and only one adult, Candi Jo. The children brandished above their heads the library books they took home last
week. Bringing them back was their ticket to come today. The kids missing were off visiting non-custodial parents and grandparents elsewhere in the state.
I had fired their clay last night so we could open the kiln together. I got a stool for the shortest kids so they could peer down into the big space. We examined the pyrometric cones I use to gauge the heat of the kiln. They touched the warm exterior and then I slowly opened the heavy lid. "Ooh, ah!" There the pieces were, still intact, and a different lighter color than the moist red clay. Shelf by shelf we unloaded everything, pleased that nothing had exploded.
They brought their pieces into the studio where I had set up the glazing station. I explained how to paint their pots and pieces; don't mix the glazes, wash and dry your brushes, apply several coats of each color. They worked companionably, sharing the little containers of colors and making suggestions to each other. I could almost hear a small sigh of relief that they could have all the time they wanted and all the materials they needed. Occasionally, I would ask them if there wasn't something else they wanted to add to the glaze. And, often they would focus for a lot longer, embellishing their pieces.
The finished underglazed pieces were now ready for the overglaze. I decided that the two middle school aged kids could be in charge of this process. They carefully covered each piece. All the while I was explaining from time to time that this glaze is really pulverized glass and it will melt in the heat of the kiln and cover each piece with a shiny surface. So it is important not to let the glaze get on the bottom of the pieces or it will stick to the kiln shelves. I look at the array to be fired and I see that not one has glaze spots on the bottom.
While we are working I ask them about the books they read this week. It was clear that none of them did more than page through them. No one was excited about their book. Candi Jo, clearly had not read any of them out loud. I told them about the book I was currently reading. They were polite. Parents don't get it that they are models for their kids, especially as readers.
What the kids really wanted to tell me as they overglazed were some of the horrific events in their lives. "Miss Molly, I have a fifteen year old sister I never get to see and I miss her so much!" She and her sister were separated after systematic abuse and neglect. Her sister went to foster care and she went to live with her grandmother. "Miss Molly, I was abused. That's why we don't live with.."
I want to clap my hands over my ears. I don't want to hear about this. I want so desperately to help these kids leap over great hurdles and succeed. Maybe the best I can do is provide a safe and friendly time to do art, talk to a supportive adult, spend time swimming in the pool, and eat healthful snacks. Raymond, eleven and curious about everything and who clearly has something special going for him, wants to learn how to use the potter's wheel. I would love to have him come and do this, but he would have to come alone, without the usual crowd. I ponder how I could make this happen..
Raymond doesn't read! When I presented the new library books, they were snapped up. By now I know the kids a little bit, so I selected things I thought they would enjoy. Raymond selected a first grade level book on caterpillars. "Here is a very good book about Florida wildfires", I enticed. No way. Caterpillars it was. I looked for a pottery book for him but I had nothing non-technical to offer.
It is my old axe to grind - reading as the key to success. Next week I think I will begin to read something out loud as the kids work on their art.
Apart from school (and all of them go to summer school!), the main thing in their lives is Jesus. Several of the kids made I love Jesus clay pieces. They go to Bible School in the summer, and, apart from their day with Miss Molly, they said, the best thing is going to "The Christian Edge" every Saturday night. This is a coffee house, family friendly, where there are various Christian themed events. (!) I would guess this is happening all across our country. I am learning all the time how great the social/educational/economic chasm is in our country.
When the kids leave I go up to the house and read the national papers. The NYT and the Wall Street Journal always have the latest silliness about how parents get pregnant, choose baby names or strollers - all costing megabucks. It has no relationship whatsoever to what I observe here in rural Florida. A lot to think about. (If Raymond learns to be a good potter won't that be a gift?)
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