Clay for Recovery
After I got clean and sober in 2016, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was in a lot of pain, and I needed a new hobby that wasn’t self-destructive. Luckily, I found clay. Clay for Recovery grew out of my desire to share my love of the medium, as well as my experience, strength, and hope in recovery with others.
In 2022, I partnered with the Donkey Mill Art Center and the Bridge House, a sober living community in Holualoa, Hawai'i to create the Clay for Recovery pilot program. The program brought residents of the Bridge House to the Mill’s ceramics studio for weekly clay classes in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023.
Students at work in the studio.
What We Made
This was the very first time most of the participants had ever touched clay — and they dove right in. Each session began with a free warm up exercise. Each student got a lump of clay and could work with it however they wanted for about fifteen minutes. The only rule was impermanence. Whatever was made during the warm up went into the clay recycling bin.
After the warm-up, we began work on a project they could keep, seeing it through the entire ceramics process of modeling, glazing, and firing. We focused on hand-building using slab, pinching, and coil techniques to create decorative ceramic masks and functional coffee mugs. When it came to the masks, many students chose to depict what they considered to be the face of their addiction, while others zeroed in on an emotion they were working through. This sparked some interesting conversations.
Glazing
Glazing was definitely the most challenging part of the class. It was hard for me to teach and a challenge for the students. If you’ve ever dabbled in ceramics, you know that glazes are fickle and can look quite different from how they actually appear after firing. We worked with underglaze, oxide stains, and cone six glazes fired in oxidation in an electric kiln. The students experimented with different methods of glaze application from painting, dipping, pouring, and using wax resist to achieve desired effects. Some students even tried out combining two different glazes, with some fantastic results.
A student’s mug with a combination of clear and black glaze.
Finished glazed masks.
Letting Go
A theme that came up again and again through the class was the element of unknown and lack of control. How ceramics forces you to practice letting go at each stage of creation — and how this is a central theme in recovery as well. Students had the opportunity to practice adapting to unforeseen changes, like a piece that broke during the bisque firing, or a glaze that came out totally different than expected.
The Benefits
Many students reported that working with clay helped to ease feelings of anxiety and depression. They told me they looked forward to the class all week, and it was clear this was true by watching the way they lit up in the studio. It was an opportunity to be present, playful, and experience the joy that comes from making art. It was a gift to be able to share this. I’d like to bring Clay for Recovery to more people who are working to overcome addiction and trauma.
If you are interested in bringing a Clay for Recovery workshop to your community, please contact me. :)
Mahalo! (thank you)
A special mahalo to Miho Morinoue, Jake Boggs, Mosese Ohia, Andi Pawasarat-Losalio, Holly Lindstrom, and the Bridge House team for helping to make this program happen. I also owe a big thank you to Selvy Thiruvengadam, my mentor and retired art therapist, who offered ongoing enthusiastic support and encouragement for Clay for Recovery.
