The language of clay.

We did Inuit Igloo scenes with grade one and twos at Rio Terrace yesterday. It is a great school that offers both French Immersion and a German Bilingual program.There was an Asian boy in the last class of grade two that did not speak English, French, or German, but he speak "Clay".....fluently. All I had to do was take a little extra time to show him what to do, not on his work but with another piece of clay, and he took off on his own to make a very good project. He understood exactly what he was to do and he did that and more. By the end of the class he not only had the igloo, sun and person, but he had an Inukshuk and the Inuit person was making a snowman. He also understood the big smiles he got and the pat on the back. It must be so scary to come to a country where you don't speak the language. This little guy will do fine. He a bright boy and easy going.

Did I bring the camera like I said I was going to do??........ NO....... They were an air dry project and did not come home with us. Yesterday I don't know where my head was. Not only did I not bring the camera, but I didn't bring Jim's apron or the paper bags we provide to take the projects home in.

People have been using clay since we have been people. Every culture, I think with the exception of the Inuit, have clay in their history and clay in their daily lives. Almost everyone likes to make things out of clay. You hand someone a lump of clay and they will make a.......something. With this boy yesterday, clay and the love of working with it was the common language that we all could speak. It was a good day.

Until next time.

Cindy

Winding down...

We had a couple of days off this week. I made a mistake way back in October when someone booked Monday and later changed that booking to another day. I forgot to unbook Monday and realized Friday that it was open. We had a last minute cancellation for Thursday, so it was left open as well. It was kinda nice to have some time. I did get the basement tidied up Monday, but Thursday was just a decadent day off. I did very little and took the whole day to finish. It was nice.

We had some intense workshops this week... what a rush...a real hoot. I really do love my job. With the two days off this week, we still worked with about 225 students. We worked with a scout troop Tuesday night. We were a little late because we were given the wrong address. It sounds odd to say, but we googled the scout troop on the blackberry, got the correct address, put it in the GPS and were there just in the nick to time. How did we ever get anywhere without technology. We were making snowman winter scenes. Getting 35 children from the ages six to sixteen to focus on the project and finish it in only an hour has a certain amount of intensity. Wednesday was fun as well, we had walked 93 students through a fairly detailed angel. Three workshops of 30 ish students. We met some great kids and they did some wonderful work. I wish we had the camera. We, meaning Jim, will have to start bringing it and taking more pictures.

It always feels so good to give the students the freedom to do what they like with their work. I tell them they can put anything on the work that they think that I would like to see. They have some great ideas. I get a lot of "my" ideas from them.

Tomorrow we have about 45 grade one and two doing Inuit igloo dioramas. We will be done by noon. When we get home we will load the last of the pottery for Christmas orders. We have fired and returned all The Clay Teacher projects. I sure do like the air dry method! Monday all the Christmas stuff will be shipped .... whaa whoooo....

Until the next time.

Cindy

Do Pay Attention!

The hardest part of The Clay Teacher's job is not teaching, but making sure everyone is listening. When we give instructions they are very strait forward and easy to follow. We were more than surprised today when we learned that some of the teachers were the ones not listening and not following instructions.

We have been offering air dry as a method of finishing. It is more economical and the teacher has control of the timing of the project. We tell the teachers how to finish them and then give them detailed written instructions from when the project is first made and the clay is wet, how to dry it and we provide the plastic. The instructions tell the teachers how to tell when it is dry, what paint to use, how to apply the paint, how to seal the project after it has been painted and we provide the sealant. We thought we had it all covered.......However.....if the teacher will not listen or read the instructions provided what can you do. Today we were back at a school we had worked at a few weeks ago and we met the teacher from that past workshop. She hadn't even uncovered her projects so some were still damp. She didn't know what paint to use and when I told her, there was not enough paint in the art room and didn't know how to apply it if there was. At that point I gave her a set of instructions in the staff room at lunch break before her class was starting , she didn't listen to me when I started telling her how to finish the projects or read the instructions I had just handed her. Later on in the art room, I took the instructions from the finishing kit we provided weeks ago and told her to read them. She wouldn't read them and still didn't listen to my explanations. At that point I suggested that if she didn't have enough paint, she didn't know how to paint them if she did and some were still damp that maybe today was not a good for finishing. She didn't agree, so she any went ahead and painted them anyway. She mixed all the paint in the art room to get a swampy beige brown to paint Christmas wreath picture frames. These kids are giving the frames to their parents for Christmas. They worked hard and deserve the proper paint and procedure to make their work the best it can be. They listened it was the teacher who did not.

