Build What?!
Joe N’ Throw
So, you wanna build a 
?
Noooo, not that! Let’s build a Gnome! And not just any old garden variety gnome, but one that you design yourself.
My daughter and I heard about classes at our local coffee shop/pottery studio and signed up. We walked into a studio, table decked out with lumps of cold hard clay, various tools we could not identify, an x-acto knife and templates. We looked at each other and wondered what in the world had we gotten ourselves into?
But the instructor was enthusiastic and there was excited chatter all around. Some students made gnomes, others made different things, this was FUN. So, we focused, helped each other and before you know it, we were completely engrossed in our work. By the time we got to the point where we were crafting bulbous noses we were having fits of giggles.
As you can see, we didn’t do too bad for newbies. Our hands were covered in clay, our skin was dry as a bone, yet we had made something with our very own hands. It was a great way for a mother and daughter to spend the day.
When we started off on this little project, we naively thought that these would be garden gnomes. But these gnomes are special. They will never see dirt, as they hold the memories of our special day spent together. We tried something new. Apprehensive yet jumping in, we helped each other, and left with a sense of accomplishment. No, our gnomes will never go in the garden. They will sit like royalty on our bookcase, an ever present reminder to not be afraid to try something new.
So dare to try something new today, and if you think you might want to try your hand at pottery, I have included a website with information on pottery classes all across the nation. I have also included links to the local ones we have visited. I am sure you can find classes in your very own cities by doing a simple internet search but here are a few links to help get you started:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-best-places-ceramics-classes https://www.facebook.com/joe.n.throw/
http://www.zenclaypottery.com/ https://www.wowfactoryonline.com/
Happy creating!
Helen