How do I get people to read what I have to say???

Today we went to Evansview.  It is a small rural school about 100 K west of here.  We are doing the entire school body, K through 6 over two days.  It’s the third year in a row we have gone  to work with all the students and every year we have done the Air Dry Method.  There are still a lot of people that think decorative pieces need to be fired.  I was talking to a group of kids before the workshops started. They all remembered us from last year. I asked them if they still had the things they made last year, they all did but one boy. When I asked him what happened to his camel, he told me it broke.  After a bit of conversation, he told me it broke when his dad moved the TV and it fell on the floor.  That is not a problem of Air Dry or fired, either way clay won’t bounce worth a darn.

I sent out my March News Letter this morning before we went out of town. I am not sure how to get people to read News Letters, emails or blogs for that matter. My letters, on a good day,will have about 15 to 20% open rate. I try to make them interesting with pictures of new projects, painting tips,  new products available and what we are up to. Like when we went to Toronto to The Canadian Toy and Hobby Fair to introduce our Craft Kits and got found an agent to promote them. Today I had pictures of six new projects just in time for Mother's and Father's day and I reminded teachers of the Teacher Pack class kits we introduced at the conventions. At convention they were very interested so I thought they would like to be reminded, however, they have to read the email. I think the people that have The Clay Teacher come and visit them would benefit from the News Letter. I know everyone is busy, but I do wish they would read them. Here are the new projects from the News Letter. 

 

 

 

Here is the Teacher's Pack. It is a kit that the teacher can have a workshop in their class anytime they like. The kit has everything they need to make the projects along with fun, step by step instruction how to.


Now we are moving into streaming http://everydayisclayday.com/. With streaming you can have a  a Clay Day where ever and when ever you like. We are doing our best to make every day Clay Day!

If you would like to on my mailing list, just let me know, cindyclarke@theclayteacher.com

Cheers,
Cindy Clarke
The Clay Teacher

Work by the students of Sterling North Edmonton Campus

It was a windy, snowy cold day here in Edmonton. A good day to be in the basement where we couldn't see the day and take some pictures. Here are the pictures of the work the students did Sterling North Campus I mentioned last week. The Grades are 3 through 12 and they all started with the same sized pinch pot and went from there. The beaver on the right was made by a Grade 3 boy who didn't know it was an advanced project.  They all did some very cool work.

                         

 

     

Cheers,

Cindy Clarke

The Clay Teacher

The same.... but different.....

Yesterday we were at a rural school and worked with the entire student body, Grade 3 through 12, all 17 of them. It was a wonderful day. We were there last year and again this year with basically the same workshop….. do what you like.  It is both fun and challenging to direct 17 people in 17 different directions all at the same time.  We all started with a pinch pot and went from there. I will have pictures Friday or Saturday to show you just how well they did. We are firing their work and the projects are in the basement drying.  There was a boy in Grade 3 that made a beaver using a method we usually only teach to student Grade 7 and up.  We didn’t tell him it was an advanced project, and he did just fine. It is a private, religious school and the children lead sheltered lives, but what a great bunch of kids.  Nice, polite, fun to joke with, they worked very hard and did great work. We don’t make a lot of money doing one workshop a day for 17 students, but what we don’t make in profit, we make up for in the sharing our art with the kids.  It feels like we really give them something, they really enjoy it.  

Today was a great day as well, but with a much different energy. The morning started the same as most, two workshops of 20 students back to back. They were Grade 1 and we made The Madonna and Child for Mother’s Day.  We didn’t get any pictures, it was busy and sometimes we just don’t. When we do Air Dry, if the workshops are busy and pictures are not taken, the projects stay at the school and the opportunity is lost.  The afternoon however, was a little different than most. We did two Grade 2’s at the same time, forty very excited children in one classroom all making Light Houses. Again, they were a great bunch of kids but with a very different energy than yesterday afternoon with 17 quiet older and self directed students from the private school. These guys today were a little on the wild side, but in a great play with the clay kinda way. It was very flattering. We worked with them last year and made same Madonna and Child and they all remembered us and many remembered our names, Mr. and Mrs. Clay.  Some remembered our silly jokes and rhymes we use to teach the lesson. These kids saw us for 90 minutes a year ago and they knew us, we got hugs and smiles it was great.  How many things in the past year have they been told and forgotten?  Sometimes, either a large class or small, we feel like we are making a difference, these kids really had a blast with the clay. We didn’t get pictures of the Light Houses either because they were Air Dry as well and with about 50 people in the classroom all working and talking at once, it was a little intense.

Tomorrow, two classes of picture frames for Mother’s Day. Again….. pictures to follow on the weekend.

Cheers,

Cindy Clarke

The Clay Teacher

On line video streaming for schools.....maybe??

The Clay Teacher is branching out of the classroom and into video. We have put some of our workshops on DVD in workshop format and sell them in a kit, www.funclayprojects.com. These kits are for home use and anyone with the kit can make two complete sculptures. All our workshop kits use the Air Dry Method of finishing. We want to continue making the videos and include in our product line a complete data base with all our workshops and much more information for students K – 12 all available through on line streaming. I think it would be wonderful for teachers and students to have access to clay workshops and all the information about using clay they want anytime they like. We have decades of experience working with clay www.outofthefirestudio.com and years of experience presenting workshops as The Clay Teacher so I thought that the school districts would jump on the chance to have clay workshops available for their students for pennies a workshop, however, I was wrong.

