The pottery class has been a staple at The Syme 55 Centre, in the Runnymede Road and Dundas Street West area, for the past 15 years, but it is in danger of closing for lack of new registrants over the past year, according to Wendy Speakman, coordinator of programming.
"We don't have a lot of interest right now," Speakman admitted. "It's a fabulous program. We're one of the few places that offer handmade pottery. We'd really like to see the program survive."
The pottery class is one of the community centre's long list of artistic options, running in 12-week sessions. The next one starts Jan. 7. A class that typically boasts 10 to 12 students has now dwindled to two customers, said artist and ceramist Carolynn Bloomer, who has taught the class for the past five years. "People have always derived much pleasure and satisfaction from the pottery class, which is, incidentally, very affordable and not widely available at other community centres," she told The Villager.
People from all sorts of socio-economic backgrounds gather at the Syme Centre, Bloomer said, to take advantage of its programs, which include leather carving, soap stone, water colour painting and crafts.
"We have a lot of options for people who'd like to explore their artistic side," Speakman said. "We've had some wonderful one-of-a-kind pieces created under Carolynn's guidance. She's a professional artist."
Bloomer, a Montreal native, said she was attracted to clay from an early age. She relocated to Toronto in 1978 to enroll at the Ontario College of Art and Design where she studied design and mould-making techniques related to ceramics. Throughout her career, Bloomer has tackled large-scale wall installations, the design and production of an award for an international cosmetic company and cafe au lait bowls and espresso cups and saucers for a local coffee roastery. She has been a guest artist at elementary schools in the city and continues to teach pottery to both children and adults.
"They get great results," Bloomer said of her students at the Syme Centre. "They're better than they thought they were. We look at a lot of reference material from Renaissance to contemporary work. They'll make platters, vases, bowls all starting from scratch."
People are quite proud of what they make, Bloomer added.
"I just love the responsiveness of the material. It's just a beautiful material. You can do anything with clay," she said.