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Welcome to our new series, One Good Thing to Do Today. It’s a guide to little things you can actually do in lockdown London that will provide bits of light in these dark times. Today, Kate Lloyd gets messy.
About a week before the pandemic hit London good and proper, I went to a pottery course at Kana London behind London Fields. I remember that afternoon as one of the rare relaxed moments of last year. The vibe there is hand-moulding. There’s no potter’s wheel, you just use different methods of massaging clay to create plates, bowls, cups, vases that are then glazed and fired in a kiln. The whole class was soothing: you have to concentrate really hard to learn techniques and then relax into your body in order to implement them correctly. Every object you make looks unique and special and is fully connected to you. Of course, Kana’s rarely been open over the past 12 months, but the studio’s kits (£35) are the perfect replacement. They contain clay and tools to mould it, as well as an online course to teach you the techniques you need to create beautiful ceramics (that can then be fired in its kiln). I’ve got one at home now, and I have to tell you that – at the end of a hectic day working from home – nothing offloads office stresses quicker than focusing on turning a lump of wet mush into a somewhat wonky mug.
Read more from our One Good Thing to Do Today series.