I’ve always said that I have the BEST pottery students ever! So glad that my Throwdown Challengers had a great time playing my silly games & crazy contests! I know I had a blast “playing” with this great group. Thank You all for making my job so much fun… and for the “sweetest” THANK YOU ever!!!

At the end of our GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, my students had “suffered” through so many challenges, competitions & games… and they finally threw it back at ME!!! Yes, there was one final challenge all for ME!!! Complete with my own “white envelope” with instructions inside…

Of course I said YES!!! You know how much I love a good challenge!!!

So I had to quickly set-up my wheel, get some tools, put some water in my bucket & wedge up a ball of clay. Then is was time to put the blindfold on… and tackle the “hump” of clay! Ten mini pots… that somehow had to be decorated & match… and along the way somehow they also had to get handles?!!!

Giddy-up!!!

Okay, so mini pots thrown… time to switch over to handles!
Decided the quickest route would be rolled coils stuck on!

Okay, so maybe not my finest work, but…
Once the cups were done, I got another white envelope… with another challenge & more instructions!

Finding it tough to assemble my teapot parts & pieces as everything is completely squishy… no need for slip apparently!!!

And there is was… the FINAL challenge of Season Five of our GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN!!! So much fun for me… and I think my students had a great time too. We had a great group this season! Thanks to everyone for playing along with my crazy games!!!

Never one to back down from a challenge… I kinda felt obligated to make a clock for my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN as well. Sure, I coulda’ done a cartoon… but I felt this was more my style! The twist was that I used my student’s stamps that they made during a previous THROWDOWN challenge!!! They had no idea that I snuck them out of the bisque kiln & used them on my clock before I distributed them during the next class!!! So much fun to show it off during our final class! Fun clay clocks for everyone!!!

The final “Big Build Project” for the GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN was to build a clock! Yes, remember when they chose different classic cartoons to base their clocks on??? Well, it’s been several weeks and they’ve all been working hard. Some made to the finish line and showed up with a complete glazed piece. Others didn’t quite pace themselves well enough and only had a bisqued clock. Either way… they were BRILLIANT!!!

Now I will admit that I know absolutely NOTHING about Pokemon… but we were all blown away by Autum’s Pokemon Clock!!! It was amazingly crafted on the outside. And then I was BLOWN AWAY when she opened it up to reveal another character inside… and figured out away for the lid to stand up on its own base!!! Needless to say… Autum won “first place” in the big clock challenge!!! And now I know that Pokemon Balls can open up…. who knew?!

Huge congrats to Claire for her big win last night during the conclusion of our GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class! We all had an amazing time… made some fantastic pieces… and played some crazy games!!! A huge Thank You to all my students who made Season Five a huge success!!!

Last night was the final night of the GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN! After ten weeks of clay projects, challenges, contests & games… we finally had a WINNER!!! And there “might” have been a golden trophy to celebrate the big victory!!! Allegedly….

Looks like my friend Tracy is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today with her new Shamrock Mug… and a quirky collection of festive decor. Including some of her own “pasta art” from grade school!!! HA!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!!

So my niece Taylor is turning eighteen today!!!
And I thought it might be fun to do a little flashback to when she was a youngster in grade school doing a class project about a family member. Turns out she picked ME!!! So cute… funny the things that “stuck” in her head back then? Hard to believe she’s turning 18 already… where has the time gone?!

Food just tastes better on handmade pottery!

This morning I was excited about my iris shoots popping up! But then at Navy Pier this afternoon… I spied these colorful crocus flowers bursting through everywhere!!! A fun surprise… considering we still have chances for snow! And the first day of Spring is not until Monday!!! Even the bees were out enjoying the sunshine today!