Sixteen years ago, Shirley Brown, executive director of the now-closed Museum of Ceramic Art, helped found the Middle School Ceramic Art Program. Now in 55 Baltimore City and Baltimore County schools, the after-school clay program allows students to work in an art form that teachers say is often expensive for a school to offer without outside support. The ceramic art program not only provides a small stipend to teachers who teach after school, it also helps train them in the medium and provides schools with basic supplies, such as clay and wheels.
Through the years, students participating in the program have had their work displayed at several locations, including the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Brown said teachers have told her that the success some students feel in creating objects with their hands often translates back to the classroom.
"Once they have made something with their hands, it encourages them to continue good results in all of their classes," Brown said.
