After camp I unloaded my kiln full of tiles for my collaboration project with Cory McCrory… yes, 724 tiles to be exact!!!

I was very pleased when I opened the lid of the kiln. Subtle variations & shades of my new cone 6 green glaze. I really like how the glaze pools well, and breaks even better on the textures & patterns. So here’s a pretty BIG teaser reveal… and a LOT of green tiles!!!

Today my Summer Camp kids started painting their “Pop Art Sculptures”… in addition to memorizing their 23 Pop Artists.  The white plaster will be covered with acrylic paints as the campers bring their sculptures to life with acrylic colors.

Okay, so some of the kids had more fun painting their hands than their sculptures!!!

My started out pretty normal… plus a few waves! I went for my bike ride. Took some pictures. Showered. Changed. Breakfast and off to Summer Camp. We were on the third floor for “Pop Art Sculptures.” The kids were starting to show up and we could smell something burning. I assumed it was something coming from the First Slice Cafe kitchen on the second floor. But after a couple minutes, it continued and it didn’t smell like burnt pie. So I excused myself from Camp and went exploring.

What I found was a board of test tiles sitting on a firing kiln in the second floor kiln room. And yes… it was smoking. Not just smoking hot, but actually SMOKING!!!

So here’s a newsflash… A FIRING KILN GETS HOT.
Whoever left this board here apparently wasn’t too smart???

I grabbed some gloves, pulled the boards off, and put them up on top of a rolling cart. And you could see where the underside was all singed & smouldering. So the boards was ruined, and the top of the kiln was a bit scorched too!

I ran downstairs to tell Karen what was happening. She came upstairs with me and we dumped the tiles & smoldering boards into the sink to get them to stop smoking.

So now there are some soaked test tiles, and a note from Karen…
and trust me, you NEVER want to get a note like THAT from Karen!!!

And more importantly, I HEROICALLY SAVED THE DAY!!! …or at least that’s MY story!

And now, here it is…. you’ve waited for it… the “perfect’ panorama!!!

Sure, it looks clam enough. Maybe some clouds, but pretty calm.
Not so much.

And where there are small splashes, there are usually larger splashed right behind!!!

The trick is trying to capture… so I played with my camera INSTEAD of swimming this morning. Wise choice, huh?

And when the sun finally came up, it made the waves really sparkle!

And the “perfect” splash…

And then we also had possibly the “perfect” sunrise too…

By the end of the day, my Summer Campers had pretty much finished up their “Pop Art Sculpture” construction. A lot of work & a lot of plaster gauze. They’re now drying overnight… for tomorrow we start painting.

My glazed tiles are still cooling in the kiln, so tonight I decided to start prepping the boards that will be the base for the collaboration project that Cory and I are working on. So tonight it was cutting, sanding & staining… well, at least staining one side. I’ll stain the other side once “side one” dries.”

Yesterday we worked to make sense out of those piles of cardboard & newspaper. My Summer Campers worked hard to pull their designs together and make their sculptures a reality. Yesterday we worked with the cardboard as armature, newspaper as filler and masking tape to hold everything together… a LOT of masking tape!!!

A lot of projects. A lot of sculpture. A lot of kids… in NOT a lot of space!!!

Today we switched to plaster gauze to cover the “armature” and give it a “skin.” Small sheets of plaster gauze are dunked in water, then placed on their pieces and rubbed into place. As the plaster dissolves, it fills the holes in the gauze. Sheet after sheet. Rubbing & smoothing all the way to cover their sculptures.

So much fun for the kids to see their sculptures come together. Their sculptures are starting to “look like something” and they’re all starting to see their visions come together.

Tomorrow we start painting the details…
as the plaster gauze will have dried & solidified overnight.

Mark your calendar… six weeks from tonight we start another season of Survivor with another group of crazy castaways!!! Another reason to watch crazy people vote other crazy people off the beach. And again this season we’re going with the Blood vs. Water theme… but this time, it’s with all new players, no returning “all-stars.”

Can’t wait… you know how I love my Reality TV!!!

Almost done. Just one more minute of “soak ” time!!! Then let the cooling begin…