POTTY ABOUT POTTERY

My lifetime career was as a special needs teacher but my first job was as a pottery teacher. This wasn't because I was a pottery teacher. It was because I had a vague idea about pottery from a college lesson or two and the only job I could find in a special school was for a potter.

 The funny thing was that I found that I really enjoyed it - and so did the children.

Now that I'm retired, I am currently helping out in a centre for kids and young adults with learning disability. I mentioned to them that amongst other things, I could teach pottery and was immediately bombarded with questions like 'Great - what do we need to buy? When can you start?'

So it came to pass that I found myself jumping back a few decades and teaching a group of a dozen or so young adults with their staff how to model with clay. They learned how to make pots, figures, name plaques and so on and they relished it. Before long they had lined up a whole batch of completed artefacts ready for drying and painting. 

The trouble was, I had to say (with a big grin)  'Those are amazing and you clearly all have some wonderful talent but now could you stop making things for a while and help the young adults with their work?' 

Yes, the staff loved it and once they got involved, so did the students. If you've never tried modelling I can heartily recommend going to your nearest pottery class - you'll love it - just like the staff at the centre.