Hands and Hearts in Clay: Pottery Comes to Kāpiti Cottage
A pottery trial at our Kāpiti Cottage Day Programme has been a wonderful success, bringing joy, creativity, and connection to participants, while supporting cognitive engagement and fine motor skills.
Run in partnership with the Shed Project Kāpiti, the four-week programme is taught by Aki, who guides small groups of five through progressive clay projects, starting with a soap dish to build confidence, then a pinch pot, a mug, and finally a bird to take home and treasure.
Each session is just 40 minutes, long enough to be meaningful, short enough not to be tiring.
Team Manager Gloria McGoldrick says the highlight was seeing participants' faces when Aki returned with their first batch of glazed pieces.
"They really loved having something to take home and show their families what they'd created," she says.
Aki agrees the experience has been mutually rewarding: "It's never too late to learn! By starting with a basic project and building up, they can see how far they've come."
Following this successful trial, we hope to roll the programme out to our other Day Programme locations, with the Shed Project Kāpiti facilitating.
Our Day Programmes give older people the chance to get out, connect with others, and take part in meaningful activities in a safe, supportive setting, helping them maintain independence while giving whānau and carers a well-earned break.
To find out more about pottery and the day programme, contact Gloria at Kāpiti Cottage, 04 298 8060 or kapiti.cottage@psc.org.nz