"You're scared, aren't you?"

Elaine Cassidy, proprietor of the Clay Café, can sense my hesitation as my paintbrush hovers over my ceramic canvas. But I don't want to mess up, and my artistic ability is more than questionable.

Finally, I put the green-tipped brush to the heart-shaped clay lid and outline my pencil drawing of a flower stem. Pulling the brush away, I realize this won't be as hard as I thought.

The Clay Café, located in the Nickelodeon Mall, isn't just for artists. The idea behind it is to bring out the creative genius in everyone.

All a patron has to do is select a piece and paint it. Plus, Cassidy and her staff members are always around to give painting pointers.

It's not just for the wealthy either. Seven dollars gets me an entire day's worth of studio time.

When I'd first walked into the café, the shelves of bowls, lamps, frames and platters overwhelmed me. I was sure I knew someone who'd like a personalized wine goblet and a painted piggy bank would make a perfect present.

Almost all of the options are functional. Cassidy tells me it's rare to see a blank statue on the shelves amid the vases and light switch covers.

In the end, I pushed thoughts of giving to the back of my mind and chose the heart jewelry box for myself.

"It's nice to do something for yourself," Cassidy assured me.

The Café has everything I need from the cups full of paintbrushes to the wall of rich paints, each bottle topped with a sample of how the color looks after it's glazed.

If my inability leads me to cheat, Cassidy even has stencils and stamps.

After selecting purple, pink, blue and green as my colors, Cassidy creates a mini-easel with them and sets me up at one of the long wooden tables.

A bowl of water and a sponge are nearby for when I change colors.

The sponge, Cassidy tells me, is so the excess water is absorbed and the brush's tip doesn't drip. It's very effective.

Although it is quiet as I paint, quiet with just some soft music flowing from a radio in the corner, a sense of energy and vitality flows through the studio.

I look up occasionally to take in the Christmas lights outlining the store's windows and the examples of finished pieces hanging on the walls, including one reading "Come Out and Clay."

I can see how this would be a place for birthday parties and baby showers. Cassidy also offers classes on specific artists and hosts Ladies' Nights every Friday.

The studio doubles as a day care at times for children whose parents are eating upstairs at Sarafino's or shopping in the mall.

Gaining confidence, I paint flowers and leaves around the rim of the box. I even apply a trick Cassidy taught me and use the paintbrushes' bristleless ends to dab small polka dots on the lid's surface.

By the end of an hour, I have a flower-covered box ready to be glazed and fired by a Café employee.

My piece may be rudimentary in design, but I'm pleased with its originality.

"It's amazing the creativity that flows from you," says Piper Nearing, Café employee.

After Cassidy reminds me to pick up my piece the next day, I leave the Clay Café with a newfound confidence in my inner artist.

The Clay Café is open Tuesday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with extended hours on select Fridays and Mondays.