Inspiration and Life With Clay
Inspirational words from Instructor Jeanne Carreau who celebrated 25 Years of teaching at Clay Art Center this year. Watch Jeanne throwing a Katherine Choy style vessel.
At our recent Hand In Hand Annual Benefit, we honored Instructor Jeanne Carreau for her 25 years of dedication to teaching at Clay Art Center. Jeanne shared some inspirational thoughts with us as we came together to celebrate.
”I’ve spent more than 50 years (!!!) teaching ceramics classes, the last 25 years here at CAC. My journey here began in 1997 when I interviewed for a teaching job with Reena (Kashyap) and Ruth Berelson. I wanted a place to work where the teaching program would have goal of taking students as far as they wanted to go. Reena and Ruth promised me that CAC was that place, and it has never failed to fulfill this promise. I thank Reena for her vision and sheer guts to take CAC from where it was to realize her vision of the non-profit with wide reaching social impact that it has become today.
I have been nurtured along the way by other teachers and artists who aren’t here with us anymore — Harriet Ross believed in me so much that when my classes didn’t have enough students to run, would sign up herself, putting her money where her heart was, so that I had enough students for a class. Georgia Tenore set the example of the highest standard of craftsmanship in everything she did and was the steady, calm, encouraging voice in my ear, sharing tips for helping students who struggled; always embodying respect and affection for her students. Glazing her remaining bisque ware for this auction after Georgia passed away was very emotional for me. Touching Georgia’s pot was like touching her hands. I miss her every day.
Teaching here, we are blessed to be surrounded by not only working clay artists but also a complete administrative staff who are also passionate clay workers, who understand and share our love of working with clay and support all our accomplishments. I’m very grateful to Emily (Clay Art Center Executive Director) for being brave enough to agree to take leadership of CAC in its time of need with unflappable calmness and optimism, and, despite being a runner, not running screaming away from us.
CAC has always been the place we come to do the thing we love with the people we come to love. Our shared love of working with clay brings people together to freely share our expertise, our knowledge, our skills; all the while supporting each other through our life moments and milestones—job changes and losses, births, illnesses, deaths, successes, challenges, happy times, sad times.
CAC has brought me together with people I’d never meet otherwise - Age, career, education, economic status, race, nationality, language spoken, orientation, ability or disability, are no barrier as we work side by side. And when we work with clay, we can’t control the process-- cracks happen, glazes run, colors don’t look as planned. Early on, we learn to go with the cosmic flow, roll with the punches, accept what is, not what might have been. Letting go is the mantra of clay workers.
During the pandemic, weekly Zooms, then eventually onsite classes, gave us a sense of normality and optimism, saving our humanity and our sanity. Even in regular times, I’m pretty sure that the escape and sense of well-being that clay classes bring have saved many a relationship! In reality, at CAC we don’t just rescue the feral cats that live under our building—we rescue people.
As to being a teacher here: Clay work has always been about passing knowledge from hand to hand, from teacher to student, down the line. But no matter how much I pass onto my students, I always get back more than I give. Student enthusiasm to learn inspires me and carries me through being tired or discouraged; student questions challenge me to figure things out and constantly learn more. One smile from a student gives me the energy to try something difficult one more time. And seeing my students make progress and achieve what they never thought they could is the single best feeling. I want to give a special thanks to Paula Landdeck who has been in my classes for more than 10 years and has trusted me to guide her clay journey, which has been my honor and my privilege. I thank each and every one of my students for their enthusiasm and their support over the years. In class, we laugh about the silliest things and that brings us back to center. CAC is and always will be my happy place, my home away from home.”
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