Holiday Programme : Pottery Art

While clearing our family's memory box the other day, I chanced upon a pair of turtles. Clay turtles. They were moulded by my girls some years back when I signed them up for a holiday programme for the first time... 

In Singapore, students get to enjoy a long break (about a month!) every year in June and parents throng different centres to keep them occupied during the holidays. Some go for art camps, music camps, writing camps and so on.

I signed both my girls up for an art holiday Programme at Twinkle Art @ Pioneer called Oceans of Fun. Frankly, I was quite smitten with the art director and co-ordinators there 

that I decided to allow my girls to resume their holiday programme with Twinkle Art 

for the whole week. 

Since Oceans of Fun was the theme, I was excited to find out what the kiddies would be making during the pottery art lesson on Thursday. I knew this was an eye-opener for my girls (Ooh! And myself too!) as they have never done Pottery Art before. Well... neither have I. The closest experience I had to knowing about Pottery Art was via the 

documentaries I had seen on TV and also ermmm... from the old.. old... movie with Patrick Swayze, Whoopie Goldberg and the very hawt mama, the beautiful Demi Moore called GHOST.  

My first awe of this art studio was that they were willing to take in kiddies who were really young! I think 3yrs was the youngest. And I can never over-emphasize how passionate and patient the 3 good people at this studio were... My personal kudos to them! Now let me share with all the journey to my next close encounter to Pottery Art...  

Both my girls were super jiggly excited and so looking forward to this day. This session seemed really popular as I observed the 
tables were rather full with more 
kiddies surrounding the area. 

 

All the kiddies were all ready with their cute arty aprons and all awaiting their 'laborious' process of Pottery Art. ( yup... they didn't know there was that much of hard work involved... hahaha... ) Each child was 

given newspapers and a plastic bowl to 

mould the shape of their craft today. 

All of them had to begin from scratch, which was rolling the balls of icky clay... yup... a few of the children thought it was icky to get their fingers that dirty! But Ms Eldin, Uncle Gary and Mr Ong was so patient that they  managed to get each and everyone of the children to go at it for the next like half hour - yeah.. making balls. The children had to roll like 40 to 50 balls each to cover the entire bowl shape given to them.

 

I could see a few children who were regretting this beginning process already, wuahahahahaa! But hey, no pain, no gain... right? Below was 

one girl who was really so into the craft, she could do it with a smile even... I suppose bigger children have bigger hands hence giving them obvious advantage. It also didn't help that the mixture wasn't really that soft to begin with... hmmm... interesting how it turned out later!  

 

Time passed rather swiftly cos after i left the studio and came back from my short snack break, most of the children were almost done with the initial process of ball(s) making. I bet if you use one of em' balls to do a far throw to someone's head ( like how i threw chalk on hubs in class last time, kekekee.. ) it cud just cause some serious 

brain damage boy!!  

Since even the younger ones have also almost finished within the same time as their older counterparts, I am sure the trio had a hand helping the young uns' with their balls.  

 

Next up on the agenda was now to put those balls into the inner curve of the plastic bowl... filling the whole shape up with all those cute little balls of clay they just made. And not just anyhow put hor... Must use fingers to press the balls in. The balls of clay should also be as stuck together as much as possible so it means not just pressing, 

but also having to even up the surface to a 

clean bowl shape.

 

Another laborious process... which i believe many of them were praying would end already. Kahkahkah!  

Check out their responses, you guys! Priceless.  

 

 

 

Upon completion of this moulding process, the children got to have a feel of first hand relief ( of the fingers, hehee... ) & also the joy of IT taking form. The bowls were turned over to reveal...... 

TA-DAAAH!!!

 

The children then had to add in a few flippers and a tail to the now bumpy bowl shape.  And ooh, i forgot... the protruding eyes too!  

 

Next, to poke the eyes to make the eyeballs. 

 

This guy here seems to be saying, "Mr Ong.... I poke liao. What next?" 

 

Next? 

Finish already lor.. 

And with that Ms Eldin, Uncle Gary and Mr Ong went round inspecting all the pieces to ensure no gaps in the bowls, correct number of legs and also done with the tails and eyes. The children were only to happy to end their 

massive fine-motor work and wash their 

tired hands...  

Remember the cutie pie who sulked through the beginning process... She seemed to be saying, "Now, get this thing off me! I'm done boy..

 

However, when i asked to see her masterpiece and aimed my camera at her, this cutie quickly showed me hers and armed with a proud smile, she said, "This is mine..."  "My turtle..." 

After the children washed their hands, they were in for a treat.  In came a lady with a few boxes of PIZZA! Yeah... the children were treated to warm and lovely smelling pizzas! 

They all ate so quietly... hahaa! 

Guess they were tired already.. and not to mention, hungry... Who wouldn't? 

After all that hard work! 

Mr Ong picked up some library books on turtles and showed the children the pictures. He was telling them a story about turtles while they finished eating their lunch and the children were free to look through some of the 

Science resource books to learn more about the turtles and other ocean creatures (crafts) they have done during the whole week. 

I suppose I was a tad wrong about them being tired, cos after a scrumptious pizza lunch and drinks, all the children seemed to get their energy back... and all of them hit the free expression corner to play together while waiting for their parents or caregivers to fetch them from the session. In this corner children are given the freedom to do what they liked from indulging in some origami, or draw a picture ( papers were in abundance! ) with crayons, colour pencils or markers... to playing cars... to making train tracks... 

to playing teacher at the whiteboards. There were also a lotta toys for children of different age range to play with. Heaven.  

 

Before they left, Mr Ong told them that the pieces would be cooked and ready for glazing the following week. 

Wanna see the end product of all that hard work? 

Here it is... 

  

Whaddya' think, aye?