Now if the projects are not what the teacher had in mind she will see it as The Clay Teacher did not provide a satisfactory service..........Bummer.....

Until next time.

Cindy

We Must be Blessed

We finished a week with St. Maria Goretti School. Now we have a basement full of Angels and baby Jesuses or is that Jesi? I am not sure if I can say that, but few people have in their possession as many little sons’ of God as we do. We did a bunch of Christmas projects with the Catholic school so we have 62 Nativity Scenes and 121 angels. The rest are snowmen and for reasons we are not sure of, we put the snowmen off by themselves in a back room to dry.

It was a fun week. For the most part we are the only three dimensional art experiences the children get and only an hour and half a year. I was there last year and everyone who was there last time remembered me this year. One girl even noticed that my hair was shorter than last year, but she was nice enough not to mention the additional grey. The workshops leave a huge impression on the students and they enjoy the clay so much.

We did little Nativity Plaques with the Kindergarten children this year. I didn’t talk at all about the Nativity Scene or what it stood for. The teacher gave a little lesson. I was not confident enough to teach a religion class in a Catholic school. Some of the little guys were not sure of the name of the project or just what it was about, but they had a general of idea of what we were making. I met one little boy in the hall the next day and he remembered me and making the Nativity, but again he forgot the name of the project. So he just asked me if I was back doing “the God thing” again. I didn’t have time to explain, so I just said…yes I am, smiled to myself and felt extremely powerful for only a brief moment.

We are making more Nativity Scenes on Monday, so there will be even more Jesi in the basement so with so many Angels and Jesi in the house how could we not be blessed?

I wrote in my blog last week that I was done all my orders…… well… that was short lived. The next day the orders started again. I could say no but I don’t want to. So I have more orders, I will probably always have an order waiting to be made….

The deadline for the Vasefinder competition was October 31, but I asked and Charlie gave me some more time. So the vase is drying and I will still be able to entre. Thank you Charlie!

Until next time.

Cindy

The Jury is Still Out.

I have been playing with the sculptures some more and working with different finishing techniques. This morning when I peeked in the kiln at 500 F I saw this lady and her “skin condition” and I thought she was a dud for sure. When the kiln had cooled to a frosty 400F I took her out and, like a cancer, it kinda grows on ya. At first she was a definite no….. but now…. I am not so sure……

I think the finish deserves some more play and experiementation.....but the jury is still out ...

Until next time.

Cindy

Wrinkles

I finished the forehead of the pot head. The nice thing about pictures are, is you get to see what you have done in a whole different light or perspective.The first shot of this guy, which is not this one, showed me that he had way to many wrinkles. So unlike my own face, I just got rid of the ones I didn't like and published the second set of pictures. I think he is done now. Or done as much as I have the time, or choose to have the time for him. He was fun to make.

Until the next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

A bit of a busy week.

The Clay Teacher is back in full swing. We finished a wonderful and busy week. Jim has been coming with me to all the workshops and it is much easier for two people to do a job than one. The kids get so much more as well. It was a fun and full Friday. We did four workshops at a school that I had been to for the last 3 years. We worked with some kids with “learning challenges”. Those kids remembered me, my silly one liners, and most of the demo from the past. They may have some difficulties, but if they want to learn something they can. They just don’t want to learn the same old same old, and they don’t think the same way most do. One boy was in grade 6 and he works with his dad driving a bob cat. He may not grow up to be a rocket scientist, but he will be fine. I think the hardest thing for most children to learn, when they are working with clay, or anything else, is that they CAN do it. When I hear “I can’t” I tell them you can’t lift 600 pounds, but you can learn how to work with clay. There is a big difference between I don’t know how and I can’t. After they start working and what they are making starts to look like the project, their confidence soars, they do their best and the work is good. They are always sooooo pleased with what they have done. It is so cool to see their faces shine with pride!

I have finished all the pots for my clients … WOOO HOOO…..I like potting but I also like having no responsibility other than The Clay Teacher when we are booked solid. I have been working on a Pot Head for a competition on line called Vasefinder. I don’t have any fantasies of winning but it is fun to play. I want to add a few more wrinkles to his forehead and then he is done. When he is, I will put some pictures up.

It was Jim’s birthday yesterday and I am so mean, that while I was finishing up the pots in the basement, he had to make his own birthday dinner. He made some smouldering chili. We, John, our son, Kaileigh, our daughter that doesn’t live at home and her boyfriend Andrew had a birthday dinner for Jim. It was good. We had chilli, cheese bread sticks, beer and cake. It was a good day. We all get busy with life and sometimes let little things, like a family dinner, slide.

