Round three at the JCC

Once again I went to the JCC to observe their art class for special ed adults. It was so different from last week when everyone came in late. This time we had two new people and everyone seemed to be on fire. They finished the projects before we were ready for them. The first activity was clay pinch pots. Everyone loves clay and they use the kind that needs to be fired as it is softer and many lack the dexterity for air dry clay. I worked with one guy in particular and he usually never does much of the work. He was very excited with the pot and would jab his finger at it every so often and would show it off to everyone who would look. It was cute and frustrating at the same time because I really did most of it. But it didn't matter to him so I guess it didn't matter so much because he enjoyed himself.

The second project was decorating paper masks. There is a Jewish holiday called Purim on Monday night and Tuesday. We dress up in costumes, have carnivals, and read from the book of Ester so making masks was right on cue. They were all excited about the holiday and we talked about what they were going to dress up as. They put out all sorts of materials like mesh fabric, feathers, gems, sequin, markers, puff balls, and a whole bunch of great things. The guy I worked with was very into the color red (at least he said it was red, I think he meant orange) so I would put materials in front of him, ask him which ones he wanted. He would pick it out, I would give it to him, and then I would ask him where on the mask he wanted it. He would point, I would put the glue down, and he would place it there. It worked out very well. The lead teacher then glued sticks on the back to hold and cut eye holes.

What really upset me was the lack of people to help out. I noticed that one of the new fellows kind of fell between the cracks and sat there with the lump of clay in front of him for 20 minutes. there is such a difference of ability. While my fellow was unable to use the glue himself, another girl created a delicately patterned mask which was really lovely and complex. She was actually enlisted to help another student but that doesn't happen often. I wish they had more helpers and could get some socialization going. Oh well, if wishes were horses....But the students love the clay and they love the holiday so all left in good spirits. We will see next week how they do coming of the holiday buzz.