As my military career was coming to an end, I found myself with more free time than I had experienced since having summers off as a high school student many years before. I began looking for unique ways to spend much-needed time with my wife and three kids. As a career Special Operations Command Soldier, I was frequently deployed, and spending meaningful time with them was challenging for the better part of two decades.
I found that the local community college, Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC), offered pottery classes, sculpting classes, and an open studio session, for individuals 16 and above. Fortunately, my daughter Taylor was old enough, interested, and had ample free time. Unfortunately, my oldest son's work schedule interfered with his ability to get involved. My youngest son was not old enough to attend nor would my wife's crazy work-school schedule permit her the opportunity.
Taylor and I finished the first intro course, then enrolled for the open studio course, then the sculpting courses, and then continued enrolling in subsequent sessions of every course available. We found ourselves in the FTCC Studio three nights each week. We also popped in and out of the studio outside of class hours to check for our completed items. It was a rough start, but, with a lot of effort and attention to detail, we made significant progress.
This was the first item I made in January, 2024. It was hand-built, using one of the simplest techniques there is. It is an incense burner. It is NOT pretty, but, Taylor and I were SO excited to see how the eggplant glaze would turn out. Unfortunately, we would learn that the eggplant glaze does not cooperate well with red clay.
This is one of the first donut vases I made. It was around the third or fourth month into class that I learned how easy these can be to make, and how much I LOVED making them. It was at this point that the wife really gained an interest in what we were doing, and wanted to get involved. This was the turning point for us, in knowing that we were beginning to make some really special items and decided that if we wanted all five of us involved, we would need a studio in our home. As such, the garage-based studio was put together.
As of the time of this post, this teapot is one of my most recent creations. This was my very first attempt at making a teapot. It is quite small, but it is functional and we love the effect of the two glazes working together. The combination is a lemon frost and a satin patino. We are making a set of matching tea cups for it now.
If I had a message for each reader, it would be to explore what your local community college offers in their continuing education departments. FTCC offers everything from jewelry making to making winter-savory soups. Do it for yourself, or, do it for your kids; it will be time well spent and while I cannot speak for any other school's pricing, I can say that FTCC's rates are very reasonable. What better way to get people to take a break from their handheld devices? It also deters me from hyperfocusing on the few weeds that like to hang out in my lawn.
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