Sometimes there isn’t enough time to do all that you want. There were years when my time wasn’t even mine. My days included working a demanding administrative job, keeping a house neat and tidy (well almost), homework for 2 boys, the laundry, getting meals prepared or driving through one of the fast food chains, visiting with friends, sports activities and all the etcetera’s. Every now and then I would see a particularly interesting piece of pottery and wish I could learn how to make a similar piece. But of course, there was no more time in the schedule.
Then I retired. So I began to search for a location to pursue my long held interest.
I thought a teapot and matching cups would be an excellent first project. I started asking around about places to study ceramics and found a few options. There was the Art Center College. This is a well-respected institution but also attracts career artist who I thought would probably be embarrassingly way beyond by abilities. The local community college had listings for several ceramics classes but the parking hassles weren’t appealing. The nearby private ceramics studio offered classes but at a greater expense than some one on a newly fixed income felt comfortable paying for beginner classes. The best choice became the ceramics program at the community adult school in a neighboring community. Right place, right price, right time, and as it turned out, the great mix of people also attend there.
I enrolled but learned the teapot and cups would have to come later. The first project was making a slab vase. Ok, easy enough to do. I was instructed on how to cut a block of clay from a larger brick, roll it out flat, wrap it around a tube before removing it and sealing the seam and adding a bottom, firing it to bisque, then dipping it into one of the available glazing vats. After another firing I had a vase! It looked amateurish but I was pleased that I had taken the chance to walk into a ceramics studio and become a potter.
The next simple project were mugs created using the slab technique. For a time, I made sure everyone knew that I drank coffee or tea from mugs I made myself.
A few more simple projects and I came to realize that forming a teapot required that I developed more advanced pottery skills. So I kept the teapot on the back burner.
In the mean time I practiced different finishing techniques and styling elements on slab platters, vases, mugs, and mold formed bowls. Eventually, I got up the nerve to sit down at the potters’ wheel and learn to throw pieces. Using the wheel is a fun yet challenging way to create ceramic pieces; it’s harder than it looks. Currently, I prefer to study and practice ceramics using the slab technique. I like the feel of the clay as I coax it into shape.. There is a very meditative feeling that comes with the concentration needed form a bowl using my fingers.
After my elementary level beginning, my confidence and artistic skill grew to the point that I entered some of my pieces in the school spring ceramics show, which features a sale of student work. Some of my pieces sold! It was a good feeling to know that other people valued my work enough to pay for it.
What has been in the back of your mind to try, if only you had the time? In your own community or nearby there is a place for you to learn and practice this skill or art. Ask around and read flyers and catalogs from schools or find a private teacher. You don’t have to be proficient at it already. It’s a little more than a leisure activity. This is more about you doing something that enhances your retirement lifestyle.
Gwen Told Me 