In Iowa City on East Washington Street, you can see a little house. But it’s more than a house. When you walk in it’s no longer a house, it’s Fired Up. A place where as many as three generations come to paint.
When you first walk in you feel welcomed and at ease. You go into a closet like room and pick out what object you want to paint. There are only four tables to paint at, with some spots to sit down at.
The yellow sponges in the middle of the table assist in wetting down your object. They say, “apply three coats of each color so it looks good.” Three coats. Three coats for the background. Three coats for each pattern you use. Applying a background takes the most time.
Fired Up has been on East Washington Street for four years, but has been a store for sixteen years all together. Michael Burt, the owner, originally lived in California and moved to Iowa due to more affordable living costs. He throws pots and bowls at his house. Throwing pots is when you put clay on wheel and spin it, creating a bowl or pot.
Although he throws pots and bowls, most of the items at Fired Up come pre-made. People of all ages and paint. Some people take an hour to paint, and others take five.
At Fired Up, there is a dog named Ukie Maru. Ukie is a Boarder Collar German Shepherd. Ukie is seven years old and comes to the store every day that it’s open.
“This is like a home. We live here. We are here as much as we are home. Having Ukie here just seems right,” Burt said.
At Fired Up, they use earth and wear-low fire clay. There are two firings after someone paints at Fired Up. The first firing is brisked fire, at 1944 degrees Fahrenheit. The second firing is glaze firing, making it have the glossy finish look.
Many people enjoy coming. The owner said, “I don’t plan on doing it ten more years, I will be 70 then.” When he no longer owns Fired Up, he wants to own an orchard. He wants to make commercial cider.
Throughout the day, the average amount of people that come into paint is 15 people. The business is going well. Spending three hours at Fired Up is easy, and there’s plenty of space since not many people come throughout the day.

Once you’ve finished painting, you pay the owner. He says, “Just leave the mess. This is my shop I get to make the rules, I get to clean up.”