The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

He took courses to become a microbiologist and found pottery during that time as well. "The best part has to be getting dirty and having mud up your arms on a nice hot day," Hawes says. Workshop members like the kids to be 10 years old to learnâ€"the art of the wheel. "They have to have some strength, size and concenâ€" tration," Hawes says. It seems to be a child‘s dream....to get dirty and have it be OK. Steven Hawes, a workâ€" shop member for more than 20 years, is a volunteer who helps the children learn the art of the pottery wheel. Hawes‘ interest in potâ€" tery goes back to when his children were small and he was a stayâ€"atâ€"home dad. Walking in the back door of the building. you see pieces of equipment, peoâ€" ple‘s fine work displayed and others drying on shelves, and kids â€" 10 to 12 of them â€" working away on pottery wheels with mud up their arms and even on their noses. It‘s the Waterloo Potters‘ Workshop. The workshop is located in the original Jacob Eby Farm home in Waterloo Park and has opened its doors to children ages seven and up. ere else can you W() and see a sign that says: "Please clean up your wheel, your floor and wall when finâ€" ished"? Pottery camp allows local kids to get down and dirty He also says the skill By Ancie Hiu For The Chromicle Rachel, 11, saw a proâ€" gram on TV talking about pottery and the art of the wheel, so she thought she would like to try it. Danielle became interâ€" ested in pottery and the pottery wheel from her sisâ€" ter Rachel. "It‘s much harder than people think," Rachel says. "I thought it was going to be easy too." Rachel says the hardest part of pottery is cleaning "Making the stuff is fun," she says, adding she uses a lot of her creations to put little things in at home. Nineâ€"yearâ€"old Danielle Devorski, who lives in Kitchener, says one day she may be a professional pot maker. Nick‘s mom, Pauline, said she also has two daughters who are pottery makers. so her house has no shortage of clay pots. plant ho}ders anc cups on winâ€" dow sills and various shelves. It takes about five days to make a piece: four days to create and dry, then one more to glaze and finish. However, he says, someâ€" times your best plans don‘t necessarily turn out the way you expect. "Yesterday I started trimâ€" ming some mugs and one turned into a plant holder." One of the kids who couldn‘t wait to turn 10 is Nick Bedi. He‘s happy to be finally using the wheel. Befo â€" ARTS FOCUS For those interested in having your kids learn more about pottery, there is another camp that ryns Aug. 14â€"17. Glaze day millbe Aug. 25. There are both morning and afternoon camps. The cost is $55 for the week, which covers the price of the materials the children use for their creâ€" ations. For more information contact Maria at 886â€"0765. In 1999 the workshop initiated a fundraiser for the local food bank called Empty Bowls, which takes place at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery each spring. "We can usually handle five or six kids per class," Hawes says. Its purpose is to encourâ€" age an interest in both the knowledge and the making of pottery, to provide a wellâ€" equipped studio, provide facilities for education purâ€" poses like the children‘s workshop, and provide an outlet for sales of pottery made by members. Besides Hawes, there are three other volunteers who help the children with their classes: Neil Harrison, Murâ€" ray Fox and Meghan Clifâ€" ford. The Waterloo Potters‘ Workshop has been incorâ€" porated as a nonâ€"profit organization since 1969. "It‘s for both... boys and girls can do it," Rachel says. up after, as well as making the centre of a piece. Hawes said someone had recently joked that pottery was only for girls... one look around the room shows that is not true. fice Please see MB Watedioo for hul detads. MPI Canada. a diimon of BMW Car Danielle Devorski, 9, of Kitchener, uses the pottery wheel to create another masterpiece. She wasn‘t afraid to get her hands â€" and face â€" dirty. A} go are tradamarks of BMW AG used under lcense