A feat of clay

Carole Wolaver set out to be an actress three decades ago, and it didn’t take her long to find her favorite role.

The Delaware native was an acting major when, on a whim, she enrolled in a pottery class at Rio Hondo College. She had had some success in local theater productions, but as soon as she submerged her hands in the wet clay, she knew she had found her calling.

“I was playing parts like adulteresses and murderers, all those meaty roles,” Wolaver said. “The Lord spoke to me one day and said, ‘What are you doing?’”

Wolaver, who had recently converted to Christianity, went out and bought a wheel and kiln, and set them up in her garage. It wasn’t until nearly 15 years later, though, that she was able to combine her craft with her faith.

One day, the wife of a pastor at Calvary Chapel La Mirada called Wolaver, whose husband was pastor at another Calvary site, and asked if she would give a talk during a retreat on how a potter’s relationship to clay was like God’s relationship to humankind. Wolaver agreed, somewhat tentatively, and “The Pottery Lady,” as she’s been known since, was born.

Now, the Northridge resident tours the country giving a demonstration that’s part live pottery-making and part scripture. She’s due to make her latest stop Saturday at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church in Huntington Beach.

Shirlee Wallingford, co-moderator of the women’s ministry for St. Peter’s Church, said church members had invited friends from outside the church to see Wolaver’s demonstrations Saturday. A woman who attends St. Peter’s recommended booking Wolaver after watching her give a show at another church.

“A lot of us don’t have experience throwing pottery,” Wallingford said. “So that was a big draw.”

In her performances, Wolaver often weaves in dramatic interpretations of Bible stories, acting out different parts in between working the wheel.

The piece she plans to present Saturday, “The Master’s Pieces,” uses clay as a metaphor for the tribulations of living on earth.

The pottery wheel, Wolaver tells the audience, symbolizes the way life often feels like moving in a fast-paced circle. Sometimes, she explains, chunks of clay fly off the wheel, only to be stuck back on by the potter — the same way God forgives people for their indiscretions.

The artist also discusses the process of heating in a kiln.

At one point in her show, Wolaver reaches into a container and pulls out a handful of ashes, then a finished pot, reminding the audience that it takes suffering to bring out beauty.

Wolaver has brought her show to Air Force bases, churches and event venues in other countries.

The warm response she gets proves how resilient her themes are, she said.

“It’s such a universal message that it just crosses any denominational border,” Wolaver said. “It’s such a simple story of how God wants to mold and shape our lives.”

If You Go

Who: Carole Wolaver, “The Pottery Lady”

When: 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Presbyterian Church, 16911 Bolsa Chica St., Huntington Beach

Tickets: $15 at the door

Contact: (714) 846-6641