Celebrating another MUGSHOT MONDAY… with a nice post my friend & talented photographer who posted this on Instagram. Great photos, great eye, great guy. You should definitely check out his work on Instagram @ericcraigstudios

You can also check-out his work on his website… www.ericcraigstudioscom

Just pulled some handles for my latest bath of hybrid mugs. These will set-up for awhile before I start attaching them to the mugs. But not too much… because if they were to dry too much they might crack as I refine the final curves of the handle after attaching… and that would be bad.

Bottoms trimmed… one step closer to becoming “hybrid mugs”!
We just need to add some handles tomorrow!

Just some closer looks at the detailing that happened up in my studio after this week’s class demo. I figured if I was showing off how to make a “not-so-basic-bowl”… why not go all the way?! MORE IS MORE, right?!

After some time under the plastic, these class demo bowls were brought out in my studio for a little more detailing. A little stamping here, a little rim indenting there. Here they are side-by-side in my studio! Just a few super bowls for “Super Bowl Sunday.”

Before…

After…

Seemed to be the theme for this week’s GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN challenge… and there was plenty of laughing all night! They started at the wheel with a directive to “throw their own most perfect shape” in just 15 minutes. I think some people panicked & rushed too fast at the beginning, while others had extra soft clay that didn’t work in their favor. So many of their “most perfect” pieces were not-so-perfect. But who cares?… it’s just clay!

Also because the “real challenge” was for everyone who followed to re-create that exact “perfect” prototype as they had to move one wheel to the right and recreate the piece in front of them. Again… and again… and again. Realizing how hard it is to throw with intention… but even worse, to have to copy someone else’s intention… or in this case… “flop-tention”?? The winners were those people who “copied” the prototypes the best. “NAILED IT.”

This week in the GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN, my students presented their colorized mugs from last week’s handbuilding challenge. The goal was to add enough color & style tot hem that they can just be glazed in clear later… and still be colorful & striking!!! They all did a great job trying to accentuate the texture patterns, without totally covering them up! Sadly, we had one “implosion” as Ellen was trying to several layers of underglazes & underglaze decals for a quilt-like effect. But found out there might have been too much water & pressure used on her bone-dry porcelain mugs?! Luckily, she has plans to use those shards for making some small jewelry pieces later.

Taking my textured slabs & turning them into another batch of my “hybrid mugs.” Adding a little handbuilding to the wheelthrown bases. Always fun to play with patterns & textures… made so much easier with textured hand rollers from MKM Pottery Tools.

Got a handful of new rollers from MKM Pottery Tools …
making some groovy new textures… making some more hybrid mugs!!!

Let me introduce you to Martin… spoiler alert… winner of the most recent “Great American Baking Show”… and potter in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class! You may remember him from all of my posts about the snacky-games & finale party we played while he was in my class & his show was airing on TV.

Not only do his pottery skills continue to impress us… his baking does too! Like this yummy Lemon Lavender Cake he brought in for class snacks this past Monday! It sure was yummy… past tense… burp!… but it does also look GREAT on the stamped cake plate I made for him as his “trophy” for winning the show!!! They look great together!

You can always check-in on Martin’s baked goods… including the recipe for this cake… if you follow him on Instagram!!! – @martinsorge

And… oh, but wait there’s more… you can still csatch-up and watch “The Great American Baking Show” for FREE online. Sure, it might be on The ROKU Channel… but you don;t need ROKU to watch it on your computer!!! Just click here.