Shaping Young Minds With Clay and Books

“That pool needs a swan. Let me make it. And a Jacuzzi too.”

Five-year-old Patricia Wu, seated at a low-slung table in the children’s corner of the Los Angeles Public Library in Northridge, grabbed a clump of white clay, and with utmost patience, slowly transformed it into the graceful waterfowl destined for the pool taking shape nearby.

Peter Wei, 6, seated near Patricia, put the finishing touches on a snowman, not quite right for the swimming pool tableau unfolding next to him, but a perfect antidote to the searing temperature outdoors.

Although the library provided a cool escape from the heat, the real reason the group of children sat contentedly molding clay on a recent Saturday morning can be summed up in two words: Nancy Woncik.

Kneeling next to Patricia, Woncik’s tall, lean frame apparently accustomed to accommodating those of smaller stature, she guided the youngster through the fine points of sculpting.

“You start with a lump of clay and watch what comes out,” Woncik, 73, said, pointing to a row of students’ artwork decorating a nearby bookshelf.

“The clay leads the kids to books and then they want to read them,” Woncik explained to the adult participants, whose numbers often match those of the children working around the table. “That’s what this program is all about.”

Woncik, a five-year volunteer with the library’s citywide Grandparents and Books program, spent her first years in the program reading to young library patrons, a few hours every week.

Her instant popularity encouraged the book enthusiast to double her hours, and two years later, in 1995, she developed her clay-modeling classes.

“Nancy’s program is one of the most successful at our branch,” said children’s librarian Katy Cueba. “She’s such a kind, easygoing person and hard working. We all feel lucky to have her here.”

Woncik said her clay-modeling program is popular because it combines two activities children love: art and reading. Strewn across the tables that seat about 20 children on any given day is an array of picture books, whose illustrations serve as a creative catalyst to the young artists.

“Sometimes the books inspire the art and sometimes the art inspires the reading,” Woncik said, thumbing through a brightly illustrated book. “But they always leave here having accomplished both.”

Woncik, a longtime Northridge resident, is an accomplished artist in her own right. After raising her two children, the New York native took art classes and received a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Northridge.

The sculptor, whose primary medium is clay, says that children are attracted to ceramics because “clay is the most creative material on Earth. There’s nothing you can’t do with it.”

Patricia agreed. “I can make anything I want when I come here. It’s really fun.”

Woncik, who was recently honored by the Los Angeles Volunteer Bureau as a 1998 Outstanding Volunteer, said her work at the library keeps her creative juices flowing, despite a heart condition that has slowed her down somewhat.

“I love to watch the children plunge into their projects,” she said. “They’re uninhibited. If they can feel free in their artistic expression now, maybe that will always stay with them.”