Someone is already “thinking green” during the cold whiteness of winter. My Peoria friends showing off more of their pottery collection… including some very “vintage” pottery I made way back before I “met” stamping… notice the layered slip decoration on the set of bowls in the bottom right corner! I remember being so proud of those bowls back in the day. Ha!!!

This week my students really worked it in the Lillstreet Throwdown class. They came into class with their “two matching bowls now trimmed” from last week. Thinking we were going to start with those right away… Oh, but wait… I had another game plan!!!

First we did a quick challenge at the handbuilding tables. I had them each pull a 2-pound slab of clay to make a rectangular slab. The they were challenged to FREEHAND cut with an Xacto four basic shapes. No rulers. No stencils. To templates. Just the Xacto and their best guessimating skills! They were challenged to cut a 5-inch circle. a 4-inch square, a 3-inch equillateral triangle and a 2×10-inch rectangle. Closest ones win points!

Then we pulled out their bowls from last week. Ah ha... back to the expected challenge. They pulled out their “now matching more than before” bowls. We all looked at them, compared them and critiqued some of their strengths & weaknesses. We picked to winners… and then I surprised them with another twist!!! They were to choose one of their bowls to carve a pattern through creating a basket of sorts. They had about an hour and a half for the challenge… which sounded like a lot of time but it flew by fast!

And here’s the REAL challenge…
they had to carve away at least half of the bowl’s weight.
And yes, we actually weighted them before & after!

Grab your tools… grab your bowl… and GO!!!

And then they started carving… and carving… and carving…

And they just kept cutting… just kept carving… so quiet… so focused…

Some of them even pulled out their “fancy” carving tools from DiamondCore Tools. Jake & Dave first tried these in my class when I shared them… and they QUICKLY fell in love with them!!! So now they’ve really “stepped-up their carving games” and now are enjoying the sharp, clean line quality of Diamond Core Tools. Dave may have stepped-up his game… but he also sat-down for the challenge… ON THE FLOOR!!!

And then the carving continued… many of them checking their progress on the scale. Only to find out that they haven’t taken out nearly as much clay as they had thought!!! Realizing that they still have a LONG way to go!!!

Just a few moments before the buzzer went off….
just a few more cuts… just a few more holes…

And then we put the finished bowls down on the table for discussion, critique, judging and admiration! The carved bowls were AMAZING… but I was truly mesmerized by the shadows they created on the tables!

And then the comparison & show-off contest began… as everyone brought their bowls to the table and the class discussion began. Everyone loved the challenge even though it really pushed them out of their comfort zones!!!

A wonderful collection of freshly-carved bowls!!! So many great designs, so much effort & patience. So much for ME to watch all of them working their way through the challenge!

And the Top Two winners?…
Teresa with her elegant “octagonally-carved” bowl…
and Ryan with his bowls full of holes! Not much soup is going to stay in either one?!!!

So that’s it for another wonderful Throwdown class… and it’s only Week Two!!!

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When cleaning up after Christmas, my “very first art fair friends”
decided to streamline their cabinets and display a portion of their pottery collection.
Hmmmm?… that all looks very familiar!!! Thanks Gerry & Rosene!

Tonight was the kick-off of the Second Annual LILLSTREET POTTERY THROWDOWN class.
I have a great group of students again this time around. Three repeat “throwdown” students and nine new to the challenge!

Tonight’s challenge was to throw one “perfect” bowl in 30 minutes. They thought that was it… but of course it wasn’t. The “twist” was that they needed to throw a second “perfect” bowl to match! Same height, width, diameter, curves, profile, everything! Not as easy as it sounds. Ryan & Jacob walked off with top honors tonight!

Ryan’s matching bowls – one of the TOP TWO sets!!

Jacob checking out his entries in the matching bowl challenge… another TOP TWO winner!

And while I was firing a cone six glaze kiln, I not only glazed the sgraffito platters, but I also glazed some more sgraffito bowls too! They used to be white with a black band…now the colored glazes make them more fun & colorful while still allowing the carving detail to show through!

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Just a quick reminder of what these porcelain sgraffito bowls looked like BEFORE glazing. White porcelain with a band of black slip. Then I carved the patterns around the rim using my favorite DiamondCore Tools. Crisp, clean lines to reveal the white porcelain patterns through the black slip.

So I unloaded my cone six glaze kiln this morning. The “special request” bowls for a friend to give as a Christmas gift came out… and turned out pretty darn sweet if I do say so myself.

She only wants one blue bowl and one green bowl.
But I can’t just make TWO bowls, right?! So I made two sets instead!!!

Very similar… different stamps, different patterns and a slightly different green!!!

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Some beautiful stamped green bowls fresh out of the kiln for this weekend’s
Holiday Home Show MUD & METAL. Sure to go fast…
Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm & Sunday 10:00-4:00pm!!!

And if green’s not your thing… plenty of other colors & soda-fired finishes as well.
Plus incredible jewelry by Amy Taylor!!! Something for everyone on your list!!!

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As we’re zooming towards the holidays, I have a few last minute projects going on! Like a friend’s request for some matching bowls for her parents’ Christmas gift. Not sure if they’ll get done in time… but I’m trying my best. You know I love a good challenge!!… and work best with a deadline!!!

Glazing more bowls & pots for a quick cone six kiln this weekend…
just in time to replenish the shelves for next weekend’s
“MUD & METAL” Holiday Home Show!

If all goes well, these bowls will be a beautiful green!