I am going to go downstairs and put some frown wrinkles on my Pot Head.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

A bit of a slow week...

Clay for Kids wrote on the main page of their Edmonton website that The Clay Teacher was using their materials and ideas. They went on to say we were passing ourselves off as them. With our many years of experience with clay and teaching, I really want everyone to know who we are. I wrote in my last blog that we are very much The Clay Teacher and put a link to this blog on our front page so anyone that might have been confused or had any questions could read it. What I find interesting is that very few people read it. I guess they are not too confused. We are almost booked solid for the upcoming year and it is only September. Teachers know we are The Clay Teacher and they are booking us. We are looking forward to a busy fun year.

I played this week. I did make some new projects earlier in the week, some of them are online and we will get the rest up Sunday morning. Then I took some time and I played in the clay. I have joined the sculpture group at Harcourt House. We meet every Monday night and just sculpt. I really enjoy it. Here are a few pictures of what I was working on. When I made the Indian I was thinking about New Orleans and Mardi Gras and the lady is just a lady that is not all that happy. I will play tomorrow then I have to get to work before The Clay Teacher kicks in. We have two large wholesale orders to get out and three weeks to get it done because once we start Clay Teachering I don’t want to do the production after supper. … "The old grey mare just ain’t" …. well you know the how the song goes. I enjoyed playing with the faces, but they are not quite there yet. I have ordered an instructional DVD from this fellow, now he is a sculptor. http://philippefaraut.com/ Take a moment and check out his site. If you would like to see him sculpting, click through as if you were going to buy a DVD and you will find a series of little movies of him working. It's great to see.

Until the next time.

Cindy

The start of year two.

There is a rumour that we, The Clay Teacher, have been telling people we are Clay for Kids and that we have been using their materials. We have never said we are Clay for Kids and we have nothing that belongs to them! Before anyone believes everything they read on the internet they might want to get to the truth. Look at both companies, look at both web sites, talk to both sides, ask a few questions and form their own opinion.

I started playing with clay as a child, made my first pot when I was 12 on the potter’s wheel, worked and studied at that young age and started teaching adult night classes when I was 18. I have taught all ages from preschool to seniors for decades. In 1999 I became a production potter. My husband and I built our pottery business up to a studio that had almost 50 retail clients and we were producing about 10 tons of clay a year. It was hard work and now we have moved on to The Clay Teacher. We are potters, artists and teachers. Please check out our website http://www.outofthefirestudio.com/ and for a look at some of our art, please see our gallery page http://www.outofthefirestudio.com/photo_gallery.html .

Teachers who want to hire an artist to teach art to their students should consider The Clay Teacher. Again, check out the instructors available, their qualifications and clay experience, then choose the instructor that they feel is most qualified. We think they will choose The Clay Teacher for their clay education workshops.

Year number two as The Clay Teacher is well under way. We have a number of bookings and we are looking forward to a new year. This fall we are excited about our new air dry method. The projects are constructed and finished in a way that the finished product is both sturdy and water resistant. I ran a project through the rinse cycle of the dishwasher and it came out fine. It looked the same coming out as going in. The pictures taken for the website were taken AFTER it came out of the dishwasher. Don’t get me wrong, we are in no way recommending dishwasher safe for this method, but it just goes to show that end product will stand up for years as a decoration. This method offers a number of advantages to the teacher. First is price, it is $1.50 less per child. The actual workshop where we come in and the student works with the clay remains unchanged, but the project never leaves the classroom or the art room. This gives the teacher control over the timing of the finished project and the student is more connected to what they have made. They see and learn the drying process, how the clay changes from wet to dry and how it is controlled. After a week or so depending on the project, they are finished and ready to go home. There are no more weeks to wait, possible damage in travel and the student doesn’t for get about what he or she has made. We provide all the information required to finish each project, we are available if anyone has any questions and we provide key elements of the process. The teacher provides the paint.

The post below this one has pictures of the little white plate that made the run through the dishwasher.

Until next time,

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Before and After

Here is the little dish that went through the rinse cycle of the dishwasher. It's hard to tell before and after, but they are in order. The top is before and the lower is after. The new method works as a viable option to the kiln.

On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again.

