The workshop that began during the first two weeks of July at the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts in Victoria, BC, Canada has been an incredible experience so far. I say so far... because it will culminate with a 4 day workshop and exhibit at Center Street Clay in March of ’08. Over the last 20 years I have taught so many SingleFire / Functional Pottery workshops that it has become second nature for me. This workshop is different. Instead of teaching based on Steven Hill pottery and the techniques I use, it is about helping my students discover what is personal and meaningful for them.

 

I went into the first two weeks with only a sketchy plan of how to teach such a workshop. Somehow I intuitively knew that it needed to be spontaneous and if I planned too much ahead of time that it would inhibit the effectiveness. It was the first time in recent history that I have been nervous about teaching. For me, this is uncharted territory and a bit scary!

 

We began by sitting around as a group getting acquainted with each other and discussing our backgrounds in clay. Then I met with each student individually to talk about their experiences, influences, and expectations for the class.

 

I had previously assigned Robert Piepenburg’s book, Treasures of the Creative Spirit, and over several days we discussed what each person gained from reading Robert’s journey into discovering the creativity that is alive inside all of us.

 

One of the class exercises I led during the workshop was inspired by the Exercises for the Imagination chapter in Paulus Berenson’s book, Finding One’s Way With Clay. We did a series of 1 minute clay studies based on emotions, adjective’s, or objects, helping to break down our preconceptions.

 

As might be expected from a class like this, some students needed only a slight nudging and some totally rethought the direction of their clay work. Some were very comfortable with the self directed approach, which basically involved having them create their own assignments, but a few really struggled to find their way.

 

At the end of the first two weeks, every student left MISSA with a self-directed assignment and a contract written to themselves. By the time we convene in Illinois in March they will each have a body of work for a show and many experiences to relay to the group about their journey.

 

I was inspired by the energy and enthusiasm surrounding this class. This experience will forever

impact me as a teacher, even when I am teaching students about single-firing and functional pottery.