Cowies Hill couple unleashes creativity of littlies

COWIES Hill couple Malcolm and Dawn McGill are fondly known as  for teaching the basics of pottery, such as rolling, pinching, coiling, wrapping and underglazing in preschools around Durban.

The Highway Mail spoke to this couple to find out who they really are and how they started teaching pottery.

They said it was God who inspired them to do the job as for almost a month, the sermons at their church spoke about pottery.

“We believed it spoke to us. Pottery differs from other extra-curricular activities as it helps develop fine motor skills for the tiny tots,” said Malcolm.

Dawn attended Westville Primary School and Westville High School and has an accounting degree. Malcolm grew up in Mufulira, Zambia, and later attended Glenwood High School and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Both became single parents in 1996.

Dawn said she has been a member of the Rambler’s Hiking Club for a long time and enjoyed hiking in the Berg with her sons.

“I lived and worked in Scottburgh for an accountant.”

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In her spare time, she enjoys swimming and has completed the Midmar Mile twice by swimming backstroke.

When they met, Malcolm had joined his son-in-law, Andrew, and was running a branch of a tree-felling company in Durban. It was one of his clients who persuaded him to join Ramblers.

The two met at a Ramblers’ Hiking Club social evening in 2002. At the time, Dawn lived with her two teenage boys in Scottburgh. Malcolm had two married daughters, and he lived in Morningside with his teenage son.

Next, they had tea together after a hike and some long-distance courting for two years, followed by their wedding at Frere Road Presbyterian Church in mid-2004, where they both taught Sunday School.

Falling in love with pottery

After being taught the basics of pottery by Sharon, Malcolm’s sister in law the two gave up their jobs and worked for Hope Farm Pottery.

“I did all the organising. Malcolm was supposedly carrying the bags of clay and paint. We both did the teaching though. One of Malcolm’s jobs was to rescue the children’s made items before they were damaged so they could be fired and sent home when painted,” said Dawn.

They have taught at preschools and primary schools, ranging from Kloof to La Lucia, through Pinetown, New Germany, Westville, Morningside, Glenwood, Essenwood and Durban North.

“To date, we have been to about 60 schools and taught about 2 400 children and about 30 adults,” said Malcolm.

They said their jovial start to the week at Headway and Careways, Kloof, set the tone for the week until Covid-19 stopped that.

“When working with tiny tots, the children would just ask ‘Pottery’ for help, so when they were later asked for our names, it was just natural to say Mr and Mrs Pottery, and the names stuck with teachers and parents,” said Malcolm.

Also read: How your child can benefit from pottery lessons

Recalling one of their special moments, Dawn said that a little girl, who was recovering from a recent tonsil operation but who was not yet back at school, persuaded her grandmother to bring her to a pottery lesson at school.

“Another highlight is when we heard a loud shout of ‘Hello, Mr and Mrs Pottery,’ while walking through the foyer at a shopping centre.

“We have been greeted by high school students who tell us how much they enjoyed their pottery classes and that they still have their items,” said Dawn with a smile.

During the pandemic, the couple delivered clay and collected the items for firing which the children had made by watching videos they’d sent them. They then returned them with paint for them to complete the item.

“We are now grandparents to 18 boys and girls and great-grandparents to two boys.”

“As long as God keeps blessing us with health and energy, we would like to keep on teaching pottery.”

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