Clay flowers give bees a place to drink

KANAB – Rural Opportunities for Arts (ROAR) recently partnered with the Kane County Active Living Centers and Kane County Center for the Arts to offer a free three-week pottery workshop at the Kanab Senior Center.

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Left to right, photos by Tonezee:

• Instructor Bianca Cole, seated, joins workshop participants Gloria Vance, Dale Lock, Karla Johnson, Christina Schultz and Pam Morrison as they show off ceramic flowers created during ROAR’s three-week “Hands in Clay” pottery workshop at the Kanab Senior Center.

• From left, Karla Johnson, Dale Lock, Pam Mortenson and Christina Schultz work with clay during ROAR’s three-week “Hands in Clay” pottery workshop. The flowers are designed to add color to gardens while providing shallow watering spots for bees and other pollinators.

Led by local artist Blanca Cole, the “Hands in Clay” workshop gave participants a chance to work through several stages of the potterymaking process. Students rolled, shaped and designed clay flowers before painting their creations. Cole then fired the pieces in her kiln, including a bisque firing used to harden the clay before the finished pieces were ready to head home.

Each participant created several ceramic flowers for use in their gardens. Along with adding a little handmade color to the landscape, the flowers can serve a practical purpose for bees and other pollinators.

The shallow ceramic flowers can hold small amounts of fresh water, giving pollinators a place to land and drink. Deeper birdbaths and watering dishes can pose a drowning risk to bees, while small, shallow water sources can provide a safer alternative during hot, dry weather.

The workshop also offered a social component. During the final week, participants gathered to share their finished work, compare creations and talk about what they had learned over the three-week class.

ROAR said “Hands in Clay” proved popular and organizers hope to offer the workshop again. Cole can also regularly be found with her pottery at the Kanab Farmers Market.

The workshop was funded by ROAR, a Kanab-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works with community partners to support arts, cultural and educational programs in rural communities.

Information about future ROAR classes and programs is available at roarfunds.org.