Caroline's story continues

PART 2 WORK AND CREATIVITY

Teaching and Discovering a Passion for Ceramics

Music and Art were two of Caroline's A-level subjects before she spent a gap year in Australia. On returning to the UK, she studied at the University of Warwick, training to become a teacher while also studying Art and English literature.

It was at university that she rediscovered clay. Although she had loved ceramics as a child, she had not worked with it for many years. The experience sparked a lifelong passion, although it was not until she was 28 that she began to attend regular adult education classes which she continued with for the next fifteen years.

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Shore Bowls

Following graduation, Caroline and her husband Dave married and settled in their hometown within the London Borough of Bromley.

Teaching became her profession, and having supported the music curriculum as a full-time class teacher, she then went on to spend another 22 years solely teaching music across several primary schools, establishing choirs, orchestras and developing class music education for children aged 4-11. Directing school productions and concerts was part of her yearly rhythm for three decades and Caroline still loves the seasonal songs that accompany the changing months of the year and may occasionally launch into a song from one of the many musicals she has directed!

Combining Creativity with Ministry

Alongside teaching, Caroline became deeply involved in church life through children's and youth ministry. Wanting to dedicate more time to Christian work, she reduced her teaching hours and joined a charity supporting Christian education in primary schools.

The role allowed her to combine music, drama, dance, singing and visual arts to communicate the Christian message. She directed and performed in productions and led many workshops for primary schools, discovering new ways to engage children through creativity. Dance also became another creative outlet. In her mid-30s she completed dance training with the contemporary group Springs Dance Company, adding yet another artistic dimension to her ministry. Creating large scale external mosaics with primary schools and churches as community art projects was a key part of this period too, and enabled Caroline to begin exploring using handmade ceramics with others as part of this process.

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Community Art mosaic, 8 feet diameter, on external wall of Christ Church Orpington

As her ministry developed, Caroline began discerning God's call. She explored several pathways within the Church of England, including Reader ministry, the diaconate and ordination. She found herself particularly drawn to pioneering expressions of ministry.

Caroline became a mother at 29 and later welcomed a second child when she was 37. During this season, her sense of calling remained, although training for formal ministry took a back seat while family life happened alongside her work and volunteering. She believes her greatest creative achievement to be raising her children (!) who are now aged 26 and 18 respectively, and both pursuing careers in graphic design.

The final part of Caroline's remarkable story will be available soon at www.bodminway.org.