Please note that names and locations have been changed to protect participant's privacy.

My name is Paul and I come to the pottery class in Bath.
With the people here they are great to get on with and you know to see other peoples work and everybody encourages (one) another with what we have done.
You’ll be surprised with a number of different ideas that come about, it’s great.

People get on well here together and it’s wonderful to express your feelings through a bit of pottery clay. These are hands and a piano that I’ve done, it means a lot of me because I play piano and one of my heroes is Elton John, it came as I went along and I kind of work like that.
The end result is what I wanted and when it was glazed and painted it really does, as you can see, come out. Obviously with the clay it’s very basic the way it looks, you get the idea, but when it’s been painted it really does give it a polished effect.

It has helped me get... well I suppose to think about something else rather than myself, it’s really… well something to look forward to.
It’s once a week and it’s quite good to think well now it’s pottery class you know, and it’s not that far from where I live so...

Well it’s surprising that you can help yourself through these courses because with mental illness doing something like this can actually benefit you.
I’m enjoying the course and you get to meet new people and it’s all round, it’s good for the inner soul.