Teaching Pottery To The Children.

[Olgablushtein]

Hi All,

 

I'm a new member on this forum and wanted to ask your opinion which pottery wheels would be the best choice for clay workshop with children?

 

I' setting up a new studio where I will teach children's and adult's groups pottery.

 

I appreciate any suggestion.

 

Thank you,

Olga Blushtein

 

www.artisto.ca

[clay lover]

No brands to recommend, but the distance from the center of the wheel to the edge of the pan where the child will sit is important.  Some wheels are larger that way than others.  The Thomas Stuart is larger than the Brent, even thought the wheel head is the same size.  Little arms can't reach the center of the bigger wheels.

[Stephen Robison]

We have taught our kids from the time they could squeeze, and we have used Thomas Stuarts quite a bit. We own two of them. But we also have used brents and shimpo wheels. We still own a nice shimpo. We also had a soldner wheel that our oldest was lucky to use. I sold that to one of my great students when we moved... We do also have a kick wheel, they are not to good on it, and it scares me a little. So what I am getting at here is I have not found it to make any bit of difference. They even try and throw on heavy banding wheels and although I can throw a decent cylinder on a banding wheel, they can only make bowls.  They just need something that spins. They will have a blast if you are patient...

[muddylove]

It depends on how big the kids are.  I don't usually teach kids under 12 on the wheel.  I prefer handbuilding for the little ones because they can be more creative and there isn't as much safety issues. Although the wheel is really cool for kids to try they don't often have the attention span to work on the wheel a lot.  It takes quite a commitment /patience to learn for the little kids.  I don't even let the big kids use needle tools.  I use bamboo skewers instead because they break off if something bad happens.  They are sharp enough to use as a pin tool and cheap.  I would look into some of the smaller portable wheels ie.  VL-Lite Whisper, RK Whisper, brent ie-x   I have a few and they work well for adult beginners.  You can't centre 100lbs of clay on them but for most students they are just fine.  They are also cheaper.  Some of the more petite adults prefer them over the full sized wheels.   

[carljason]

I really don't think that children age under 13 should be teaching pottery. It can be harmful to them. As the soil with the potteries made could not be safe for them.

 

[Dirty Scot Pottery]

I first taught my daughter, when she was 7, on my Laguna Pacifica. She is pretty small and was successful by sitting on the table. She found it difficult to reach from the stool so I just sat her on the opposite side and that worked out great. Now she is 12 and throws better than many adults I know.

Not sure what clay carljason is using but most of the ones I use in my studio could be eaten without ill effects.

[neilestrick]

On 11/4/2013 at 9:29 PM, carljason said:

I really don't think that children age under 13 should be teaching pottery. It can be harmful to them. As the soil with the potteries made could not be safe for them.

 

 

From a liability standpoint, you should be using clay bodies that are certified non-toxic. Do you let your kids help in the garden?

[neilestrick]

At my shop I start wheel throwing at age 8. Sometimes age 7, but they have to be strong enough to do it. But more importantly, they have to be mature enough to sit through a 90 minute class. I have 11 Thomas Stuart wheels in my studio, and the kids do just fine on them.

[Mudslinger Ceramics]

On 11/4/2013 at 9:29 PM, carljason said:

I really don't think that children age under 13 should be teaching pottery. It can be harmful to them. As the soil with the potteries made could not be safe for them.

 

 

 

 

Children worldwide ate 'mud pies' long before Play-do!