It has been a busy six weeks… six weeks wow time does go by quickly. We finished up our first year as The Clay Teacher. It was a good year and we are looking forward to an even better one next year. After Clay Teacher was done we had a large order for a client in the east and a wedding registry to get out by the first week of July. We are venders again this year at the Folk Fest and I have been busy trying to get a large inventory of smaller items ready for that. We should have about 400 to 500 little pieces, mugs, plates, cups, bowls, etc for that. If we only could sell them all…….We had to take a week off and go to Ashcroft BC. My mother lives there. She is 96 with a lot of help of my two sisters we put mom into assisted living. Not quite the home, but close. She is happy there, they take care of her. My oldest sister has been the primary care taker for the last few years and it was a bit much for one person to do. It will do both sis and Mom good to get some distance from each other and my sister will be able to get on with her life without having to check in on Mom two or three times a day.

After the festival Jim and I are going on a road trip, just the two of us. The first holiday we have had just the two of us since 2001. It should be a blast. We are going south through Saskatchewan, into the states heading for Hannibal MO for a night then after a short visit we are in Nashville for a three nights. After Nashville down to New Orleans for three nights and then we are going follow the coast of Texas to Corpus Christi through Galveston, staying a night in each city. Then head across the dessert to Santa Fe for two nights. After all that it will be time to come home. We will just head north through Montana and Calgary. Each city along the way has such a different flavour it has been fun searching out rooms, clubs, music, food along the way.

We are excited about this. It will be great to get away and out of my basement. I have spent so much time down there working lately I have started taking vitamin D pills….not joking… Away from the kids, they are great kids, but kids just the same and adult kids in our home. It will do us all some good to get away from each other for awhile. If we are away from work and kids, I truly am on a holiday. No one to look after, no meals to make, nothing I have to make out of clay and no dead lines…. Off duty….Two weeks from right now we should be 2 hours down the road on our first day, but if we plan to get away at 7:00 am we should be gone by 9:00 at least……hopefully…..

Until next time

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

A little of this and that.

My son John went to Australia three months ago. He got a car, a place to live, some sparse furnishings and started to look for work and look and look. He applied at about 30 places before he figured out that with his student visa no one will hire him so he is coming home. He had a real adventure, saw some of the country learned a bit about life, himself and now he is returning the middle of June. Today is he is on his way to Sydney just to see what he can see for a few days, then out to the outback to have a look at the red Australian dessert and then home. What a wonderful experience it has been for him. I would rather have him a little closer to home. He will stay at here for a few months then probably move to Victoria BC. It is easier to visit him there than Brisbane.

We rented a dumpster this weekend for a major spring cleaning. We got the garage done yesterday, today we start on the basement and tomorrow we will do the rest of the house. I don’t know where all the crap comes from. It is like it multiplies when you are not looking. It is fun to throw out all the crap once you get past that ….I might need this one day…or…this is still good ….stage. If you haven’t even looked at it in years you really don’t need it. If you have a garage sale you work for a week or more getting it all sorted and priced, sell it for 25 cents or throw it out after the sale because no one will give you a quarter for it. It is easier and more satisfying just to chuck it. Monday morning we will be junk free!

Monday I start potting…..in my clean studio…We have a large wedding registry to have done by July 3^rd. It is a lot of pots, but with the Clay Teacher done for the summer, it is good to have the work and I am looking forward to being a potter for awhile.

Yesterday we started getting bookings for next year. We had a great first year and with the bookings starting so soon we should have an even better second. I really enjoyed the kids. For some it was their first attempt and three dimensional art. We worked with a grade one class on Thursday making dragons. The students and their work were awesome. They made some of the most imaginative dragons to date. We had dragons with up to five eyes, dragon riders, dragons with their eggs curled up in their tales, lots of horns and no horns at all. They had the freedom to make their own and they did. It was a large class so Jim came. We work well together and have fun. The kids pick up on that and it sets a good energy for the workshop. We will do more sessions together next year. It is easier for me to have the help and the school gets two teachers for the price of one.

It’s time to get to work and get rid of some crap.

Until the next time.

Cindy

Not a Holiday Weekend

Today is Sunday but not a day off or a holiday. This May long weekend is cold and rainy as it is every year. It has warmed up to 3 C so far today. Those who were silly or brave enough to go camping or other long weekend plans, have my sympathies. We didn’t get snow here, but we had some very light rain. Light, meaning it floated very slowly to the ground but didn’t turn white. There was snow all around us, just not here in Edmonton.

Yesterday we loaded the kiln with Clay Teacher projects. Today I will glaze some pots so when the kiln is cool tomorrow we can unload the kids work load it right away with the production stuff. I am looking forward to getting back in the studio and making some pots. We have two wedding registries to get done and the Folk Fest to pot for. I am going to do some funky stuff. Most people don’t like my fun and funky pots, but I don’t care it is fun to do and it makes me happy. Jim is going to build a site called Cindy Clarke Pottery and it will be for the non production one of kind schtuff.

