Last night in my Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing class we did my FAVORITE demo of the session! I started with a class demo on how to throw a basic bowl on purpose… and NOT just a cylinder gone bad. A nice smooth curve though the bottom of the bowl… and no “beginners ledge” near the bottom! So we did the demo… made a bowl and they went back to their wheels to start making their bowls… on purpose!

While they were throwing their bowls, I continued to throw more of mine. After throwing a bunch of basic bowls, we reconvened for more demo. Where I showed them some quick decorative tricks, rim alterations and colored slip to make their bowls not-so-basic anymore!

Bowl #1 – four fluted edges

Bowl #2 – if four is good, maybe eight fluted edges is better?

Bowl #3 – flared out rim

Bowl #4 – an even wider flared out rim

Bowl #5 – combined flared rim and four fluted points

Bowl #6 – two indents… with the intention of adding a basket handle over the top from indent-to-indent.

Bowl #7 – a split-rim… pinched back together in eight places.

Bowl #8 – a split-rim with four indents to make it kind of like a quadrefoil shape

Bowl #9 – another split-rim with four INdents & four OUTdents.. giving it kind of a lotus shape!

Then we switched our focus to colored slips… again with the plan of just showing them some “quick tricks” and encouraging them to play & try more things!

Bowl #10 – a full coating of white slip inside with a paintbrush spiral

Bowl #11 – a fuill layer of white slip with a wooden tool dragged through it while the wheel was turning to reveal the darkness of the clay as a spiral.

Bowl #12 – finger-painting a squiggle through the white slip while the wheel is spinning.

Bowl #13 – rhythmic chattering with a plastic rib through the white slip while the wheel is spinning.

Bowl #14 – a full coating of white slip, the vertical lines dragged through with a rubber rib, and then the center re-applied & smoothed out with just the cutest little spiral ever!

Bowl #15 – I introduced using two colors of slip with simple banding.

Bowl #16 – and then an ombre blending, with a spiral dragged through.

So for now they’re under plastic so they don’t dry out too quickly… as there’s a “good chance” that there just “might” be a bit of stamping, texturing & embellishing of these bowls before the dry too much.

MORE IS MORE!!!… right???

Looks like a yummy lunch being “wrapped up” in Stevens Point… always better with handmade pottery on the table! Love the fresh & vibrant colors. Thanks for sharing Kristy & Matt!!!

What could be better than a hot fudge sundae on a Sunday?! TWO hot fudge sundaes… in handmade pottery bowls. Looking yummy Gerry & Rosene!!!

Spent a little time making some more bowls. They’ve were thrown yesterday and kept under-wraps overnight. So today they were just a little too damp to stamp. But after leaving them set out for a half hour or so, they were good to go. So I did some stamping… because I’m addicted… and because MORE IS MORE!!!

So here they are… before… after… and the stamp that did most of the work!!!

BOWL ONE

BOWL TWO

BOWL THREE

BOWL FOUR

BOWL FIVE

BOWL SIX

BOWL SEVEN

So for now, they’re all back under plastic so they can dry a bit slower. They still need to be trimmed & dried… and then bisque fired… glazed… and fired again! Still a ways to go – but they’re looking pretty good so far!

My cousin Kim likes to grow them, but doesn’t like to eat them!
So this is where I come in… enjoying the fruits of her labors!
Loving how much homegrown vegetables taste so much better than store-bought… and EVEN BETTER when stored in a beautiful bowl?!!! Just sayin’…

It’s that time of the year… time when there’s an abundance of cherry tomatoes in everyone’s gardens. Well, those of you who HAVE a garden?!!!… sadly, not me.

But I digress… anyway, pretty little tomatoes need a pretty little bowl! Thanks Heidi for sharing your colorful harvest!!!

When Rosene sent me this picture of her grocery produce “harvest” on some of my pottery… it looked a little too much like she was setting up a still life to do a painting!!!

So I went ahead and made it for her!!!

Looks like Kristy was making something yummy for a little Labor Day get-together… or maybe just a fun lunch?! Loving the color contrast with the cobalt blue bowl!

Looks like Cory has one last batch of colorful fun to wash with underglazes, glaze & fire quickly for this weekend at ART IN THE GARDEN. I’ve been enamored with Cory McCrory, her work, her textures & her whimsy ever since we met at the Hinsdale Fine Arts Fair several years ago… and we’ve been fast friends ever since! So much fun to have talented friends!!!

What a difference a little underglaze can make?!!!
A whimsical “paint-job” by my “cohort in collaborations” Cory McCrory on her bowls for this weekend at ART IN THE GARDEN. We’ve been working on this little project for awhile now… and now we’re both in our final kiln firings!!! Getting ready to put our collaboration pieces together in Glenview for every one to see!

For more info – www.grassrootsartfair.com