Beyond the classroom

Megan Fickel pats down the smooth ball of clay, adds a few drops of water, then throws it down on the potter’s wheel like an old pro.

Thunk.

“Centering the clay on the wheel. That was extremely hard to get,” she says. “I had to start over and over again, three to four times.”

If the clay’s not centered, Fickel explains, it starts to slip and slide, warble and run amok across the wheel’s surface.

“She’s being humble,” counters Joan Govedare, who’s observing Fickel from the corner of her studio. “She’s actually quite amazing at centering for what little experience she has.”

That’s high praise coming from Govedare, a well-known, longtime Whidbey potter and Fickel’s mentor for the past five months.

Fickel and Govedare are paired as mentor and apprentice through Whidbey Island Waldorf School’s 8th grade project program.

Learning new skills with a “hands-on” approach has been a tradition at Whidbey Island Waldorf School for more than a decade.

Some projects have led to career choices down the road, teacher Natasha Zimmerman said.

“One student became an engineer whose project was a septic system and whose mentor was an engineer,” she said. “One student went on to become a master diver after doing his 8th grade project on diving.”

Beginning in the fall of 8th grade, which is the last year for students at the private K-8 school, the soon-to-be graduates are given a challenge to pick a topic, find a mentor, arrange their own weekly meetings and give periodic updates to their peers and teachers.

Wednesday and Thursday evenings, students are giving project presentations at Fireseed Catering in Langley. The public is welcome to attend and learn about projects ranging from sound engineering to the science of cooking to building and launching a high altitude balloon.

Fourteen-year-old Fickel decided to take the “hands on” approach literally.

Already a good illustrator, she’d always wondered what it’d be like to turn clay in her hands and learn how ceramic pieces are fired and finished.

Govedare gladly took on the tutoring role even though she’s never taught in her 40-some years sculpting pottery.

Lesson number one: history of pottery and its different styles. Govedare specializes in raku pottery, developed in Japan in the early 1500s as simple, ceremonial tea ware of Zen Buddhist masters. It’s often described as pottery without utility or function; it’s not meant to hold water like Native American pots and it’s not painted or glazed with splashy, shiny colors.

“We will not be making mugs and bowls, that’s what Joan first taught me,” Fickel laughed. “We’ll be making something to show as an art piece.”

Sage Hagopian chose a topic close to her home and heart — her dog, Logan.

A bouncing, playful English golden retriever, Logan didn’t start out that way when Hagopian’s family adopted him from a shelter about three years ago. He’d been tied to a tree and abused for years.

“He was a very damaged and fearful dog,” she said. “He couldn’t sit because he was abused while sitting. He didn’t bark at all.”

The family chose Canine Transformations Learning Center, founded and run by Diane Garrod in Langley, to help Logan adapt to his new life. Garrod is not a typical animal trainer and her enterprise is not a typical obedience school.

She uses science-based positive reinforcement and specializes in what she calls “reactive dogs.” These are difficult dogs who react in many ways — barking, hiding, chasing, wandering, digging, pulling — either with humans, other dogs or to sounds or other stimuli.

While Logan’s behavior improved, he needed daily training to continue to overcome his anxiety, said Karen Benson, Hagopian’s mother.

After while, Logan looked forward to the 8th-grader coming home from school and continuing his lessons, which are rewarded with treats.

“I taught him to be more confident both inside and outdoors,” Hagopian said. The experience also taught her about behavior training as a possible career.

Garrod’s mentorship involved working with both Hagopian and Logan since she always develops lesson plans for the dog / owner / family team.

During Fickel’s apprenticeship, Govedare sometimes disappeared into her home, leaving Fickel on her own with five or six balls of clay.

“I wanted her to have that feeling of experiencing being a potter in a potter’s studio on her own,” Govedare said. “If she has to start over, she has to start over.”

Although frustrating at times, Fickel came to cherish her weekly sessions and sometimes stopped in on weekends.

“It takes focus, concentration, but it’s also meditative,” Fickel said. “My mom says I’m a much happier person when I come home from Joan’s studio.”

Gaining confidence and a sense of independence are lessons learned along the way.

“It’s kind of like they’re pushing us out there, getting us out there,” said Fickel. “We have to go to people and ask if they would like to be a mentor. We have to learn to take charge.”

Trainer Diane Garrod taught Waldorf 8th-grader Sage Hagopian the power of positive reinforcement when helping dogs suffering from past trauma. Waldorf students are presenting their 8th-grade projects to the community this week.

For her Waldorf 8th-grade project, Sage Hagopian learned how to help her adopted dog, Logan, overcome years of abuse. She teamed up with mentor Diane Garrod, founder and trainer of Canine Transformations Learning Center. Garrod’s Belgian Tervurens, Kody and Chance, also helped Logan, a English golden retriever, overcome his fear of other dogs.

Artist mentor Joan Govedare and Waldorf student Megan Fickel met weekly in her South Whidbey studio. Fickel learned different pottery styles, how to throw clay, sculpt shapes on the wheel and how to fire and paint pots.