Although today is NATIONAL ORCHID DAY, last night in class we discussed my amazing african violet plant that has not stopped blooming since it was gifted to me a year and a half ago! So I felt a little obligated to show it off again today… since we just talked about it last night, and it looks AMAZING in the sunshine today!

With the recent success of my orchids re-blooming at home with very little hassle… okay, maybe even a bit of neglect… I decided to add two new players onto the team for NATIONAL ORCHID DAY! Kind of excited for the bright new splash of color!!!

After my sprigged demo bowl, my students started with the sprigs to decorate their plain demo bowls. So much fun to watch my SURFACE DECORATION students excited to try new things on the plain bowls I surprised them with… as stamping & sprigs can be quite addictive… I should know – HA!

So last night after stamping, my SURFACE DECORATIONS class switched to using sprig molds for their textured decorations. We just pressed clay into the molds, popped them out and then “scored & slipped” them into place! I don’t do a lot of sprig work, so it was kind of fun to watch my demo bowl evolve one layer at a time… a row of sprigs…some stamps… maybe a scalloped edge… some more stamps… and maybe some holes… wait, what?!

I always have trouble knowing when to stop… as MORE IS MORE.
But I do think it’s done – after a bit more cleaning up!

In preparation for last night’s class, I also made a new batch of sprig molds last week for us to use. They’re just patterns carved into porcelain and then bisqued. I figured if we were going to stamp “into” the clay… we could also use sprigs to have the patterns bulge “out of” the clay! I kinda look at sprigs as the opposite of stamps! Textures coming out as opposed to textures pressing in.

After my quick stamping demo, my SURFACE DECORATION students set-off to start stamping their own pieces & the bowls I gave them. So much fun to see them getting their groove on… and adding grooves & textures into the clay! So much fun for all of us… as MORE IS MORE!

Last night in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled stamping textured patterns into clay… go figure! I did my first demo bowl explaining the process along the way… and then let them set-off on their own stamping adventure on the plain bowls I provided for them… along with a few of my handmade stamps!

For tonight’s SURFACE DECORATION class, we’re going to be working with stamps & sprigs! And since I figured my students might need something “plain” to decorate… I “might have” thrown a few bowls for them to play with… allegedly. Can’t wait to see what they do with them!!!

And since I’ve been playing around with textured rollers lately, I thought I would pull this one out that I haven’t used for awhile. Friends gave it to me as a gift… and it appears to be stacked segments that I’m guessing were 3D-printed? All stacked and tightened together on a threaded rod. I forgot how much I loved this basket-weaving effect it makes in the clay!

On a dark & gloomy day, it was so nice to find a colorful rainbow as I pedaled home! It totally brightened my day!