As students pass through the halls of FHN, one teacher’s passion for pottery is shaping more than just clay, it’s shaping creativity.
English teacher Kelsie Lee started pottery in 2023 after a family friend who works professionally with clay recommended it to her. She had always wanted to try pottery, but when a professional offered her a session, the timing could not have been better.
“I have a family friend,” Lee said. “He’s really good friends with my parents. He is a professional potter. That’s his job. He’s retired now, but he still makes pottery. So, I had always kind of wanted to try it.”
Lee says pottery has had a big impact on her life, teaching her some of the most important life lessons.
“It impacted my life because it was a lot harder than I expected, and I wasn’t good at it right away, which usually is something that I don’t like,” Lee said. “Usually, I quit something when I’m not good at it right away, but I stuck with it. And I feel like it’s made me more patient and taught me perseverance.”
Lee has faced many challenges while learning pottery, but her biggest accomplishment so far has been creating a giant bowl, a piece that requires precision and patience and needs to be done meticulously.
“It took a lot of work, a lot of tries,” Lee said. “I had a lot of holes where they were really big, and I’d made them too big, and they just fell over.”
Lee often gives her pieces as gifts to loved ones. Among her favorite recipients is her mom, who cherishes and uses each handmade piece.
“I drink coffee out of the coffee mugs,” Kelsie’s mother Michelle Lee said. “I put candy and other things in the bowls she makes. Oh, I have a ring holder that she gifted me that I put my rings in every night. I use all of it.”
Lee is always ready to try new things, even when they are difficult or unfamiliar. Her determination and focus have helped her grow into a successful and skillful potter.
“She was really, really focused and interested,” John Seiz, Lee’s former pottery teacher said. “She never acted like she was bored with any of it and was just ready to go. It shows how quickly she developed her skills in that area too.”
