It is hard not to love teaching Ceramics. It invites curiosity despite age or level of ability. When the students arrive at the art room to begin or continue their clay work, their enthusiastic, elevated mood is apparent.

Ceramics is about innovation. It is about problem solving and being flexible when your ideas don’t go according to plan - engendering resilience. It is sensuous and tactile and uses parts of the brain not used in other areas. It is about artistic freedom, and the satisfaction of manipulating clay and seeing your ideas transform into 3 dimensions. It is about the unpredictability of oxides and glazes, and the wondrous feeling at the end of a firing when you peek inside the kiln after the magic has happened. Ceramics is hands on, and is an antidote to the prevalence of digital and virtual artmaking. It is a concrete tangible process where students develop skills and dexterity through ceramic techniques.
Above all, it is about the enjoyment of life and sense of accomplishment.
– Opening remarks at Clay Gulgong 2024 by Felicity Wood