The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 2 July 2013

left and below: Birgit Sowden and Years 2 and 5
students of Sunshine Coast Grammar School
Friendship Columns, detail, 2012, white stoneware
1280"C. h.207cm. w. 18OCm. d.l SOcm
Photo: Patrick. Woods
Vital to the success of the project was for the
children to know they had complete freedom
of expression without any limits on technique
and design (other than brick size). To help them
achieve optimal results. the children worked in
small groups. No time constraints were imposed.
If they didn't finish in one session, they could
come back for another. This allowed a oneon-one
approach and ensured that no child's
questions went unanswered.
It was wonderful to be privy to the creative
thinking within each group - to see the
processes of the children's uncluttered minds
reflected and recorded in the clay. I was
fascinated by their problem-solving capa bilities.
When faced with something that wasn't
working, some children chose to scrunch up or
smooth over the clay and start again. others
chose more expedient methods of solving
problems, including folding long legs over to
double their thickness and halve their length
to fit the figure onto the brick. When ~ne boy
realised he couldn't fit his words as well as his
figures onto the brick. he put the writing straight
across the middle of the figures. Another child
wrapped her too-long clay figure around the
side of the brick. Often, it was this spontaneous
correction that was integral to the unique
creativity in the children's work.
As the Year 5 students had been studying
figures of speech in English, I encouraged them
to use metaphors or similes about friendship as
starting points for their designs. This was a lot of
fun and I was often astounded at the profundity
of the children's expressions. They created
numerous quotes, in simpler language, mirroring
what philosophers had said centuries earlier.
Watching the children glazing was as
fascinating and inspiring as the making process.
Their choice of colour - where they put it and
how - was always interesting to watch. They
52 THE 10URNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS IUl Y 2013