I had never given a clay workshop before, and little did I know that I would do this many times again at other RGs. It was not that I was a stranger to clay, I had actually taken five semesters of ceramics at Ventura Community College, earning a 4.0 GPA from a truly excellent teacher. She made us work our tails off, but she also made it fun. She constantly encouraged us and pushed us to excel. I am related to the Hutschenreuther china company in Bavaria, so ceramics is in my blood.
I gave a short lecture with slides of some appropriate antiquities, the ones we would be creating genuine fake reproductions of. And then I turned them loose with clumps of clay, and a couple of rudimentary tools -- bamboo skewers and Popsicle sticks. I then quickly discovered what I should have known in the first place, that Mensans are very creative and talented. It was amazing what they were making that day with so little instruction.
Some wanted to know if they could get their treasures fired. Others wanted to know where to take more "real" classes. One drove around St. Louis and bought a 25-pound bag of clay to take home with her, in case she could not find any in Iowa.
Since then, I have run into some of my students, who have thanked me for doing the workshop and brought me up do date on their progress. A couple have gone back to school to study ceramics. Recently at HalloweeM in Chicago, one of them showed me her clay "god" she made back in the original workshop. She had arranged for a friend of hers to fire the figurine, which she successfully did. I cannot describe how proud she was of her work, and how proud I was of her.
Some of you are teachers and know the feeling you get when you have actually reached one of your students. That is the feeling I felt that weekend in Chicago, and have felt over and over again at other gatherings. When Donna Woolums and I did our presentations at the NEAG in Cambridge, after each session we were surrounded by attendees thanking us for doing that session and reveling in their newly acquired knowledge. We had taught, and they had learned.
Whether you are a teacher or not, you may recognize this feeling as love. Pure and simple love. You may have been a student like these, and impressed one of your teachers once too. And now it is your turn to be the teacher.
You have some skill or knowledge to pass on to others. And you simply MUST do it. It may be that you can give a clay workshop at RGs in your region, and I hope you will. Or your topic may simply entertain, and that isn't bad either. There is a similar feeling when you have reached your audience as an entertainer.
I realized about a year ago that I had a wonderful definition for a Mensa gathering: A Mensa gathering is an opportunity for people with a need to teach to get together with people with a desire to learn. Give it some thought. Then do it. RG and AG Program Chairs are waiting by their phones for you to call and volunteer your workshop or talk. And the attendees will come to your talk or workshop to learn about what it is you have to teach.