We started ceramic workshops with our project Partners and the Łódź School for the Visually Impaired and Blind in Łódź in October 2023. The pace of events was very fast, because the first works of our participants were needed already in December. Together with the participants, we prepared glazed Christmas decorations. Anyone who works with clay knows that it is a material that requires time. Nothing can be rushed. The sculptures have to dry, they have to be polished, they have to be fired for the first time, glazed and finally fired again.
By the decision of our young, future ceramics masters, the decorations we made became the main product offered as part of the Christmas fair. The first decorations that we created as part of the ceramic workshops became a market commodity, and the funds obtained from their sale strengthened the budget of the entire school. Working with clay was therefore intertwined with conversations about the possibility of shaping the commercial offer of the ceramic studio. Together, we wondered how to start, creating an offer for the future company, and delved into the valuation of costs and revenues related to ceramic craftsmanship.
The fair turned out to be a success and our products were very popular. This success translated into our further plans. We decided that our next works will also become an offer of a group of young ceramicists taking part in the CARE project, which will be exhibited at a exhibition, summarizing the entire workshop cycle of the project. But the exhibition, fair and exposition of our collective work is just a plan, the event will take place in September 2024. We are sure that it will be a unique event.
The exhibition will be an interactive event. Our Young Ceramicists will exhibit all the works made during the ceramic workshops at their school’s stand to to submit them to the buyers’ market evaluation and make a contribution to the school budget. In addition to the fair, participants will conduct mini ceramic workshops for people interested in working with clay, passing on the knowledge they gained during the CARE project. The main highlight of the program will be the unveiling of a collective sculpture that we are still creating. The jointly prepared sculpture entitled “Sea of Possibilities” will become a joint work that will forever remain in the space of a public school, and will remind students of the opportunities for professional development in the ceramics industry.
However, there is still a long way to go before the exhibition Meanwhile, a study visit to the “Zbychewka” ceramic studio, which took place on May 21, is behind us. The participants of the project visited the workshop of our Master of Ceramics – Ewa Ber, to see and feel the charms of the work of a master of ceramics with their own eyes. During the meeting, talks about our own company and joint integration by the fire, we made sculptures that will be part of our joint project. Each of us has made a ceramic fish that will traverse our “sea of possibilities”. There is still a long way to go before the final of our cooperation, but we are proud of our achievements.
However, the arcana of the work of a master ceramics is associated with elements that require special safety rules, firing and operating a ceramic kiln are tasks that require experience, caution and a large dose of knowledge. The participants saw the stove, took part in filling in the contribution, but they could not experience everything due to little experience in this area. That is why the master of ceramics conducting the workshops, prepared instructional videos for our students, which were discussed during a special edition of the workshops. The films are intended to introduce the arcana of the work of ceramic masters and indicate those stages of working with clay that require special care. In this way, the safety rules in the ceramics workshop were introduced.
The workshops are still ongoing, new works are being created and we are all preparing for our visit to Sardinia, where we’ll meet CARE participants from other countries. It will be a fantastic trip. See you.