It was a sunny market day with about 15-20 kids and their parents dropping by to make small sculptures. They were captivated, making all sorts of things from bowls to dragons to animals and even some replicas of food they wanted to eat. It took about 10 minutes me sitting there and making a few clay creatures to start off for the first kids to join in but then all the kids at the market were buzzing around. There was a mix of locals and tourists who were visiting the islands. The kids were focused, some staying for an hour or more, they didn’t need too much attention, most of the time they asked me for something was for more clay! I had water to rinse our hands though I realized kids are used to being dirty some just walked away happy. The only disappointments were a few times when parents had to tell them it was time to go. I handed out clay for them to take home if they wanted to keep going at home, telling them they could try drying and firing it in a fireplace or a campfire (which most people have here in the north).
A few parents joined in and a few adults without kids made things and chatted. It was a positive, cohesive community event of simply making things. No fluff or fanfare needed. They also had the option to keep the pieces which I can fire and return to them or some people chose to just squish them back into clay.
There was a police officer wanted to join in but he couldn’t since he was visiting the market on duty. It was surprisingly relaxing compared to my regular weekly vending routine of selling pottery at the market. I look forward to doing it again just for fun and invite more of my neighbours kids, a few parents talked of doing it with their home-school group this winter.
