Dear Vessels of Culture Class,

We are excited to be preparing to work with you for five short days July 13-18.  It is not necessary to have either a high level of functioning in either story telling or ceramics to be in this class.  We will each do some of both forming clay items and forming stories.  It is possible that a class participant could work mostly in either clay or in story telling; some of both expressions will be encourage.

The first day we will study “Clay and Creation Myths: How did we get here?”  This will also be an intense day for forming clay that can be finished in the sawdust firing at the end of the week.  We will have lots of stories and graphic images to support each study.

The second day will touch on “Animal Tales and Totems: What is our true nature?”  More clay production will be done.  There will be a few pre-made tiles for folks to decorate in the case that original clay work is difficult.  The third day’s stories and images will involve “Metamorphosis, Dreams, and Visions: How do we come of age as male and female?”

The fourth and fifth days we will do sawdust firings.

The fourth day’s theme is “Epic Journeys and Spiritual Quests: How do we become what we are meant to be?” 

The fifth day we will tell stories as we fire the final pieces.  Certainly firing the clay unites all these themes and allows time for the presentations.  It might even be fun to invite other Augusta Participants to come by during the firings and enjoy the story telling.

This class will be excellent for classroom teachers and any one who is interested in various cultural myths, story telling, history, anthropology, and clay as an expressive form.  Please bring your own favorite stories, myths, and images to develop during the short week we will have together. 

There will be a charge of $35 for the materials fee and it is necessary to have reached the age of 16 to participate in this class.  There is some scholarship assistance available for Randolph County teachers, please check with the Augusta Office for this assistance.  We are trying to have continuing education credits available for local teachers.

Hope to see you in class,