Shaping Clay, Shaping Spirit
For longtime artist and community member Mel Bricker, clay has never been just about pottery. It has been a medium for healing, connection, and discovering a deeper spiritual path that continues to shape his life.
Mel’s journey began far from California, in Michigan, where he served as a Methodist minister. When he came to terms with his identity as a gay man, he found himself forced to leave the ministry. That painful break became an opening toward a new chapter. In the 1990s, Mel moved to Oakland to study at the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality (ICSS). After studying at ICSS Mel went to work with Matthew Fox at the University of Creation Spirituality, where he encountered the practice of Art as Meditation. There, he learned to honor intuitive, right-brain creativity as a sacred form of knowing, allowing art to become prayer, healing, and revelation.
Clay, stained glass, mosaics, gardening—these were not hobbies for Mel but living practices of Creation Spirituality. Each medium offered him a way to embody the wisdom of the Via Positiva (celebrating beauty), the Via Negativa (releasing and letting the clay speak), the Via Creativa (making something new), and the Via Transformativa (sharing his gifts with community). In art, he found not only joy but also resilience.
When Mel and his spouse Paul moved to Rossmoor in 2014 with their dog Toby, he quickly joined the Ceramic Arts Club. He rediscovered clay, which he had loved since his 20s, and realized how deeply it connected him to earth, body, and spirit. Making planters for his garden became a way of grounding prayer. The supportive CAC community welcomed him, and before long he was serving as the club’s correspondent for the Rossmoor News for nearly a decade. Through that role, Mel celebrated the gifts of others while nurturing his own artistry.
In his recent work, Mel has leaned into what he calls “improvisations”—allowing the clay to guide the process. A coiled piece of clay might begin as a mountain and emerge as a Sufi-like figure, arms outstretched in praise. In this surrender to the material, Mel practices what Creation Spirituality teaches: that creation itself is alive, and that to work with it is to collaborate with the Spirit at play in the universe.
Mel’s story reminds us that Creation Spirituality is not an abstract philosophy—it is a way of living, of shaping and being shaped. Whether through ceramics, gardening, or fostering community, he embodies the sacred call to creativity and connection. His art is not only functional or decorative, but also a visible sign of a life lived in harmony with earth, spirit, and community.
Readers can explore more about Mel’s artistry and story in the Rossmoor News feature, which highlights his August 26th 2025 Ceramic Arts Club Artist’s Soirée event and his ongoing creative journey. Read the original article here.