Gotta get to busy. Until next time.

Cindy

Taking my own advice.

Almost every workshop has a student that shuts down, puts their hands on the lap and says “I can’t do it” and “I say you’re right, you can’t.” They look up at me with hurt and angry eyes because I agreed and then I go on to say” You quit. You have stopped trying, started looking for reasons why it won’t work. Your hands are not even touching the clay. With a shut down mind and hands on your lap, you are right, you can’t do it. Follow the instructions and just do it. You know how to do it, now you just have to do the work and…..do it. Once have finished, you will be so glad you didn’t quit just because it was harder than you thought it would be.” I don’t know how many times have given that little talk to a reluctant student. Friday was the last time. They always go on to make a great project and they are proud of it. You would think that I could take my own advice.

I wasn’t sure how personal to get in this blog. But then it is my blog, very few people read it and I am a personal kinda person.Writing it down puts it out there for me to read it more so than for anyone else. I have been battling the bulge for ……ever.Anyone who has watched the video we made years ago and the Youtube videos will know I am loosing the battle. I was very heavy about 13 years ago. At that time I joined TOPS and then a gym and lost 100 pounds. Well didn’t actually loose them, I put them in a place where they could be easily found. I kept it off for about 3 years and then they started creeping back just a pound or two here and there. About 5 pounds a year, for the last 10 years. Do the math!

I joined Weight Watchers about two months ago and have only lost 5 pounds. I know you can say all the things like, better than a gain, at least it is the right direction and all that crap. That is just what it is…. crap. I went to a meeting today. Ladies there had lost 5 pounds in a week not 8 weeks. Then this lady stood up she had lost enough last week to put her over 100 pounds lost. She did it. I too had done it, but then I undid it. I have no idea why, and then I thought of that little girl in my last workshop who had quit because her project was harder than she wanted to work. I had told to stop making excuses and just do it. When she was done she would be glad she had done it. She finished her project, it turned out well and she was very happy with her work and the fact that she had not quit. Then I went home from that workshop and all my good advice and coaching to continue do nothing about the weight loss I have been wanting for years. Basically I sat there with my hands on my lap, mind shut down and looking for reasons why it won’t work. I know how to do it. Follow the instructions and just do it.

When I write these blogs they are far apart and I don’t have the time, or take the time to go back and read the last one. I will ramble on through out the summer about the weight loss and getting back to working on pots that make me happy and make some money. We are planning a road trip this summer and I hope to be 25 pounds lighter than I am now. That is only 2 pounds a week, very doable. Take your own advice girl and just do it!

Until next time.

Cindy

Freedom

The Clay Teacher is winding down and only a few weeks left of our first year. What a rush. We built it and they did come. The best thing that happened in almost every workshop was giving the children the freedom to do what they liked. I was asked so often “can I do….. fill in the blank”….. and I would say “YES”… this is your project you do it your way, as long as it fits the basic guide lines, you have the choice and the ability to make it yours. Children have this flat out honesty that looks you square in the eye when they hear about having freedom. Their whole self smiles and it lights their eyes with a light that I will never grown tired of seeing. I heard a joke once that about a little girl that came home from school and she was upset because the teacher said she didn’t colour in the lines. Her mother told her to colour anyway she liked and when she was done to draw a line around it. That is what we tried to give to the students. It is easier to think inside the box if you create your own box. I used to ask when we first started this, if the teacher wanted to adhere strictly to the project or if they were willing to let the kids go their own way. Most would say let them go, but a few would say they wanted control over the project, so I stopped asking. I learned a long time ago, if you don’t want to hear the answer, don’t ask the question. We will see next year on the repeats if this was a good plan or not. Mind you, the year is far from over. We have a number of students, projects and smiles left to come.

A young lady came to our door last night. She works for World Vision and was looking for people who would sponsor a child. .She showed us a picture of a boy that lives in Mali and it was her last boy to place for the day. She was so young, so much of a princess and so full of passion for what she was doing. She had no idea she was a princess, and there is nothing wrong with being a princess. She is just young. She lived at home and her dad was calling from his car in the neighbourhood that she was working as she went from door to door. He would pick her up after she was done and they would go out together. But the fact still remains, it was a Friday night and she was looking for sponsors for World Vision and not doing what most young girls are doing on a Friday night. She is princess about to grow into the woman she wants to be. She has the brains, the family support and the opportunity to do what she wants. Opportunity is the key word here, so many don’t have opportunities and if we can help this one boy…... We have seen this child almost daily in the schools, or one just like him, but the difference is we see him after his family has have found their way out of Africa or whatever poverty stricken country and found their way to freedom. There is that word again. We see them in the schools with English as their second language, drinking in this new and wonder life. We tried to sponsor a child in Zimbabwe a few years ago. But with all the unrest in the country, it all sort of fell apart. Mali is a much more stable country than Zimbabwe and one of the poorest countries in the world, but they do have democracy. The boy we are sponsoring is named Mamadou Togo, he is five years old and lives with his parents. His father is a farmer and his mother is self employed. We don’t know what she does, but as time goes on, we will. We are looking forward to getting to know this family. We will keep you up to date.

