With over 30 years of experience as a teacher and five decades of experience as an artist, Dore Via Dumas, of the Village of Belle Aire, said she most enjoys teaching art and seeing the creativity that comes out of people when making art.
Dumas has been sharing her experiences and helping others cultivate a love of art during the “Pottery Beginner Hand Building” course through The Villages Enrichment Academy for a little over a year.
“I’ve taught pottery on and off to different age groups. I like seeing the creativity that comes from people who say they don’t think they can do it,” Dumas said. “But they come up with some of the most interesting pieces.”
The 12-session course starts Feb. 3 and will run through March 13 at First Responders Recreation, 7746 County Road 42, The Villages.
Dumas said she began teaching the courses after noticing the strong interest in pottery among Villagers. Dumas also founded and leads the First Responders Claymates Club.
“I started this because there were so many people who wanted to do pottery,” she said. “And people have to have some sort of experience to join the clubs in The Villages like the Mulberry Clay Group or the Sculptors Group.”
During the courses, Villagers and guests are taught how to use various clay techniques — including, pinch, coil and slab pots to create a finished art piece. After making their pots, students can use assorted glaze to decorate their creations before placing it in a heated kiln.
“The creativity is in the person. They have the freedom to make whatever they want to make and however it turns out. It is their piece. I may give them some guidance or direction but it’s up to them on how they make their piece,” Dumas said.
Dumas’ guidance along with having students go through the full process — especially the final baking in the kiln — helps ensure students comprehend the concepts of creating the pottery pieces and helps them become more comfortable before trying it themselves.
“There are certain rules with drying that you have to follow. You have to make sure the edges are smooth and clean, there can’t be any bubbles in the clay, things like that,” she said. “Glazing is a hard concept to understand until you’ve done it. Pottery, it has a mind of its own and it has memory. People often have an image of the final product in their mind but with clay, it may be what you wanted or it may not.”
To participate in the course, Villagers pay a fee of $150 and guests pay $156.
There is a supply list for participants on the course receipt. To sign up for the upcoming multisession TEA classes, or for more information, visit theenrichmentacademy.org.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