As The Clay Teacher we go into the schools and work the students and charge $7.50 per student for a one time Air Dry clay experience. If the same school had access to our videos and could stream the content, that same workshop would cost that same students pennies and they could have the workshop as often as they like. When I approached some school districts today over the phone, they did not see it that way. Most said they had our type of in school field trip and/or the Artist in Residency Programs and it would not be necessary. Schools, with the help of grants from the provincial government, pay artists for a residency thousands of dollars for a one or two week program. The last number I heard in passing was $7,000 for a 2 week workshop. For a school of 200 students that would be $35 per student for a once a year program. A streaming licence would sell to a school of 200 students for $200. If the same school streamed the program, picking and choosing from a large selection of information, that same exploration in clay would be cost $1.00 per student, not for two weeks, but a whole year of play.

I spent most of the afternoon talking the people in purchasing for a number of school districts and got basically the same response. They did not see the value in online streaming when there is the Artist in Residency and in school field trips. I simply don’t understand how, with all the cuts in education, they don’t see some value to on line streaming, getting the information for pennies instead of big bucks and putting clay back in the class room on a daily basis. I had one woman say flat out “Oh I would never buy that”, as if I was promoting dead spiders or something. I bet the students in that district would like her to buy that.

We have always wanted to make every day Clay Day.  We started making these videos with that in mind but I had no idea how hard it would be to sell the idea to others.  I wish they could see the faces of the students who do get to play in the clay and how much the process of creating three dimensional art fills them.  Not only does it help with the fine motor skills, it touches and nurtures the artist that is in everyone.  Almost everyone has an artist hiding inside that is wanting and waiting to be free. Everyone, with the exception of the lady that said she would never buy it.  I am not sure what happened to her inner artist, perhaps if she got to play more in the clay as a child she would not have let it go.

Until next time.

Cindy

The Clay Teacher

Back to School

The summer has come and gone so quickly. We took some time off in July to go to Virginia to visit our newest grandson, Oliver and of course his parents. What a wonderful little boy. He is always happy.

 August was The Edmonton Folk Festival. We had a hoot being vendors there. We always do. It such fun and it is great to meet some of the performers as they go through the vendors tent. I did some demos and you can see the how fascinated the people were by ..... something other than me......

Here is a picture of our booth.

There was an unexpected turn of events with amiskwaciy Academy and it looks like we won't be working with them after all. The program did not get the funding and therefore will not be going forward. It is unfortunate. We were looking forward to working with the older students, introducing them to clay, building a new public studio and potter's guild.

The school year is starting up and already we have number of bookings.  We are in the final stages of getting out kits together so anyone anywhere can have a workshop with The Clay Teacher.  It was more difficult than I had thought it would be sourcing all the components,but finally we got them to all come together. We have our buckets made and printed locally, the brushes are sourced in New York and made in Thailand, the paint is made in Kentucky and the DVD are reproduced here in the city.  The shooting, lighting, editing is all done by us with help of our daughter and her boyfriend. Kaileigh, my daughter did all the editing.  She has seen a lot of her mother over these last few months and as we continue, she is going to see a lot more. We starting shooting more workshops next week.

School starts tomorrow and I hope everyone, teachers, students and of course The Clay Teacher has a wonderful year.

Cheers,
Cindy Clarke
The Clay Teacher

Mr. and Mrs. Clay may be on holidays, but we aren't.

Another school year has come and gone.  They go by so quickly and before we know it we will be back in the classroom. It was a good year.  We met some great kids and teachers, we saw some great work and I think that Mr Clay and I are responsible for more pinch and coil pots that some civilizations. We helped a lot of kids make a lot of pots and had a lot of fun doing it... We have the best job.  We play with kids, play with clay, we don’t have to mark or judge anyone’s work, everyone likes us and everyone wants to participate. It is so much fun to go into the schools because we get almost rock star status at times as Mr. and Mrs. Clay.

Today we deliver the last of projects and Mr. and Mrs. Clay go into summer hiatus, however, that doesn’t mean that Jim and I do. We are excited to be working with amiskwaciy Academy

http://amiskwaciy.epsb.ca/ to get their studio and new ceramics program up and running for the fall.  We will start City Centre Potter’s Guild http://www.citycenterpotters.com/ established and working in the space to help with some of the cost. It is exciting. I have always liked building studios. I have, for now at least, lost my interest in making functional pottery, but I will never lose interest in starting up a new studio.

We are vendors again at The Edmonton Folk Festival http://www.edmontonfolkfest.org/ in August. That show is a real hoot to do.  They bring in the best entertainers so the music is wonderful. The customers are all families and left over hippies. Everyone is in a party/festival mood. We never make a great deal of money but it is a wonderful weekend.  We make some funky things, listen to the music and meet a lot of really good people. We will spend July getting ready for the show, that means playing in the clay. I will post some pictures as the work gets done. 

It is going to be a busy summer, but I do like busy.  We will take a week off  and go to Virginia to visit family and our newest grandson. We have taken a bit of down time since Friday, but that is quickly coming to an end. We have a few other projects on the go, but I will leave that for another post.

Cindy Clarke

The Clay Teacher

Be yourself.

We work with students from many religious and ethnic back grounds.  A number of girls, boys and teachers wonder if Jim and I are married.  We have different last names. I am Cindy Clarke and he is Jim Willett.  During the workshops everyone knows us as Mr. and Mrs. Clay.  We are married but Clarke is my maiden name. I was born Cindy Clarke and I will remain Cindy Clarke. Often girls from different religious backgrounds will ask me, “Can you do that, keep your maiden name?” Some have never thought of keeping their maiden name. The idea of choice never occurred to them. I like to give these girls new ideas. I am sure they would come up with these ideas on their own once they get a little older, but I like to think that some of the ideas of change came from me. During the workshops we encourage creativity and the freedom to make what they like. The freedom to be themselves.  It is nice to think that this creativity and freedom might spill out of the workshops and into the rest of their day.

Until next time.

Cindy Clarke
The Clay Teacher