I threw some pots today and it felt good. I have spent a lot of energy teaching this last year and have wondered off from potting. When I spend my days in the classroom, I don’t want to pot. I give all I can to the workshop. I am still a potter and I have to find a way to balance them. I told the City that I quit teaching and then reconsidered, only for the paycheque. They have hired other teachers and my position there is most likely filled and after today I am glad. I always teach the beginners and it would be more fun to teach an advanced class and more fun yet to pick up the production a bit now that I have gotten over the ……I don’t want to make anything burn out,,,,, and not working nights or Sundays that gives me my freedom to be a potter and an artist.

Janice Joplin once said “freedom just another word for nothing left to loose” ……not true….freedom is everything, it lets you be you....

Until the next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Ob La Di, Ob La Da

April 25,

Since March 3 ................Life goes on.

My son is sort of settled in Brisbane. He has everything but a job. John has learned very quickly that life costs more and things take longer than you could ever imagine. He needs a job fairly soon, he knows that, but he is a bit fussy. I’m not sure how much long he/we can afford to be fussy. My sister is back at home, coping and moving forward. She will be fine.

The Clay Teacher has been busy. We have been booked every day available since March and we are booked all but two days in May. June is still fairly open, but I am hoping to pick up a few more before the year is up. Jim has been joining me for the bigger jobs. If we have four workshops in a day or if the classes are large he comes along. It is so much easier with two and the school gets two teachers for the price of one. He is good with the kids and we have fun working together.

The last job he came out with me was to Hobbema. We had four workshops that day and had a blast. Working with clay was new to most of the students and they really enjoyed it. They liked watching the pot being thrown, most had not seen it but on T.V. I always throw a vase in my demo and give it (or one that looks just like it) to the teacher with the returned projects. I asked the class, “if your teacher has a vase and there are flowers in the spring …what could happen”? They didn’t say much, so I asked “what if you picked the flowers for your teacher”. One little girl answered “they would all die and if you leave them in the field we all can see them”. She was right and I had never thought of it that way. Kids have such a wonderful way of looking at things. I get many of “my” best ideas for workshops and projects from the students. The kids were surprised that we were married, I’m not sure why. They thought that we were just two teachers working together. One girl asked me if Jim was my real husband or my step husband….not to sure what that means. We all enjoyed the day and Jim and I are looking forward to working with more of the students next year.

Jim and I are planning a trip this summer. Last summer we took a family road trip to Virginia to visit Jim’s son Tory, my step son, and I am sure what that means… The last holiday before that was 2004 our road trip was to New Mexico and then put a toe into Mexico but walked over the boarder and left the van in the US. This summer the kids are old and have their own plans so we are going to go to New Orleans via Nashville just the two of us. Then back up through Memphis and St. Lewis. We like road trips. We can take a three week road trip for about the same or less money than spending a week in an all included hotel on a beach somewhere and see a whole lot of country. We were in New Orleans and up the coast a bit before Katrina hit and we are going to go back and see the coast and the city after. We are looking forward to it.

I am going to make some pots today. I have only made two pieces this year that are not connected to the Clay Teacher. I have some orders to get out and I need to be a potter for a while and not just The Clay Teacher so it all balances out.

Until the next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Sons

The convention went well. It was fun, we looked good, made some good connections and got a number of bookings. The company that was trying to shut us down was not there. We thought they would be and it might be rather awkward. They were in the program, but they were a no show. So we looked even better. I doubt very much we hear from them again. We have some new ideas on how to make The Clay Teacher “bigger and better”. I am looking forward to getting that going. I will keep this up to date on how and what we are doing.

My nephew died this week. He has been sick for long time. His heart gave out, then his kidneys failed, his liver stopped and he got an infection in the bowl. He simply shut down. My sister is strong lady. She knew this was coming, but really didn’t want to. I admire her optimism and her courage. She kept a positive attitude for him, his children and of course for herself. She has had a hard go this life time. She lost two of her three sons and her husband. She is hurting and I wish I could do more to help. She has a number of people around her and there is nothing I can do. I will go and spend some time with her when things all settle down. My son John leaves for Australia tomorrow. I am sad to see him go, but not so much anymore. I will miss him. He should be gone for a year or more, but we will stay in contact and he can come home anytime he wants. He is young and starting his life with an adventure. Not quite the same situation that my sister is in.

