Young and old come to 5th ceramics painting event

ELLENDALE — Visitors to Ellendale Days had the chance to paint, paint and paint some more at Country Charms Ceramics.

Country Charms Ceramics owner Renee Weston has had her shop in Ellendale since 2007. This is the fifth year she’s hosted Paint Till You Faint, a ceramics painting event that is open to anybody.

“It keeps the party going,” Weston said, saying that people come in to paint in between other Ellendale Days activities. Weston keeps her shop open late to accommodate painters. She even stayed open until 3 or 4 a.m. one year while some customers painted their ceramics.

All ages can come paint at Paint Till You Faint. Weston said the youngest painter she’s had was an 18-month-old baby. However, most of her customers are school-age kids.

Jordan Rosacker and Alex Blaschko were first-time painters at Paint Till You Faint on Friday. They said they were having fun, and Rosacker said painting his ceramic was relaxing.

Brittany Blaschko had been to the shop before with a church group. She thinks Paint Till You Faint is a fun activity because she enjoys painting.

The shop keeps busy all throughout Ellendale Days, but the busiest time is on Saturdays after the parade and before the teen dance. However, Weston said she had 11 customers come in at 9 a.m. despite this year’s event being a bit slower due to the flooding in the area.

Weston said that it’s always nice to see the community come together during Ellendale Days and said the whole weekend makes the town come alive.

“It’s a really nice time,” Weston said.

During the rest of the year, Weston said the shop has its seasons. During planting, harvest and the beginning of the school year, her flow of customers is slower. She said she has a few regular groups that come in, however.

Weston has been interested in ceramics since she was in her 20s. She said her mother had a ceramics store in Virginia, so she had all of the kilns, molds and necessary things for a ceramics shop.

Weston sells finished and unfinished ceramics at her shop. Customers may also paint their ceramics in the shop if they wish for an extra cost, just like during the Paint Till You Faint event.

She also sells some greeting cards and Enesco products as last-minute gifts, as she said there is nowhere else in town to really get those things.