What subjects do you teach?
I teach pottery and ceramics.
How many years have you been teaching?
I have been teaching since 2007 and have been working at Woodley Hill House, part of Bracknell and Wokingham College, since 2018.
What do you enjoy about teaching adults?
I enjoy teaching adults as they are very focused on the subject and keen to learn. I get a real buzz from showing a class a technique, giving them some clay and then standing back to watch everyone create something unique to themselves. In a class of 14 people, there will be 14 interpretations, sometimes more. I love being able to facilitate that creativity.
What got you into pottery and ceramics?
I was fortunate to have tried pottery at secondary school and I absolutely loved it. From an early age I have always made things and enjoyed knitting, sewing, crochet and junk modelling. Sadly, as classes were so popular, I didn’t get the chance to continue. When I moved from Yorkshire, I joined an adult education class to get back into pottery and meet new people. The rest, as they say, is history. I studied two City & Guilds courses, bought my own kiln, built a studio shed in the back garden, made loads of lovely friends and found a new career.
I think I have one of the best jobs in the world. I create pots using a material that I love and in teaching others to use clay, I can watch their creative instincts flourish.
What other passions do you have?
Pottery for me is something of a lifestyle. As well as making and teaching, I sell my work on arts trails and open studio events, so that takes up many of my weekends during the year. I also belong to two guilds and continue to attend workshops myself, learning new skills along the way.
Why should someone join your classes?
I think as human beings we all have a natural creativity and that to use that creativity is an excellent way to keep healthy and young at heart. We all just need to find the ‘thing’, the activity which allows us to express that natural creativity. For some people that’s writing poetry, for others it’s turning wood, carving stone or sewing quilts. For me, there’s nothing like getting messy, handling clay, taking a cold block of clay and transforming it into something else.
In my classes I introduce people to the many different methods of making and decorating clay. I’m happy to guide and support people in their own projects. I want my classes to be a place where people can come to learn, do and make new friends. Most of all I want people to enjoy my classes.
