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This strand will be a series of compilations from In the Studio forum. Please do not reply, as these are to be without-wanderings. If you have an idea for a new line here-PM me. PS not my idea, but one John has set up in the Technical forum. Best, Preston

I taught adult classes for a few of my later years. I would not consider one on one classes, as I believe that most students learn faster/better when surrounded by other folks to feed off of. Discussion during class while working, loading and unloading kilns together talking about what we see as it goes in or comes out is paramount. Seeing other folks working on different ideas helps to build enthusiasm and confidence. At the same time it encourages one to jump out of their comfort zones when they see others on the wheel struggling, and some succeeding. No one stand out, because they all have strengths. No I really would not consider a one on one class situation.

Idaho, I like your take on the mixed bag doing the handbuilding and the throwing. I often would have students that had one thing in mind to do. It may have been a handbuilt pasta bowl, or making ceramic molding, or learning to make a teapot, or some other specialized project. I would always have them fill our a little survey 4X7 card with their contact info, their hobbies/interests, their experience with clay, and if there was anything they really wanted to accomplish in the class. This would lead to the types of demonstrations I did, and how the demonstrations would branch to specific types of projects. In the case of the molding the extruder, the handbuilt pasta bowl to hump or slump molds. I a student was interested in throwing, I would have a group that once I started the handbuilders, and had done a throwing demonstration of a cylinder form, would meet at the wheels those just beginning would get the hands on hands treatment. They were always taught to master the clay-pushing up and pushing down, a good preliminary to centering. Pressure with the hands, and bend of wrist/positions were reinforced constantly. More advanced students would often ask what was going wrong, why things weren't light enough, what caused ripples etc. These things I would explain and demonstrate corrections. Many times a student would complete a second plain cylinder after much work, and I would coax/help them shape it into a more interesting form with their input of what they wanted to do with it. Next have them repeat the same with the next cylinder. I only ran classes the same as you, with no practice time-the studio was used during the week by my HS classes, and most of these folks couldn't/wouldn't come in after school. However, as I was there late most of the time some folks would ask and come in to work. The last class was a glazing day, and then folks would come in to pick up their work the following week. Towards the end, they begged to have an extra day where they picked up their work, got to see everyone's work and could talk about it-and party, I could not turn them down. We had great fun.

A good teacher, trained as one or not, is one who constantly seeks knowledge and solutions to the problems of their students. If the knowledge or the solutions come from the student, bravo. Often with adults this happens, as they know where they want to go or what they want to make and have researched in that direction. Now putting that knowledge together with skills, that is often the place of a teacher well grounded in the medium.

Assuming that you are going to work with adults, Anna, I would not cut the possibilities too short. In my experience with adults-they want to suck you dry. They like to have a lot of options, like to learn as much as they can, and usually are not afraid to ask. Have stamping and texturing tools handy, wooden ribs to use for pattern and texture, discuss what happens to glaze over texture, and the use of oxides to enhance texture. Talk about the use of resist materials on bare clay, and on fired clay before glazing. Give them options to choose from. Working with the 3 you have listed will be fine for the intro course, but you can discuss other forms of construction for their enrichment. Good luck-have lots of fun!

Most self motivated adults will opt for the open studio format, it helps if they have some craft or art background for a sense of design. So many times in grade school and HS the motivation falls on the teacher, and much of today's electronic fuzz make them more difficult to focus on a demonstration. The use of smart boards with multiple presentation formats at hand of the teacher does help. However, in a classroom whether 1-12 or adult, a good teacher with a strong background in the media is going to do the most good, and only this type of teacher can run an open studio with success. Bless yourself for having the type of teacher that can handle your questions and let you thirst for more. Teaching adults left me feeling drained-drained of my ideas, my knowledge, skills and techniques, what a wonderful feeling to go to bed with every night-made for a great nights sleep.

Dear All, When I started taking classes we began with the pinch pot and progressed to trying slabs and the wheel. After many classes I found I just like the open studio format. I liked to experiment on my own to see what the clay could do on my own in those three hours. I think adults will tell you what they need from the instructor. Most classes I have taken have had some demonstration time included. It was up to the student to decide if they wanted to try this or just continue with their own little projects. For me, I like the open studio concept. But this of course was after taking many instruction based classes and familiarity with the materials and technique of clay working (i.e., how to join seams, slipping and scoring, not making totally solid forms, proper glaze application, coiling near places of vulnerability, avoiding too much water on the form etc.). One class I really liked included an opportunity to try a variety of clays including stoneware, porcelain, and terra cotta. This provided great variety and an opportunity to really get to see how different clays do different things. Nelly Nelly That happens with a lot of people. When I first started the Adult class I did extensive demonstrations, and everyone enjoyed them, but often I would have folks that had taken the class before, so my demonstrations changed in content and length. Some Saturdays I did not demo, just let them work, and if someone wanted something different would call a mini demo by telling the group what we were doing and inviting them to stay if interested. We went through so many different throwing techniques, and handbuilding projects over the years it is impossible to remember them all!

I used to run a Ceramics for Adults on Saturdays in the months of January and February. This really was not a class in that I did not have a series of set lessons. I would always start the first day with a 5X7 questionnaire card, asking basic contact info, experience levels, followed by questions about what they wanted to accomplish or do in the class. This always followed an introduction to the studio and equipment that included slab rollers, extruders, potters wheels, banding wheels etc. The first session I also introduced/demonstrated throwing a cylinder on the wheel. Following sessions would include construction with slabs, extrusion, and other coils where the demonstrations would include pieces they had mentioned in their questionnaires. The last session (6th) would be on glazing and they would glaze their pieces for glaze firings. They requested in the last years an extra day where they could see everyone's finished work. This class worked out very well, but in the end I guess you could call it an open studio. It earned enough money to help keep up equipment and add 4 wheels to the mix along with an extra extruder and several other pieces of furniture and tools.