Harriet Hason
What does pottery have to do with the global economy? It’s all about creativity, innovation, problem solving and ingenuity!
This summer a team of SaddleBrooke Pottery Club members participated in a summer school program with over 40 students, grades four through seven, from the Mountain Vista School in Oracle. The workshop focused on the creation of a variety of ceramic clay projects by the students. Several hand building clay techniques were introduced to the students, who then had to come up with creative ideas and solve technical problems in order to design and execute their projects.
The SaddleBrooke Pottery team that worked with the students across the four day workshop included Harriet Hason, Sue Hedrick, Steve Law, Jeri Taylor, Becky Tolan and Janice Waller. In addition to instructing the students, the team spent time organizing the Art Room for the workshop and firing all the student projects in the school kiln.
This was a great outreach and collaborative project by the SaddleBrooke Pottery Club volunteers, the Mountain Vista Principal, Nannette Soule and Summer School Coordinator Shannon Soule.
The SaddleBrooke team found the Mountain Vista students great to work with! They were open and enthusiastic about the clay experiences and worked hard to meet the technical and aesthetic objectives of the projects. The good news is that all the students who participated in the program went home with two finished ceramic projects.
This ceramic experience was the only art education for the Mountain Vista students because the music and art programs were cut in the district. One of the reasons for the cuts was that the override was voted down, so the district was forced to make program cuts that directly affected students.
How does pottery and the other visual arts help students attain the skills needed in order to reach success in the 21st century? One way is for the Oracle Schools to re-establish the Visual Arts Program which teaches students to be more creative, refine and improve original ideas and become innovative problem solvers.
Support the Arts! Vote YES on the Override!