Yesterday was Aisha’s birthday, but it was made extra-special by visiting one of Tasmania’s best ceramic artists and fashioning some pieces on her pottery wheel under her direct tutelage. Jude Maisch has been working with clay for thirty years and agreed to give the girls a lesson when we visited Hobart.

First, the girls watch as Jude demonstrates her techniques on the wheel.

Seemingly without effort, Jude turns out two beautiful bowls.

Jude's workshop is full of glazes, colours, stencils, tools and materials.

One of the girls’ favourite apps is Let’s Create: Pottery, a relaxing game that allows the user to shape a lump of clay, fire it and then decorate it. The girls have enjoyed the challenge of selling their pieces for coins which they can then use to purchase more colours or stencils, and there’s always the ultimate challenge of creating a beautiful piece that fetches a high price. (Oh wait, that’s me who boasts a personal high of 486 coins.)

We all discovered that throwing clay on a wheel in real life is quite different to the virtual game. It’s hard work, requiring us to strain our muscles and concentrate on keeping our hands steady. Gently, Jude talked us through the procedures and techniques, and the girls embraced the opportunity to get their hands dirty.

Aisha is the first girl to have a turn. Once the clay is centred, she can start to mould it into a bowl or cup.

Controlling the speed of the turning wheel is hard for our girls whose feet barely reach the pedal!

Jude's teaching style is gently instructive without dominating her pupils. The girls respond well to people who say, "When I do this..." instead of "You should do this...".

The secret of a good piece is to start with a properly-centred lump of clay, and this is much harder to achieve than it appears as it takes a lot of muscle strength and wrist control.

Aisha gently daubs paint onto the still-wet clay. Although it's not proper procedure, with a double firing and glazing, the paint will still adhere to the earthenware.

The girls each complete three pieces, which they decorate with paint, and I leave my wonky cup plain.

After our lesson, Jude takes us into her garage and shows us her electric kiln which is still cooling down from its latest firing.

Thank you so much, Jude, for your patience with the girls and the gentle lesson. It’s been a great introduction to real-life pottery, and who knows where it will lead from here?!