I spent my mornings this week working with the Ceramics Camp down in our sunlit studio. It was really fun to get to work with the campers and help them with their projects in less hectic setting than that of Camp Creativity. Instead of trying to manage 12 talking preteens between six or seven classes a day, I was able to sit down and work on projects with them side-by-side. This environment made it a lot easier to help them dive deeper into the arts and get to know them better. 

One particular camper had a bit of trouble with problem solving. I could tell that she wasn’t confident in her abilities because she kept asking me how to do things, rather than experimenting and finding out on her own. At one point, she asked me how to cut out a rectangle from her clay. I was at a loss for words. It became a learning process for the both of us. While she was learning how to problem solve and build her finer motor skills with the clay, I was learning an important lesson in teaching: asking the camper questions to guide them helps them more than giving them simpler instructions. For example, when she tried to build a Barbie-sized table, it wouldn’t stand and she asked me how to fix it. So I asked her, “well, do you think it needs to be shorter, or wider, or have thicker legs?” and she was able to answer it on her own. (Spoiler alert: she did end up making a standing table, but then one of the legs fell off…) 

I loved getting to spend time with these young artists and get to know them as we worked on projects side by side. I learned how to problem solve with the students, rather than for them, and I learned how to teach a subject that I know very little about (ceramics). I even got to test out my skills on a pottery wheel for the first time! I made a perfect, ugly little coffee mug. This upcoming week, I’m looking forward to reorganizing the ceramics studio to clean up from camp and spend some quality time with the clear-coat glaze to finish off their projects.  

Ceramics Camp tools laid out nice & neat on the table