Adventure with Pottery


About a year and a half ago I decided that I wanted to take an art class. I had been working full time and hadn't spent much time being creative.  I looked into classes and found that the local school district has evening community classes that they offer in 4 different cities in the area. They have dance, music, language, sewing, hunting, gardening, cake decorating, martial arts, and a limited number of art classes. I signed up for their pottery class. I have fond, but dim, memories of a pottery class I took in Kindergarten and first grade.


 The pottery class is held at the Springville Parks and Rec building. In the evenings they have a dance class in the front section of the building and in the back is where they have the pottery class. My class had 10 students and that was the maximum number of students allowed because of limited space and the number of potting wheels. I had never done this type of pottery (throwing) so it was definitely a learning experience for me.

The instructor explained and demonstrated the process. I knew I was in trouble when he said, "I can't really tell you when the right moment is to begin to lift your clay, you just have to go by how the clay feels". Uh, that is totally not helpful to me. I struggled during that class as I was comparing my perceived failure with the other students success.  I was discouraged until I decided that I was there to enjoy myself, try something new, and hopefully make something that my family would like.  After that, it was just a lot of fun.  I tried my hardest and had a good time. My pieces will never be in a museum (or used when company comes) but I had a nice time at the class. It was good to be spending time being creative in a new way.

Here is the little jar that I made for my husband.  


This is one that I gave to my youngest daughter.  She likes to keep her little treasures in it.



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