Clay + Mythology= Wellbeing
Clay + Mythology = Wellbeing
by Guest Blogger, Charlie Andrew
It all started when I became part of the team working on the restoration of a first century Roman kiln which happens to have been excavated in the woods up the road from my house. As part of the education programme for the kiln and its output, I started running schools and community sessions where complete novices would learn to work clay into replica Roman vessels.
At one of our community sessions, a Special Education Needs teacher happened to get sucked into the orbit of our Roman Clay table by her two enthusiastic children. As we got our hands mucky shaping our replica beakers, we mused together on how working with clay was an underrated therapeutic activity. And then the lightbulb popped over both our heads simultaneously…
So now, every Friday, I spend my favourite hour of the week working with a group of students and a volunteer potter on projects that combine two of my favourite things in the world: clay and Greco-Roman mythology.
Each fortnight we embark on a new project that uses a classical myth as a stimulus for a clay project. So far, we’ve explored…
The benefits for the students were clear from the outset. They enjoyed their time working with clay, a new medium for all in the group. Technical and fine motor skills improved. They learned about aspects of Greco-Roman culture. Lessons were learned about resilience – if you’re unhappy with your work, squash up the clay and start again! Most importantly, the students took a real, glowing pride in their craft output.
If you’d like to try any of these projects, the stimulus materials and step-by-step instruction sheets are free to download at https://maximumclassics.com/maximum-civilisation/.
About Charlie
Charlie Andrew runs Maximum Classics CIC (https://maximumclassics.com), a UK-based community interest company. Her Maximum Classics, Mega Greek and Word Roots programmes allow teachers and their students to access the Ancient World and their languages in a modern, engaging and informative way. She’s a keen painter and lino printer and has also been known to run up a mean Hydra costume.