Today my son and I are packing and getting him ready to go, nothing like leaving it to the last day, then we are all going out for German food. He was going to sell his old car and get it out of the garage before he left, but he didn’t get there yet. I think he might not. We will have to sell it. He has put off a few things a bit longer than I would have, but “things” always have a way of working out for him. He will have to learn to do it on his own now..… or not.

Until the next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Show Time

Today we set up the Greater Edmonton Teachers’ Convention. I am excited about it. There are 15,000 to 20,000 people attending Thursday and Friday….Show Time…I teach a couple of workshops this afternoon then we go. We haven’t heard back from the other company since we told them we will not be stopping The Clay Teacher. As I have said before, a little competition is a good thing.

Jim got the painting the projects video on the website. I wasn’t feeling well the day we shot that video so I look like a grumpy old woman, but other than that, it’s good. I would like to reshoot it soon and replace the grumpy old woman with a more friendly me. It will be awhile before we get that done, but we have this done for the convention.

I will let you know how the convention goes.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Every Other Day is Friday

The days go by so quickly, it feels like every other day is Friday and today is Friday again.

We went out to supper for Family Day but the Po Boys turned into mediocre Greek take-out but eat in. We were not the only ones that thought half price Po Boys was a good idea, and most of those people were smart enough to make a reservation. We had a choice of an hour wait or move on to Plan B. Plan B was wander down the street toward the car and see what we found. Not always the best plan when you are on Whyte Ave and don’t want to spend an arm and leg for dinner, but we did come across a little take out/eat in Greek place. It was okay but not the same atmosphere as the Cajun dinner. We will try again next Monday and I will make a reservation.

The company that wants us to shut down The Clay Teacher has finally replied and they are going to try to take it to the next step. It is unfortunate that they are taking this path but we will walk it with them. We have never shied away from…much of anything. I think of a bit of competition keeps us all on our toes.

Next week is the Greater Edmonton Teachers’ Conference. We are looking forward to that. As I have mentioned I do like “Show Time” If we had stayed in the wholesale pottery business we would be setting up the Alberta Gift Show this morning. We would be up and loading or have loaded the trailer with all the schtuff I mentioned before, booth, carpet, shelves, pots etc etc. and then the 12 hour set up time. I am looking forward to the Teachers’ Conference. We have some new projects, the updates to the web site will be online, we are meeting some people and all that and more with out the big booth, shelves and tots and tots of pots. It should be an interesting conference.

I played at bit this week in the studio. It was fun. I will see if I can get some pictures up this week end.

Until next time.

Cindy
The Clay Teacher

Family Day

When I first started The Clay Teacher I thought I would blog everyday and tell everyone about the kids. It’s really hard and as much as I enjoy the kids the stories start to sound repetitive. Not that I have told a lot of them. But I have worked with almost 2,000 children and the stories and the students do blend. So I thought I might make this a bit more personal and try to do more of a “what I did today” then only The Clay Teacher.

I live with my husband Jim, who is the other half of The Clay Teacher. He does everything but be in the classroom. He does that as well if the classes are large. He will help me in a few weeks. We are going out of town and working with about 200 students in 2 days. The first day is a heavy day. They have booked about 130 students, so Jim will come along and help. That’s a lot of clay and projects to carry, not to mention trying to talk to every student. When I go to a classroom I try to help or talk to every student and our first class is almost 50 students. I like it when Jim comes with me, we work well together. We have been working together since we met in 1999.

My/our Kaileigh lives with us. She is 20, going to NAIT and is in her first year of a two year computer course. She is studying web building, programming and whole lotta things I don’t understand. But her marks are good and she is enjoying it. So I don’t need to know. She has a boyfriend Andy or Andrew depending on, well I am not sure, so we just call him Andyrew. It seems to have stuck. He is a good kid and takes the teasing well. His options are limited, if he wants to spend time with the daughter, he has to put up with the parents.

My/our son John lives with us for a very short time. March 4 he is going to Brisbane Australia for an undetermined length of time. He is 18 and never lived on his own before. It might be a bit of a shocker for him. I told him to hurry up and move out while he still knows everything. If he hits a snag, he will be completely on his own. We can’t come over and fix it, or he can’t come home just for supper and visit like he could if he lived …... in the same hemisphere. He has found a good little car that is reliable and has a temporary place to land, a vacation condo at $700 a week. But that can’t last long and he will find a rental. He is a smart boy and will do fine. And I keep telling him and he agrees, if he really doesn’t like it, come home!

