Working with Clay

“With every clay project we are reminded of how clay connects us deeply to this planet."  -  Caroline Cercone, artist

Abintra students have the pleasure of frequently working with clay. Clay, like water and sand, has a natural appeal and children enjoy working with these basic mediums because there is no separation between them and their work. As soon as children are given clay, they immediately become aware that they are in charge and have influence over the material as it is quick to respond to their fingers. With further experience, they soon begin to learn the subtle ways to manipulate clay to create what they want. The forgiving quality of clay, and therefore the ability to readily fix mistakes, gives the child a sense of control over their project’s success which improves self esteem and self expression as they realize that mistakes aren’t going to halt their progress.

Our young clay artists are advantaged by the guidance of ceramist Caroline Cercone. Springing from her intensive studies of Japanese craft, Caroline studied ceramics at the Penland School of Crafts and has been working as an independent studio potter for the past fifteen years. She greatly loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for making art with us, and twice this school year has conducted weeklong workshops that have included all of our students. They truly value her instruction and have learned much about the use of coils and slabs and the construction of vessels of varying shape, size, texture, and color. www.carolinecerconepottery.com