The Whitley county pottery program has been offering educational programming for 10 years to the Whitley County community. Covid put a halt to the extremely popular Open Pottery program that exposed the community to 12 weeks of free play and experimentation with hand building and wheel throwing. Not only did this create a pottery void it also ended pottery group which met monthly and built strong leadership within the medium and for the program. 

During the pandemic we tried some pottery take home packets and you tube videos but it just wasn’t the same. Being in the extension pottery studio was an experience that could not be replicated at home. Community members expressed their needs for pottery, continuously throughout the shut down and into the transition. 

To meet this growing demand we started planning a new pottery experience that would engage participants on a deeper level. Open Pottery was a great way to expose people to this medium but with the large amount of participation, sometime over 50, it remained surface level. We were not able to give them the in-depth training that can be required to build confidence in this art form. 

With a new perspective on programing we decided to bring back pottery in a more focused intentional way. We created our first Wheel throwing class. Two groups of 4 students, a morning and evening class meet once a week for 2 hours over 5-week period. The beginner students reported that they “learned the properties of clay and clay recycling. Learned how to properly throw the clay. Learned different techniques of manipulating the clay to get desired results. Learned about drying, trimming, glazing, firing.” Students also gained a new appreciation for working pottery artists, reporting “Yes appreciation has increased greatly” and “I now realize all the technical skills needed to do various projects and that muscle memory from hours in the wheel are important.”

When asked if pottery wheel throwing class was a program that the Extension Fine Arts should continue to offer to the community, the students responded by saying,” Pottery is one of my favorite classes I've ever taken at the extension office. I would love to learn more. Equipment to do this at home is cost prohibitive, so I appreciate having the ability to learn here. I loved the four weeks I took the class, and I wish it would have been longer,” and “yes, it offers hands on art experience. A chance to experience an art form that is not readily available to most.”

We plan to continue wheel throwing classes and offer them bi annually. With the great interest we plan to also create a pottery group that allows prior students to continue honing their skills by utilizing the studio space and equipment.