About
Living Lands Studio and Collective
Our Story
Living Lands serves as a center that brings together 3 important pillars: creativity, community, and wellness. By intertwining these core values, we create a nurturing environment that enhances the region’s artistic landscape and enriches the lives of individuals and the community at large.
Jessi Rieken, a native of the Ava/Mansfield area, is the visionary that started this beautiful journey, fueled by a deep-seated passion to elevate our community through nurturing connection and creativity. Her dream to build an artist collective took a giant leap forward at the beginning of 2024, when she was able to move her studio into a larger venue on the Ava square. With the help of friends and mentors, Living Lands expanded from a single pottery studio into a multifaceted enterprise. Today, the expanded space not only hosts Jessi’s pottery studio and classroom but also serves as a vibrant hub for local artists through the nonprofit, Living Lands Collective gallery, and for a variety of wellness opportunities through The Center for Hands On Healing.
The Studio
Jessi’s pottery studio provides a range of classes that build creative skills with clay for all ages and levels on and off of the potter’s wheel. A remarkable aspect of clay as an art medium is its process-oriented nature, making it an excellent art form for those who typically don’t consider themselves artistic, offering a unique avenue for creative expression. The studio is a place for everyone to learn and practice their artistic freedom and skills. Jessi offers her expertise with students of all ages, and veteran potters from the community often stop in to share their skills and wisdom, too.
The Collective
The Living Lands Collective is committed to nurturing the tapestry of our local community and supporting creativity for all ages. With art as the nexus, our mission is to support community and its individuals to form a haven for connection and belonging and self expression. The collective is a platform that champions the diverse voices of our region, and our gallery manifests that by providing a space where artists can showcase and sell their creations, people can teach each other, and gather among friends. We believe in the transformative power of art to connect, inspire, and heal, and it’s with this spirit that we create this space—not just as a gallery, but as a sanctuary for creativity and expression. Learning and exploration are central to our mission, so the collective continually works to host an array of classes, led by community members from across the region, and appealing to all ages and experience levels.
Wellness Center
Creativity is a cornerstone of the human experience, yet it frequently fades amidst the hustle and urgency of daily life. While children innately embrace creativity, adults can sometimes lose touch with it. At Living Lands, we are founded on the belief that creative engagement has the profound ability to ground and heal us and to ignite passion and joy in people of any age. To bring this belief to life, we are committed to nurturing a holistic experience that merges creative expression with healing and wellness. By partnering with experienced practitioners, we offer a distinctive blend of art and well-being, a unique offering for our rural Missouri community. Our space includes a massage therapist and hosts yoga and movement sessions, and we are committed to broadening these wellness services as we move forward.
