Your Neighbor: Regina Gurland

Walking through Regina Gurland’s front door, you know you’re in an artist’s home. From the handmade ceramic lamps to the colorful-tile coffee table, it’s obvious Gurland is far from your average 96-year-old.

Originally from New York, Gurland was busy raising a child, taking care of the house and working as a school lunch director, but she still felt there was a gap in her life. Her husband worked in the city and was only able to come home on the weekends.

“I was starting to think there was more to life than that,” Gurland said. “I was getting a little worried about myself.”

She saw an ad one morning for clay classes at South Hampton University and decided to give it a try.

Although she had dabbled with other hobbies, such as photography, clay was the one thing that stuck.

While taking classes, Gurland was invited to feature her work in a student show. Her teacher insisted she enter a piece.

“When you do something yourself, you don’t place the same value on it as someone else would,” said Gurland. “I didn’t see anything at all in the pieces I made, but the teacher put one in the show, and it won first place.”

With newfound confidence in her work, Gurland started working with clay every day. She bought a children’s play wheel and set up a small workstation in the corner of her kitchen. Armed with an endless supply of clay and creativity, she soon became known for her texturized pieces and ceramic woks. She molds each piece together by hand; she enjoys the range of freedom and one-of-a-kind quality that method offers.

Her art took her all over the world to shows in places such as Iceland and Japan, but when her son bought land on Longboat Key more than 30 years ago, Gurland saw an opportunity. About a week later, she, too, owned a lot on Longboat Key — right next-door to her son. She built a house with room for a studio and later welcomed her 5-year-old shih tzu, Dusty.

“If I didn’t have clay or Dusty, I wouldn’t be here,” she says. “As you get older, it gets lonesome. And you need something. You really do.”

Neighborhood: Sleepy Lagoon
Your neighbor since: 1976

Contact  Kelsey Grau at [email protected]