The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 2 July 2010

Workshop
From Scratch
Wendy Jagger recounts her experiences as an Artist-in-Schools grant recipient from
Arts Victoria
In an age where so many products in our daily life are mass-produced, pre-prepared or packaged, it
is essential for our children to understand and appreciate where things come from and how they are
made. It makes one wonder how many items in a household are handmade. How long is it since one
turned over a food bowl and saw a maker's mark instead of a printed "Made in ... "?
So began my journey with the Artists-In-Schools program, supported by Arts Victoria and the
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. As a ceramicist w ith a background in
education at secondary and tertiary levels, I am very aware of the threat hanging over ceramics in
tertiary institutions and schools, with dwindling numbers leading to the paring back and even closure
of ceramics departments. When I was teaching in secondary schools, I found that students had little or
no experience of ceramics from their primary schools. One way that I felt able to encourage a greater
understanding and appreciation of ceramics was through education and, specifically, by engendering a
love of the medium in children.
I attended information sessions where artists and teachers shared their experiences about the Artist­
In-Schools program in Melbourne and later at Benalla Regional Gallery. Fuelled with a desire to develop
a project based on the potter's wheel, I approached the principal of Mansfield Primary School with my
ideas. I had recently moved to Mansfield, in Victoria's High Country, where we have built a new home
and studio/gallery.
Our project titled " From Scratch" explored the origins of the bowl, its materials, its creation, its history
and the craft of the potter; it also dove-tailed with the school's efforts to encourage healthy living and
healthy eating amongst the student body and broader school community. Using produce grown by the
students in the school's kitchen garden, From Scratch was to culminate in a celebratory meal prepared
by the students and parents, then enjoyed in bowls and cups they had made, from scratch.
Lyn Gardiner, Mansfield Primary School's amazing art teacher, was so receptive to the program and
threw herself into the project wholeheartedly. The whole experience was thoroughly enriching, both
personally and professionally. To be able to speak to the students about my arts practice and then turn a
corner of the art room into a temporary studio was wonderful. We set up six pottery wheels, four hired
and two that I lent to the school. Fifty six Grade 6 students had four 2- 3 hour sessions with a rotation
between wheel forming, decoration and glazing. We surrounded ourselves with images, other ceramics
examples by various artists, and working drawings.
When I wasn 't with the Grade 6 students, I had studio time working on my own practice whilst art
classes of different levels took place in the room. The students were encouraged to come and look and
ask questions, and they saw the development of a new work for exhibition and production.
When I demonstrated the throwing process, the students were intrigued, and the laughs we had
when they started to centre were exhilarating. There are too many fabulous moments to recount,
but several poignant ones stand out. One boy was going to miss his second class, as he was visiting
Melbourne, so he got his Mum to book him onto the V-Line bus and he travelled the three hours back
on his own. He stayed with neighbours because he didn't want to miss a session. Another girl quietly
told me, as my hands were on hers applying correct pressure to centre, that this bowl would be for her
Mum, who had been admitted to hospital the night before. Then another little story of personal growth
and success was epitomised by one boy who was dubbed the 'champion of centring' because he went
through 36 new balls of clay before he finally produced his first bowl. We celebrated his persistence and
accomplishment.
74 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS JULY 2010