Here at The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre, we are fortunate to have talented ceramics artist, Hella, among our volunteers. She comes in once a month for four hours, offering visitors the opportunity to ‘lose themselves’ in clay and the results of her sessions are quite stunning. On the shelves, there are so many examples of the work completed by our visitors – from little vases and pots to coasters and exquisite ‘fairy doors’.
Hella gives our visitors an idea each month – when we popped in, she was making little garden cane toppers, which could also double as bee baths! She takes home the creations afterwards to fire them, returning them at the next session.
“I bring in different clays, depending on the project,” she explains. “At Christmas, we usually have some porcelain, for example.”
While Hella has been offering her classes for just over two years, she started volunteering at Pickering as a reflexologist 18 years ago.
“I’ve been on journeys with so many visitors over those years and it’s been an honour,” Hella explains. “Coming into The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre is honestly life affirming. It’s not only wonderful to see what beautiful pieces our visitors create but to be a witness to how they chat amongst themselves and support each other is phenomenal. I so look forward to the monthly session myself and love thinking about what project we will focus on.”
Hella says she understands the power of spending time doing something creative.
“Working with ceramics a few years ago really saved me,” she says. “For our visitors, offering them the opportunity to get involved with clay for a day is like a proper mini-break.”
