Book lovers ‘escape’ into warm nest of artistic ambience
photo by Amelia Parker
The Fire Escape pottery studio is perfectly prepared for their biweekly book club meeting. Manager Kristina Donaubauer started the event.
Book clubs provide the perfect environment for sharing love for painting, reading, and literary discourse. The Fire Escape Pottery Studio in downtown Oshkosh hosts its Book Club every other Thursday for anyone who wants a small audience to talk to about recent reads whilst painting. Guests purchase a $10 ticket every three meetings so that Fire Escape staff members can buy snacks and help discount art projects. Future Book Club dates include May 7, June 4, and June 18.
During the event, all guests navigate through their monthly book stack and explain each one and if they would recommend it. Kristina Donaubauer, Fire Escape manager, developed the biweekly book club herself. Overall, the event was a success, with Donaubauer immediately making every guest feel like they were welcome.
“I just love seeing people with similar interests and hobbies coming together and sharing their books with each other,” she said. “That is why I created this event.”
The main goal of the event is to bring readers and members of the community together. A great way to do this, Donaubauer knows, is snacks.
“I like to see what people eat the most and try to buy those snacks more often. If they are cheaper and if I have to use my own money, which I usually don’t, then it usually isn’t more than a couple dollars,” she said.
A lot of people who attend events like this one come with their friends or family, who share a common interest in specific genres or books. Most of the attendees read and enjoy fiction, especially fan fiction written about their favorite books and shows.
Sarah Cornell, a teacher at Franklin Elementary School, attended the meeting with her childhood friend, Sam Cooper.
“The author who wrote my favorite book, Alchemised, also wrote a fan fiction about the two side characters who have never met, but they were made for each other and that fan fiction became my second favorite book,” she said.
One reason that Cooper and Cornell came to the book club together was because they are duo-painting a gnome structure that they said will be passed between their classrooms, as well as the books that they are currently teaching their fourth graders.
“We had our classes vote on what we should paint and the popular option was a gnome for their favorite mystical creature,” Cooper said.
A common conversation throughout the meeting was about audiobooks and if they are better or worse than real books or e-books. Most people leaned towards real books, bonding over their shared love for the “feeling of page turning.” The debate continued, with Cooper explaining that she likes listening to audiobooks when cleaning and organizing her classroom and house.
Most people were painting pottery related to their books that they were currently reading or have read, but one attendee—Reese Turner—picked something random.
“After finishing my project, I’m going to try to find a book outside my comfort zone that fits this specific piece of pottery,” she said.
The main draw for the guests was the camaraderie and community that was built during the meeting.
“The group could pick out any piece they wanted and paint it during the meeting,” Donaubauer said. “If they had to go and grab some paints or brushes or anything else, they could get up and leave and no one would be offended.”
by Amelia Parker
Published April 27, 2026
Oshkosh West Index Volume 122 Issue VII