Pottery fits that profile well. A two-hour class on a Wednesday evening does more than fill time. It gives the nervous system a clear signal that the working day is over and it is safe to wind down. Several women report improved sleep quality on class nights specifically, and attribute this to the combination of physical activity, social connection, and the absence of screens that a studio class provides.
Getting the Most From Your New Hobby
Approach pottery as something that belongs entirely to you. Its value is not in the quality of what you make, particularly not at first. Give yourself permission to be a beginner and to find that beginner phase genuinely enjoyable rather than frustrating. Track how you feel on class days versus non-class days. Apps like PeriPlan let you log mood and energy alongside your symptom patterns, so over a few weeks you can see whether your creative practice is contributing to better days. Share what you make, or do not. Display it, or smash it. The point is the making, not the object. Perimenopause is a long transition, and filling it with activities that restore rather than drain you is one of the most practical things you can do for your health.
Related reading
Get your personalized daily plan
Track symptoms, match workouts to your day type, and build a routine that adapts with you through every phase of perimenopause.