OUR TEAM

Rachel Boschman, Program Coordinator & Instructor

Raised in an artistic home where imagination was encouraged, Rachel often wondered why almost every child paints, draws, or colours something creative all the time but almost no adults do.  She decided to make it a goal to keep that creative joy alive in the children that she knew so started teaching kids in her community how to sculpt.

When Rachel found out about Clay for Kids, she knew that it was the perfect career choice!!!  Not only teaching something educational and on curriculum, but also reminding children how to reach into their own imaginations and express themselves with their clay and glass pieces.

“I love how children sometimes start out doubting that they can make something amazing, but by the end of the class, they have fallen in love with their own piece, and claim it to be the best one they’ve ever seen”.  Rachel loves to inspire her classes and hopes that they will take that love of creativity with them as they march into adulthood.

Jennifer Ross, Instructor & Studio Technician

Jennifer earned a certificate in floral design from Olds College in 1989 and spent 25 years in the floral industry.  Looking for a career change Jennifer joined Clay for Kids in 2015.  It was a perfect fit, the opportunity to work with children while still allowing her to be creative.  “I’ve always loved working with my hands and getting dirty.  I took pottery classes several years ago and fell in love with it but the time restraints of raising young children didn’t allow me to continue.  Now that my children are grown and moved away I have time to rediscover my love of pottery”.
“Seeing the excitement in their eyes as I watch a child transform a ball of clay into a beautiful piece of art is very rewarding”.  Every day is an adventure, a new school, a different project and enthusiastic kids to work with.

Jennifer Tomkiw, Instructor

Jennifer is a former elementary school teacher of 15 years, always interested in fine arts, she pursued a variety of art mediums during her career as a teacher. While her children were still at home she took evening classes studying a variety of art mediums at the North Mount Pleasant art centre in Calgary. During that time she acquired the skills and knowledge to become an artist with acrylic painting being her favorite medium.

Jennifer has enjoyed painting commissioned landscapes from her home studio and eventually went on to work in a studio teaching kids and adults a variety of art mediums. When she discovered Clay for Kids she knew it would be a perfect fit! Jennifer has always known that the arts such as pottery, encourages fine motor skills, problem solving abilities and can be used effectively to understand other subjects such as reading, writing, math and science.

“In art there are no mistakes, only discoveries”

Lori Pilling, Instructor

Creativity has always been one of Lori’s passions.  After spending over a decade in the legal field as a court reporter (becoming a very good listener) she decided she needed a change of pace and environment and needed to do something much more exciting!  Lori then worked with small businesses to help them grow their teams, business, and footprint in Calgary for the next decade and enjoyed putting dreams into motion.  

Now officially in her “Creative Era”, Lori is excited to be working with kids to find their creative outlet and express themselves in a medium they may never have had a chance to try.

“Years of wanting to try pottery, the stars finally aligned and my first beginner’s pottery class was like a dream!”  Lori hadn’t even finished the first session and was registered for the next!  When she’s not creating at her community pottery studio she can be found outside enjoying Calgary’s rivers or trails, watching her two sons play hockey, or hiding with a great book & for sure a handmade pottery mug of tea!

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”