THE Broken Hill Potters Society have been gathering to work with clay for almost 60 years, and they’ve been doing it in the current location in a former scout hall and church on Wyman Street since 1998.
Sue Andrews, the Society’s president has been a member of the club for 20 years, and said she’s not even close to being the longest running member.
“We’ve got one member who’s 81, Sandra Arnold, who still comes” she said.
“She’s one of the original founding members.”
Ms Andrews said many of the potters don’t just come for the creativity, but also as a sort of therapy.
“A lot of people do it because you can just forget what you’re doing and concentrate on the clay,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the outside world, you’re just doing your pottery.”
The Potters Society currently has about 25 members who gather for a ‘pot-in’ on a Saturday each months.
The group also have an annual camping excursion where they spend a weekend firing up a pit for the clay in the outback.
On Tuesdays members host three-hour classes in the morning and evening, though Ms Andrews said the waitlist to join the classes is long.
“All of our classes are run by volunteers,” she said. “We just haven’t got the manpower to have more.”
Members of the Broken Hill Potters Society are hosting a craft fair on the last weekend of November, which will be a collaborative effort with the Silver City Quilters and other local crafters.
As part of the event there’ll be cakes and a barbecue to fundraise for the Society to continue paying rates, electricity and insurance for their space, Potters Place at 407 Wyman Street.
