So camp is over, but my studio work never ends…
especially with Art In The Barn just a couple weeks away!… 9/25 & 9/26.
So tonight I worked in the studio trying to pack away the “madness” of my stash
of summer camp supplies – to make room to get some work done! I’m scheduled
to share a cone 10 reduction kiln with studio-mate Karen Patinkin next week so I’ve
got some glazing to do! I want to be all done before she gets back from her weekend away!

I started by waxing the bottoms of my latest bisque pots to help keep the glaze off
the bottoms. Much easier to clean them up if they’re waxed ahead of time. I recently
bought a bottle of wax resist from Aftosa and it is a nice shade of green. The color
and the wax will disappear during the firing, but for now – it make it a bit easier
to see what you’re waxing as you’re doing it!

Then I spent some time inlaying glaze into the stamping to help accentuate them.
I find that frequently the cone 10 glaze tend to obliterate & cover-up the stamping
if I don’t inlay glaze and dip in more transparent colors. So tonight I inlaid temoku glaze
and I’m letting them dry. Hopefully I’ll get back into the studio over the weekend to dip
the top coat of glaze. Well before Karen’s return… I think we’re loading on Wednesday?!

Well, my “tour of duty” for this year’s Summer Camp has officially come to an end.
It was once again a wonderful adventure and whole lot of fun. Don’t get me wrong…
it’s also a whole lot of work. Coming up with the projects, teaching the kids, keeping
everyone on track, disciplining as needed and still keeping it fun for everyone
can be exhausting. But also very rewarding! And I hope that in some small way,
I may have made a lasting impression on at least a few of the kids along the way!

But a whole “summer of fun” was not all my own doing… it takes a LOT of great kids too!
And maybe a “few” that weren’t so enjoyable, if you know what I mean… but who’s counting?
Most are so enjoyable, so friendly, so enthusiastic and always so creative. So much fun!
And I’m always so appreciative to those parents who have raised such incredible kids.
Here’s just a glimpse of some of the kids who helped make MY summer so enjoyable…
just a few, I’d guess that I worked with well over 200 kids this summer!

Once again, it was a wonderful summer with a lot of wonderful kids & art projects.
And I hope that they had as much fun making art & creating memories as I did.

Until next summer…

Feel free to sing the rest of the song… or at least hum along…

Only one more day of Summer Camp… not that we’re counting…
It’s been a very long summer after teaching eleven weeks of Summer Camp!

You know I love Summer Camp.
The kids, the projects, the stories, the laughter… but I’m ready for it to end.
Although I’m sure I’ll start to miss it early next week!

A little cloudy this morning…
Thought it might be a repeat of yesterday’s rainy beginning?!
when I woke up and it was pouring… roll over… back to sleep.

But not today – maybe a few drips here & there, a little drizzle
and some wet patches of bike trail where you could tell it had “just” rained!
But I trudged onwards… perhaps due to my own clouded judgment.

And it turned out to be worthwhile.
Okay, so there was no “real” sunrise to speak of… but the clouds were really cool.
both early on when I was still questioning if I was going to get poured upon…
as well as towards the end of my ride when the clouds were making my stop
at the beach a very serene moment.

Well, it’s been a very fun summer… and we’re now in the final stretch!
One last week of Summer Camp! And for this week, my day’s classes are split…
Wheelthrowing in the morning – and Multimedia in the afternoon.

So my Wheelthrowing Camp has be trying to quickly “master” the art of throwing
pots on the wheel. I think they are all finding it a little tougher than they had expected.
They’re all still having fun – and getting dirty! Today we trimmed & decorated our first
batch of stoneware pots so they can go into an electric kiln and be back out & bisqued and
ready to glaze on Friday. Tomorrow we switch to a day of throwing pots with terra cotta.

In the afternoon, we made some whimsical masks on Monday, and since have switched
to a colorful textile project. Each kid is weaving their own colorful pillow! We’ve been cutting
strips, weaving them together and will eventually sew them together to make pillows!

Although we are “taking a break” tomorrow from weaving so that we can do our final day
of Tie-Dying in the afternoon! You know how I love my tie-dye!