Without the kiln, humans would lack inspiring coffee mugs, a convenient way to dispose of "the evidence," and the flamethrower's only friend. Fire up your crucible of creativity with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $35 worth of paint-your-own pottery at Pottery Creations, located in Wyandotte.

Pottery Creations allows children and grownups to bring out their creative sides through the art of painting on three-dimensional ceramic canvases. You can use the Groupon for the studio's firing fee ($5 for kids, $8 for adults) and put the rest toward one of more than 100 clay canvases, with items ranging from cups and picture frames to piggy banks and bowls shaped like bunnies ($6 to $40 each). An assortment of tools allows you to daub a pot with a sponge, stencil your surname on a serving tray, or trace your vestigial tail onto an ornament. Parents appreciate Pottery Creations' patient, easygoing staff, who permit food and drink and rarely cry over spilt pigments. Upon your masterwork's completion, they'll fire the piece, let it cool, and dust away its exoskeleton before making the handiwork available for pick-up about a week later.

The spacious, clean Pottery Creations studio environment fosters creativity and calm, making for a pleasant day out with the kids or an inspired coffee break with the girls. You can give your painted pottery as a personal gift to a teacher, decorate a den with a dashing #1 Dad picture frame, or use a green and red mug as galactic currency.

Not valid for online orders, birthday parties, kids' camp, or custom orders.