PUHI — “I did it!”
Three words accompanied by a huge smile from Sue Ono, a resident of the Regency at Puakea, said all there was to say.
Ono was one of four women who trekked to the Clayworks at Kilohana, Tuesday along with Kailee Mu, fun giver at the Regency.
“We’re doing something very special with a number of residents from the Memory Care section of our community,” said Sharon Lasker, the director of marketing for the retirement and assisted living facility. “We’re partnering with Clayworks at Kilohana to give these residents the benefit of art therapy by working with clay.”
Mu, working with Susan Pittman of Clayworks, stood by as residents kneaded and massaged the cold block of clay.
“This is like playing with mud,” said Doris Takata, Regency resident. “My fingers are too short.”
The ladies were quiet when they arrived at the studio at the Kilohana estate.
“We normally take a walk in the mornings, but today, our walk is from the parking lot to the Clayworks,” Mu said. “It’s a nice day for walking.”
Pittman broke the ice, inviting the ladies to knead and massage the blocks of clay as a way of warming up from the crispy morning air and softening the blocks in preparation for the clay tiles.
“I always wondered how they (ceramic pieces) were made,” Takata said, under the canopy of green leaves and soothing music in the background. “It’s nice to be able to get out and do different things.”
Pittman said clay is a great art form because people can have a lot of fun working with it.
“This is just like making pancakes,” Ono said.
Within the span of an hour, four pairs of hands created tiles personalized with imprints and moved on to pinch out pots and containers. The wall of silence was now gone, the ladies browsing through the selections in showroom and talking about the special place for chopsticks on soup bowls, the hair atop one of the ceramic figures, and more.
“We’ll be back next week when the residents will glaze their projects for firing,” Mu said. “Once that’s done, they get to bring it back with them.”
Pittman said there are youth groups who also come to work with clay projects.
“It’s a very forgiving medium,” she said. “There are Boy Scouts who come to work with clay for their merit badges, and schools used to have entire classes come until budgets got cut. You can see the changes in people when they start working with clay. They become centered, positive and tranquil. It’s awesome.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
