More Than "Just Clay"

Morty Bachar

"Our lives are drawn out for us by a master artist. But we are given the colors to paint our own souls. Some days the colors we choose enrich who we are. Other days our brush strokes seem to leave shadows over the person we long to be. That is when we need a vision greater than our own. If we look from afar, we can see the beauty of the dark and light hues, working together to create balance. From this perspective, we can see ways to illuminate our lives with fresh, true colors as we slowly become the masterpiece we were designed to be."

		Gail Bernson from Norwalk created the sculpture shown at left. It is made out of stoneware clay, approx. 14" tall and represents Gail's recent work. Gail is a massage therapist and has been taking pottery classes at Lakeside Pottery for about two years. Her sculptural work is exceptional. It is detailed, proportionally precise and beautiful. Pottery gave Gail an outlet with which she was able to define who she is as a person and walk through life with more self-confidence.

Working with clay is also an excellent tool for exploring fears, attitudes, thoughts and feelings. The use of clay encourages self-discovery and adds to sensory stimulation. It can be an outlet for frustration and improves motor skills. You can tell a lot about people by the way the use their hands and how they explore new limits and experience success or failure.

One of the activities at Lakeside Pottery in Stamford is corporate team building. Companies such as Unilever, Coca Cola, MasterCard and Diageo-Guinness spend a few hours at the studio with well-planned exercises, which enable the management teams to reduce stress and most importantly, learn about each other in a completely different way.

For example, a demonstration is given by the instructor of basic pottery techniques and then the team is encouraged to work either in groups or individually to produce a unique project. The results are always exciting for both instructor and participants. Another exercise is the “Discovering Your Senses” activity where the teams work with clay while eyes are closed. As they listen to the instructor’s soothing voice guiding them how to work the clay, they discover that they can actually see with their fingers. They become relaxed with closed eyes focusing on the task in front of them. The instructor seizes this moment of self-reflection and help guides the conversation to further discover who each person really is as oppose to their identity within the work place hierarchy.

	Coca Cola in action at a teambuilding workshop
On Feb 26, 2002, Lakeside Pottery, ceramic school and studio, on Newfield Avenue in Stamford, opened its doors. To date, they have enrolled more than 2,400 students in classes, workshops and open studio in addition to out reach programs conducted in local schools. Lakeside Pottery follows a guiding philosophy of "creating a pottery studio where newcomers as well as professional artists can come to create in a place with an atmosphere of warmth, sharing and love of pottery." The setup at Lakeside Pottery was very carefully designed so that participants would have the "perfect environment" in which to learn and work with clay. The studio is spacious and bright and is an excellent place for sharing and developing friendships. The environment is hospitable and friendly, and both group classes and individual lessons are available. The teachers are experienced potters, and all have interesting, rich and diverse backgrounds. To know more about Team Building programs, click here.