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Greg Mintz ʼ74 displays his handmade fairy houses.

Fairy magic in Oakland, California

Greg Mintz ’74 puts his handmade fairy houses in city parks across the city

By Laurie McLaughlin

There’s a tiny pink ceramic fairy house tucked beneath a bush at Eula M. Brinson Park in Oakland, California. It has a curved shingle roof and a bright red outdoor table and stools. A ceramic plaque next to the diminutive dwelling said, “Please share the fun.”

For the last two years, ceramicist Greg Mintz ’74 has created dozens of whimsical fairy houses and set them in city parks, particularly those with playgrounds. “There are 100 parks in Oakland, and I’ve been to 41 of them,” said Mintz, whose name was Greg Herlick when he was studying at U of R as a Johnston student.

“One thing I’ve learned about doing pottery is that it’s fun, but if you start making things, they collect fast. So, you’re either selling them or giving them away. I decided to give them away.”

As his fairy houses spring up around the city, some stay in place and are played with, and others disappear. Either outcome delights Mintz: “I like the mystery and hope a kid has taken it and having a good time with it.”

Retired from a 30-year career with Kaiser Health Plan in Northern California, Mintz has worked at the potter’s wheel for more than 25 years. The inspiration for the “Fairy Project” came a couple of years ago from a 3-year-old family friend, Maddie, who made a birthday fairy house of sticks, feathers, yarn, and pinecones for Mintzʼs wife, Patty. He’s been in the small-scale real estate business ever since.

“We look for where we think the fairies are,” said Mintz, who wears a star-studded top hat when he’s scouting parks. The perfect spot is likely at the foot of a redwood or nestled under a shrub. “I usually include three or four pieces of furniture with each house, like a chair and table, or a piano and bench, a bookcase, or a bridge,” he said.

With a full studio in his garage where he shapes, glazes, and fires each charming miniature, Mintz also hosts workshops for neighbors and sets out a table with clay for kids during the annual street block party. “This Halloween, rather than give out candy, I handed out fairy furniture,” he said, and he was thrilled to see the furnishings on display in a neighbor’s front yard.

“It’ll take another year at least to get to all the parks in Oakland,” said Mintz of the Fairy Project’s future. “Then, I’ll just start over.”

Take a peek at Mintz’s fairy houses at gregceramics.net or on Instagram: @gmfairyabodes.