This is my later-life pursuit, and I’m very glad I discovered it.

A couple of years ago, a friend told me she’d been given pottery lessons as a present and asked if I’d like to join her. I didn’t exactly jump at the opportunity, but decided to give it a go.

The lessons were with the leading South African ceramicist Anthony Shapiro at his studio in Gardens, Cape Town. We started by making pinch pots. My first proper pots, made with proper clay and fired in a proper kiln.

I’d experimented with air-drying clay before, but the results weren’t particularly inspiring. My very first attempt at pottery, however, had been with clay dug from our own garden. It’s red, sticky stuff and not particularly good for gardening, but I noticed it moulded rather nicely. So I made a few rudimentary little pots and decided to fire them in an old kettle barbecue. I couldn’t get it anywhere near as hot as a kiln, but it was hot enough to harden the clay. The results were nothing to look at, but they’d planted a seed, so to speak.

Before long, I’d got the hang of wedging, slab building and making coil pots. I had a go on the wheel, too, but found it frustrating and not nearly as satisfying as making something entirely by hand. I discovered that what I really enjoyed was sculpting the clay, creating weird and wonderful shapes.

I’m also fascinated by texture and glaze. Glazing is a science in itself. As Anthony Shapiro says, it’s alchemy. You paint a pot pink and when it comes out of the kiln it’s blue! The way minerals and metal oxides combine and transform in the heat of a kiln is extraordinary. Dull powders become rich colours and glossy surfaces, often with surprising results. There’s an element of unpredictability that I rather enjoy. The possibilities seem endless, and I’m enjoying learning something completely new.

I’m now part of a little group of potters. We meet every week and make pots purely for the fun of it. There’s no pressure to produce hundreds of identical pieces to sell. We’re simply enjoying exploring the possibilities and making useful, one-off vases, lanterns, bowls, jugs, mugs and plant pots, to name but a few.

Of course, I may have to start selling some when we run out of space in the house.