When I realized that there was no clay sculpture in my son's elementary school I knew that I had to bring in my skills and start helping children create real art. Both of my children have now graduated from Chapman Hills Elementary School and it is there that the Great Clay Adventure began in 2011.
In 2015, I had the honor of being one of OC Weekly’s “Most Influential People,” for my contribution to the After School Enrichment Program.
https://www.ocweekly.com/cybele-rowe-is-the-clay-lady-6449627/
So far in 2018 I was the feature sculptor in the Los Angeles Art Show and the Palm Springs Art Show. I have a strong exhibition schedule and my work is on permanent display at The American Ceramics Museum CA and the American Museum of Ceramic Art China.
For the past six years I have taught sculpture at Saddleback College and am currently taking a break to focus on putting clay into the future generation’s hands.
There is a wonderful moment that takes place when a child understands that with clay there are no mistakes. The ability to make, squash and remake is the plastic art of ceramic sculpture’s greatest gift as an art medium for creative free thinking.
Each week your child will build and color their clay sculpture in an hour long class. Cybele brings all the materials with her for the class. The children know ahead of their class what they will be making. In that way, they can research their project if they wish to. The children’s artwork is taken back to Cybele’s studio where she clear-gloss glazes and fires their artwork in her kilns. In the next class, Cybele returns the children’s artwork and they get busy on their next sculpture.
Children are taught a new skill each week. The classes all build on the previous skill learned. A five week class may consist of first learning a pinch pot and coil technique, producing a cupcake jar (a kid favorite!). In the next class they may make a turtle which is an upside down pinch pot, the technique of modeling, scoring and using slip (glue for clay) to make the head flippers and tail stick together. Week three may be a fish where the children will learn how to join two pinch pots together for the body and use their learned modeling and scoring techniques for the fins and tail. And so on, untill they get to the last class which by then they have learned many skills and its free choice time, and I am always so amazed at what they create.
All materials are kid safe and non toxic.
Every class taught has Cybele’s 35 years of knowledge and passion for clay. Cybele’s goal: inspiring and enabling small hands and big imaginations to stretch and flourish. The ability to teach a skill while there is laughter and joy is at the essence of each class. The Great Clay Adventure encompasses visual. auditory and kinesthetic skills. Learning to make sculpture helps child development in a multitude of ways — practicing fine motor skills, activating their imagination, following multiple-step directions and developing their own sense of aesthetics.
Go to Contact Cybele Rowe (above) to book your school for the upcoming year.
Please note: I am always the instructor of each class. There are no substitute teachers, which is why I only get to each school once a year. My schedule fills up fast, so please book your school’s Great Clay Adventure now.
