Pottery as you sip wine inside Karura Forest

‘‘In Karura Forest, adults come together and have fun while getting in touch with their artistic side,” she says.
The meeting held monthly dubbed Art, Wine and Cheese, gives people a weekend option to going to a pub or a movie theatre.

70 participants

Last Saturday, about 70 pottery lovers converged at Amani Picnic Site in Karura Forest in yellow aprons where they created pieces of art which they carried home.

They were shown techniques of throwing on the electric potter’s wheel and the challenge of getting something solid and beautiful out of it.

The next step was to smoothen, allowing the pot to dry and then painting a flower on it.

“Demand for the pottery classes has gone up such that the instructors have to come with assistants so as to attend to every participant,” says Ms Kaniu.

The Art, Wine and Cheese event was borrowed from the USA where people converge to have wine and paint on canvas.

Ms Kaniu and Yvonne Munge replicated the concept in Nairobi after they heard a friend speak highly of the US event, challenging them to be pioneers of such in Kenya.

Exhibit pots

“We introduced it here on realising that children have lots of fun activities yet adults are hardly ever considered in these activities that can help them unwind after a long week,” says Ms Kaniu.

Aside from the participants, the event offers a platform where established painters and potters can showcase their works of art.

“We charge no commission on the artists whom we invite so they can come mingle with the artistic audience,” she says.