“I’m one of those people who can’t stand not knowing how to do something,” confessed eleven-year-old Gordon Lichtstein. Several years ago, his inquisitive nature led him to pottery. “I saw a video of a master potter spinning a huge vase and I wanted to learn. I expected that I was going to be super good at first, but no.”

Over several summers, with instruction from local artist Robin Rodgers, Gordon has become a proficient potter. For the past 10 years Rodgers has offered a camp for youngsters interested in clay techniques and Gordon reminisced about some of his earliest attempts.

“Up until now, if I tried to make a pot by myself it would be a 50 percent chance that it would work. I want to make it a 99 percent chance. I’ve gotten better and better and, this year, it’s the best I’ve done because I haven’t needed any help with any of my pots.”

While all campers get the opportunity to try hand-building and creating with rolled out slabs of clay, many of them are especially excited about using a potter’s wheel. Rodgers explained “most everybody makes a bowl to start with. Something that’s wide and open so you can see how thick it is when you’re learning to pull it up. When they get that feeling, when they know it’s going right, you keep working with that.”  

Gordon knows that feeling well and said “there’s a certain giddiness when something goes right. It’s a burst of excitement. When something goes wrong though, I never feel badly, I think ‘what did I get wrong and can I fix it.’ If you fail, you should at least get something out of it.”

Failure is an important part of the learning process and many campers have gained insights only persistence can provide including seven-year-old Eva Uchino. She’s a first-time camper and said, “when I came here on my first day, I did not know how to make anything but I’ve started to get better.”

Eva realized “it’s not like if you want to do something you do it well right away. You have to work hard just like in football, gymnastics and ballet. Even if you think you can’t do it, still try.”

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