On a gorgeous, cool Saturday morning in October the Montgomery Botanical Gardens provided a delightful Pottery Class led by Mrs. Sara Crocker. Cathy Maddox, President of the MBG Board of Directors, welcomed the attendees to the MBG Wisdom Wood Outdoor Classroom and briefly talked about the gardens. Maggie Stringer, Chair of the MBG Education Committee, introduced Mrs. Crocker, who is an Alabama-based ceramic artist. She taught the class and demonstrated how to work with clay. Her functional pottery collections focuses on emulating the natural world through color and texture. She strives to bring a moment of beauty to everyday routines with her pieces.
Ms. Crocker has taught pottery since 2021, and is currently the ceramics teacher at the Montgomery Academy. She sells her work locally at Southern Art and Makers Collective, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Gift shop, and a variety of pop-up markets in the river region.
Class attendees learned how to create air-dry clay flowers. Sara demonstrated several types of flowers and the techniques needed to make them. She discussed working with a variety of types of clay and using items from nature to create texture in the pieces. Students were given the opportunity to create their own clay flowers and many produced lovely examples.
After the class, some of the attendees strolled through the Phase I Southern Garden to enjoy the beautiful fall blooms and observe the busy pollinators at work. Then they visited the Japanese Maple Garden and Hosta Garden of Phase II and viewed the construction in progress for the new MBG Pedestrian Entrance on Forest Avenue.
There was no admission fee to the gardens and there was no charge for this class, but all donations are sincerely appreciated. The final class in the gardens for 2025 will be on November 8, 2025, and the topic will be “How to Create Holiday Decorations Using Natural Materials”. So put it on your calendar.
Please consider becoming a member of MBG to support the continued development and maintenance of the gardens. Membership Dues for 2026 may be paid in October through December. There are always signs in the gardens displaying the MBG QR code that may be used to make a donation to support the gardens. Or you may donate here, or you may mail your donation to Montgomery Botanical Gardens P.O. Box 344 Montgomery, Alabama 36106.
