Some friends of my daughter came a couple of days ago to learn a bit about working with clay. I set up a few simple projects for them, and I think they had a lot of fun. Just little dishes with plant matter pressed into them kind of stuff. One person made a small vase that was rather nice but quite thick. I forget how much some things become naturally acquired over time until I see someone make this mistake. the walls at the bottom sides are probably 3/4" thick, but the clay I work with is very, very forgiving, so I'll keep it in the sun for a week, and it should fire ok. I also made a really cute sitting bird from a single flat circle of clay, but I guess it was too intimidating, so no one tried. I didn't hang around after I brought all the materials and tools over, so I wasn't there to guide them. They all were impressed with the kiln room, its two kilns, and the slab roller, though :) I let them roll their own slabs.
What surprised me the most, though, is that although I made the wheel available to them, no one wanted to try to throw something. Maybe I'll post some of their little dishes after they're glazed and fired.
I've always enjoyed teaching one thing or another throughout my "careers," so I enjoy just getting to do this little bit. I taught undergraduate students while I was in graduate school, I did substitute teaching for a while, I taught some people the basics of writing on a stenographic machine (in one of my careers, I was a court reporter), and finally, I've casually taught some English to French people and French to English-speaking people, both enjoyable as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment