Coral Springs Museum Helps Local Mom Turn Creative Passion Into Business

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Ines Feliciano Delapi. {Coral Springs Museum of Art}

Sometimes the best ideas in life come from unexpected places.

For Ines Feliciano Delapi, a Coral Springs Museum of Art Ceramicist and Instructor, what started as an innocent fascination with the TV show “The Great Pottery Showdown” has since blossomed into a hobby first, then a business, then a job in less than three years thanks to becoming an adult art student at the Museum.

Moving from New York to Florida in 2006, Ines settled into her new life as a DIY-savvy stay-at-home mom, raising her two children in the Sunshine State for more than a decade.

As the COVID pandemic arrived in 2020, like many, Ines focused on staying home, caring for her family, and, of course, watching a good TV series to pass the time.

“It was a comfort show for me,” Ines said.

In the show, potters and ceramic artists are asked to create a variety of clay-based items as part of a competition. Inspired by the skill and creativity of the contestants, Ines wondered whether she could apply her love of DIY, creating, and art to become a ceramicist herself.

Through a relative, Ines learned about the perfect nearby place to turn her fascination into reality: the Coral Springs Museum of Art. In addition to offering free admission to rotating exhibitions, the Museum has a full range of Art Education programming year-round and is equipped with classrooms for drawing, painting, and – lucky for Ines – ceramics.

As the pandemic eased in 2022, and her children started to grow and gain independence, Ines decided to try a one-time workshop at the Museum and instantly fell in love.

“I ended up getting hooked from one class,” Ines said.

Over the next 2 to 3 years, Ines enrolled in nearly every ceramics class the Museum offered. From Wheel Throwing to Hand-Building, Ines found through taking classes as part of the Museum’s education program that she had a natural talent for ceramics and a passion for working with clay she’d never quite experienced before.

“As someone who was searching for some creative outlet and nothing ever stuck, once I started to do pottery, I realized how unlimited it is,” Ines said. “You can be as creative as your imagination lets you be and you can’t get bored with it.”

What began as a creative outlet soon became something more. Along the way, Ines built friendships, expanded her confidence, and discovered a renewed sense of identity outside of her role as a mom.

Ines Feliciano Delapi {Coral Springs Museum of Art}

“This has been an incredible way to open my world up and make friendships with people who I’ve connected with and shared interests with,” Ines said. “This has been the biggest benefit for me.”

At the encouragement of Museum staff who took note of her interest and passion, Ines began creating and selling her own ceramic pieces, such as vases, mugs, bowls, and decorative art. Through her business, IFD Ceramics & Art, Ines sells her work at artisan markets and vendor fairs, including the Museum’s Pine & Palm Market held every winter ahead of the holiday shopping season. She also has her own Etsy Shop.

In fall 2025, Museum staff asked Ines if she’d be interested in taking her talents a step further to share her passion with other adult students as an instructor. Today, Ines teaches classes in Hand-Building Techniques, Intermediate Wheel Throwing, and even teaches monthly ‘Clay Dates’ for those interested in giving pottery a try. She hopes to inspire more adult students to develop new artistic skills and perhaps even follow in her footsteps to become art entrepreneurs and instructors themselves.

“Learning Ceramics has given me a separate identity; now people don’t just know me as just ‘mom,’ but they know me as a Ceramicist and an Instructor,” Ines said. “It has opened up the world to me in a lot of ways that weren’t there before.”

Registration for classes for adult and youth art classes is open at the Coral Springs Museum of Art for classes starting in August. An Early Bird registration discount is available through July 10.

The Coral Springs Museum is located at 2855 Coral Springs Drive. Art class offerings are available at CoralSpringsMuseum.org/Learning.

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Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.