I got invited to the local primary school to make Christmas decorations with the six children.... I know... six. Its a beautiful little school. I think it must be a brilliant way to start school life. The children are terrific. Anyway, the teacher had initially suggested we make Christmas tea lights, but as these usually involve carving holes in the side, I had images of knives and small fingers and thought perhaps not. Then I came up with these Christmas tree candle shades. Same thing but different. The only thing I was worried about was whether the children would cope, especially the smaller ones. The test version I made was really fiddly. So I made a back up Santa Claus Christmas tree decoration. As it turned out, Santa was instantly dismissed and everyone went for the tree. I know nothing. Never underestimate a child.

All trees successfully executed, we still had time so I dished out more clay and said "make whatever you want". Its at this point where you start seeing the characters emerge. There is nothing like a splodge of clay to show you something about a person. All the little things the children made showed me a bit more about them than I knew before. Its amazing how a ball of clay and a bit of freedom shines a window on your soul.