A little while ago

I did a pottery workshop in a nursery school. It was different to workshops that I had done before, in that there was a larger emphasis on the experience than on the end product. The first children of the day were for me the most challenging... the two year olds. All my previous workshop experiences had been with older children, and so this group were tricky for me. Working with clay is a very tactile and sensory experience, and this was the main focus of this age group. I was pleasantly surprised at how much they got out of it, they dipped their fingers in water and felt how the clay softened when they added water to the surface, how it became slippery and easier to change. They hit it with plastic spoons and in some cases poked holes through it. Although nothing recognisable was produced, each shild learned that he or she had the power to change the form of the material.
Next up were the three year olds, who on the whole decided to make "cakes." Or should I say one child decided, and the rest followed suit.
Here are some of them....

Each child selected from a range of objects in the centre of the table, stones, spoons forks etc, and made individual decisions about how to decorate their cake. I like how they picked the forks and spoons as candles.

Every child was encouraged to make what they wanted to make, and the nursery owner specified that I should not come armed with any kind of project. The items were not to be fired, and this meant that all kinds of other objects could be included in the pieces they made. Here are a few images of what some of the older children made. The children were aged up to eight years, as the after school club were included too.

I loved this crocodile :) I asked her what she thought might make the texture of crocodile skin and she selected something from a range to create the texture. Good choice!

And this fab catarpillar! Again, here the child himself selected a number of identical milk bottle tops to create the rhythmic form, and this was his idea.

These hedgehogs were amazing too. Again, a great choice with the straws to make the texture of the spines.
There's something fantastic about seeing a big table full of children's creations....

All in all we had a great (if exhausting) day. I really hope they took something valuable away from the experience. I know I definitely did :) A BIG thanks to all the children who were really lovely and very well behaved!

Work in progress...

I don't normally show work in progress when it's a special order, but these are soooo cute that I couldn't resist. A very special lady has ordered a flock of eleven birds for in her wall, and four of them will be slightly different from the rest. They will have her childrens' names embossed into the surface, and will have a slightly different glaze in the texture. They go in size order according to their ages. I just love the concept. I wish my family had had a flock with our names on when we were kids! Of course they look a little rough around the edges at the moment, but they'll be smoothed off in due course. There are two more obviously, but I can't show them all or there would be no surprises left when she opens the box :-)

What a week!

After the busiest week ever in my princedesignuk shop, I gave a ceramics workshop on Saturday with lots of little people... Exhausting stuff! Although I really really didn't want to get out of bed on Saturday morning, it was well worth the effort once I got there. Check out the pics; they made me smile! We had great fun, and as always, the children surprised me with the fab stuff they made.

We had our very own fairy princess with her little star...


These two were a scream! Very funny guys :) ...


A social butterfly...And possibly some of the cutest children ever....


They made some really lovely stuff, snakes, hearts, stars, flowers, handprints, cut out, built up, modelled, stamped, and drawn... It's amazing what kids will come up with if you give them a lump of clay, and it's nice to let them have a go with a medium they don't get the chance to try very often. I'll post some pics of the fired pieces they made when they're done :)

Back from my break...

and fighting a cold with some chilli and lentil soup...
Here are some photos from September's pottery workshop at the Heritage Open Days in Liverpool.

The workshops were a great success, and the children who participated made some amazing artwork. Little ones love to get their hands into mud! At times we had to ask people to come back later, as there were more children than we could cope with!
We had a range of shapes for them to cut out of rolled out clay, and then they decorated them by stamping in texture, cutting out shapes with biscuit cutters, pressing in their hands, or drawing into the surface of the clay with pencils. The football shirt shape was a big hit with the boys, and the girls made some gorgeous hearts and flowers.



I was able to fire some of the pieces and send them by post to the children. We pierced little holes near the top so that they can be hung on the wall by ribbon, and I think they'll make lovely artworks in the artists' homes. The fired pieces can be painted with acrylics or just left as they are.
A big big thank you to those who helped me on the day, and to John for the invite.
The Heritage Open Days were organized to raise funds for the renovation of the Old Christ Church in Crosby, and the building is spectacular. They are holding a Christmas fair on 22nd November, and I would recommend anyone in the area to go and check out the building and perhaps buy a couple of Christmas presents.
They are hoping to run some more craft activity days in the Spring, so all being well I'll be back there for those.

I was reminded recently

of a gorgeous project I did with some children to make plant pots for their dad's garden. We rolled out big slabs of clay, and the girls pressed their hands and feet in and wrote their names in.
I took the slabs away and curved them round to create the pots. It really doesn't get much sweeter than this - full credit to the girls for artistic ability and adding the cuteness factor! A big part of their strength as objects is in the fact that when they're older they'll make really adorable reminders of the girls' childhoods. (I emphasized this by writing the date in the clay on the inside.) Very sweet...