So… another wonderful week of Summer Camp has come to an end. This week I had a talented group of 10-12 year olds. They learned how to wedge, center & throw on the wheel. They then threw a bunch of pieces on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday… trimmed & add attachments yesterday… and then painted with colored slip today. Their pieces will be glazed with clear & fired later next week. It was jam-packed for all of us, but luckily it was a “full-day” camp so we had a bit more time get everything done. Great kids. Great week.

We also had enough time for them to learn & memorize over 40 famous masterpieces & their artist… both first & last names!!! Very impressive… and they all had a great time doing it too!!!

And yes, there is a story about the ashtray piece.

Generally I don’t allow my Summer campers to make ashtrays or weapons.
But Cece wanted to make this one for her Uncle Ryan. Apparently this is an ongoing family saga… with Uncle Ryan smoking when he was young, but kicking the habit and not smoking anymore. When Cece’s Mom came in to see what Cece was working on… she knew right away that this was a piece that Uncle Ryan was going to love. Also I had to go back on. my own “rules”… and let Cece continue with the ashtray nostalgia piece!

Just a few of the mugs that came out of my latest soda firing. Still enamored by the stamped textures, the flashing soda effects & the saturated colors! Not just “gray & brown” like a lot of other soda firings!

A pop of color to start your day! Some beautiful asiatic lilies in my neighborhood…
and I’m loving this new color combination!

In between Summer Camp all day & teaching adults at night… I finally found time to unload my soda kiln, pack it all up, clean the kiln, scrape the shelves, kiln was the shelves, clean the kiln room & a bunch of other “glamorous “ tasks! So I can finally share some photos of the soda-fired pots inside… including a bright blue I’m pretty excited about!!!

It’s been a busy week at Summer Camp! This week I have a dozen 10-12 year olds who are having a great time! And in just three days, they’ve learned to wedge, center & throw on the wheel. And they’ve made enough pots to fill the entire table!!! Now we just gotta trim, finish & paint them all with colored slips before end of camp tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!

Okay… so it looks like I may have left a pad of butter out on the counter a bit too long this morning?!
It was a cube. Thank you heatwave!

And so the heatwave continues. Another hot night, another hot morning. Sure, I coulda stayed in bed longer… but I can sweat on my bike just as much as in my bed! So why not get up early to enjoy the beautiful sunrise while it’s out there? And I did… then it was home, shower, change & off to Summer Camp!

Not a cloud in the sky… just plenty of haze & humidity. Sure, I coulda listened to the weather advisories about how bad it was gonna be outside today… but it was early, and a tad cooler than it will be the rest of the day. So I went for it… and had another wonderful albeit SWEATY sunrise ride!

Just stay safe out there… and hydrate, hydrate, HYDRATE!!!