The
Andereggs and Pottery
First of all, it was
an honor to meet and work with Wesley Anderegg, the famous clay artist. He and
his wife, Donna Anderegg decided to work with this talent and they decided to
open up an exclusive 4-H ceramics
class.
We had all the class sessions at their house, which was a piece of
art itself. The house is one of the oldest houses in the block, since it is
made of adobe. When you step inside their studio, it is like stepping into a completely different world. It's a room full of all of these totally
different ideas made into clay by Anderegg's bare hands (and some tools).
The Andereggs have a daughter,
Izzy, a smart, in-charge and curious girl who takes after her dad in art. They
showed us how to make candle holders for those blackout moments when you need a
candle. It was also very generous of the Andereggs to hand out snacks, such as
cookies and lemonade, every time we came.
Not only was
Anderegg's art different and complicated, it was also rather ... unusual. The
way he made the body and faces always described something in life, and the eyes
and teeth were so detailed that it was hard to think that they weren't real.
On the first day, they showed us how to make clay into living art.
The way the candle holder worked was by molding clay so that it accommodated a
short, thin metal pole that holds the clay upright. The candle was placed on
the top of the ceramic piece (which was balanced for the candle) and then
lighted. They also taught us how to use the tools and equipment.
Many people got
to enjoy this class, including Kiana and Luke Beckmen, Aidan and Olivia
Rotunno, Samantha Beckert, Kylie Kelleher, Lindsey Neeley, and Kayla and Lance
Plater. If you ask any one of them, I’ll bet they would all agree that the 4-H
ceramics project was a great
success and, even more, a wonderful experience.