Family pottery A series of private, family pottery workshops hosted by Seyramics Studio will be taking place over the school holidays, to offer children the opportunity to learn basic pottery techniques on the traditional potter’s wheel.

The children will have a chance to create their own cup and plate out of clay, tour the studio, and also learn about the different pottery stages.

The workshops, which begin today, February 23, are being hosted by ceramics artist, Zara Albert, at Seyramics Studio, located at Machabée on Mahé.

Seyramics Studio specialises in creating one-of-a-kind, handcrafted ceramic pieces that are mostly inspired by the natural flora and fauna of the Seychelles.

This will be the first series of workshops held by Seyramics Studio and during an interview with Seychelles NATION, Zara expressed her pride in being able to offer these workshops. She believes that they are a great way for children to learn about pottery and to release creativity.

“It will be the first private workshops where children, their family and friends, will have the opportunity to learn basic techniques of throwing and hand building, by making a small cup on the traditional potter’s wheel and hand building a small plate. Following the workshops, all pieces will be bisque fired clear and ready for collection after four weeks,” says Zara.

She explains that as the need for activities during the school holidays grows in the country, parents are now looking for fun workshops and sports activities for their children.

“I’m happy to provide an activity that parents can also be involved in. I wanted to make these workshops around the school holidays to have both parents and children for a bonding experience through pottery. I believe it’s important to have more of these workshops where families can grow closer, learning a new activity together.”

It is Zara’s hope that the children will leave her studio with a basic understanding of pottery and perhaps even uncover some creative talents! Her aim is to help them feel empowered and to impress themselves by creating their own cup and plate, knowing that they have built these from a lump of clay.

For the future, Zara would like to start offering more workshops, but for now she will only be offering them during the school holidays.

“I hope that by attending workshops, pottery can be revived in Seychelles through more people having a better understanding and appreciation of the process.”

Source: Seychelles Nation