EnergEyes

We started our first pottery class on Friday 14th November 2014.
2 pm until 3pm at Sanford, Somerset

Well who went to the first lesson?

Ann, Ernest, Jean, Kym, Matthew & Su.

Elaine Bruce was our instructor for the pottery lesson. A very well presented lesson and we were provided with an apron to protect our clothing.

Elaine then placed a piece of clay on each person’s board. She then said to us all to hold the clay and squeeze it and just feel it. Ernest was certainly getting carried away as he was rolling his clay into a very long sausage. When I turned to Kym she had shaped her piece into some form of sex toy! Ann and I didn’t know where to look and just started to laugh.

For our first lesson Elaine suggested making Christmas tree decorations, which we all thought was a fantastic idea.

We were provided with 2 sticks which we placed on the either side of the board. This was to help us roll the clay to the correct thickness. We were all given a rolling pin and started rolling out the clay. We then shared the different cutters which we used to cut out our different shapes. We had a Star, Snow Flake, Christmas Tree, candy Stick, Snowman, Gingerbread Man and a Reindeer. We did find that the clay got stuck in the cutters, making it hard to get the shapes out. Elaine showed us that by putting cling film over the rolled out clay and placing the cutters on top made the cut out stay on the board, which made it easier. After the shapes were cut out we used a straw to cut a small hole so that ribbon or string could go through the hole to hang the decorations on a Christmas tree.

At the end of the lesson Elaine explained what happens to our masterpieces that we made. It will take about a week for the clay to dry out. Elaine gave each of us a piece of dried out clay to feel and at this stage the clay is brittle and breaks very easily. This is why they go into a kiln which in turn will harden the clay.

Our next lesson is on Friday 12th December 2014, and we will be decorating the cut out shapes.