Today is Family Day, I plan to play a bit in my studio and then we are going out for supper. There is a nice little Cajun place on Whyte Ave and they have half price Po Boys on Monday nights, so we thought it would be fun and affordable to go out for Po Boys and sweet potatoe fries. I will have to walk the treadmill for sure today!

Another Month Bites the Dust

Another month has past since I blogged. If anyone reads these they know I am a very poor blogger. It’s hard to write often. Hard for me, I just get busy and wander off. Then a month goes by.

January we received the email from the other company telling us we had to shut down. We told her no, and we haven’t heard from them since. As I said, there a number of schools out there, more than enough to go around.

We went to our first Teachers’ Convention the first of this month. It was great. We had a wonderful time. Met the teachers from North Central Alberta, were well received and The Clay Teacher looked good. I like “show time”. The people, the promotion and of course the business all crammed into a couple of days is really fun. We will be at the Greater Edmonton Teachers’ Convention next week. I am excited about it. This type of trade show being smaller and only promotion are so much easier to do. One of the best things about these shows is the set up and the knock down. When we did pottery, either wholesale or retail, we would take hours to set up and then tear it all down. We would bring in carpets, lights, walls, shelves not to mention the tots and tots of pots and all the work to make them. We would get home hours after the show had ended. Most venders at the retail show would be home and finished supper and Jim and I would be still knocking down our booth. After the North Central Convention we were home with our three tots and a box, 90 minuets after it ended and it took that long because we had to wait to load the car and drive in Friday afternoon traffic. I doubt we ever do a show again where we have to do the booth, shelves, carpets and all that ever again. I’m too old for that schtuff.

I am really enjoying being The Clay Teacher. It is doing well and I have quit my job with the City teaching the adult classes, as of the end of March. I like teaching those as well, but it is nights and weekends. I work week days in the schools and I was trying to keep a few wholesale clients supplied with pottery and it got to be a bit much. So I have let my wholesale clients go and now with no night classes or the Sunday afternoon class, I am hoping to start playing in the clay again. We will keep the webpage for retail and I have promised a few people to do their wedding registries and we will continue to do those. Clients really like that. We make them their own webpage and their family can shop from all over the world. The wedding is often here in the city, so all the pottery doesn’t need to be shipped and if it is out of town, someone will be going and they can take it with them. It works well. There is one really fun retail show we would like to do this summer, but it doesn’t require a booth and all the other set up that goes with a regular retail show and it is a hoot to be there. Other than that, I am looking forward to playing in the clay again. It has been a busy couple of years.

Wow! That was a fast two months.

January 7^th 2010

2009 was a good year for the Clay Teacher. We set it up and we took off. It was a busy November and December. I met some great people, worked with some wonderful kids and had a blast. January has taken a bit of a turn. Not for the teaching end of The Clay Teacher, but the people I used to work for have just found out about the Clay Teacher, seven months later, and now they want us to shut it down because they are intimidated by a little bit of healthy competition. I have always thought a little competition keeps us all on our toes. I am only one clay teacher in the sea of hundreds of class rooms. We have different ways of teaching. We target different groups of people. The projects offered in the elementary schools mirrors the curriculum. They didn’t invent pinch pots, coil pots or masks. They didn’t invent sculpting little people out of clay. People have been working with clay since we have been people. One of the first things found made from clay was a woman and it was sculpted about 28,000 years ago.

I was an instructor and potter before I signed on with them during and now after. I have been a pottery teacher since I was eighteen years old. I started working with kids in the schools when my children were small. They are now 20 and 18. I would bring clay into the class, direct the kids on how to make the project, fire them and return them. I used to feel like the Pied Piper. I would always come at recess so I could set up. I drove this huge Dodge van back then and the kids knew my vehicle. As I got close to the school, they would see my van, know who I was and what I was bringing. Half the play ground of children would be running behind me laughing and screaming as I drove me into the parking lot. I was a teacher’s aide. I often would bring clay into my classes, show the kids how make little projects, take them home, fire them and return them. I have taught as a private contractor for over thirty years. First in Dawson Creek, BC, then in Edson AB, and here in the city, first in my studio a few years ago then for the City of Edmonton and then for my last employer.

Yesterday we received a letter telling us to stop The Clay Teacher, remove our website and email address. We said no. We have don’t want to fight with these people; we just want to do the job. There is plenty of work for all of us.

I will keep this up to date.