Tonight is the Empty Bowls fundraiser at Lillstreet Art Center.
I dropped off my donation bowls this morning… including a couple fun class demos with marbled clay! Empty Bowls starts at 5:00pm. Get there early for the best choice… although there are HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of bowls to choose from!!!

During today’s Open House at Lillstreet Art Center,
I stayed focused and threw a dozen small bowls in my studio.

Then it was time to separate them into three sets of four…
and make some design “alterations” to make each set different from the others.

The first set received a split rim with indentations both in & out to form a lotus effect.

And then a little stamped embellishment….

The second set got a hypnotizing spiral through white slip.

And then detailed with a single stamp around the rim.

The third set got a split rim, pinched together and fluted out.

Then a stamped accent at each pinch point and a small stamp tap inside.

So now the three sets are covered & wrapped in plastic overnight.
I’m hoping to get them trimmed and done tomorrow.

Eight more bowls. Eight more class demos.
Eight more bowls that might just find their way to the Empty Bowls Project
coming to Lillstreet on Friday, April 17th. Mark your calendars!!!

Good to see that everyone in the family gets to use some Fire When Ready Pottery!!!
Even Lazlo, the cute little one-eyed kitty who lives with my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor.

Last night in class we discussed Nesting Bowls. We talked about sizing, fitting and different ways to make them “look” like a better set. Whether adding a repetitive detail to each bowl, a quick rim flip, a glazing detail, whatever. We looked at some examples of traditional nesting bowls and discussed ways to make them.

Like these carved-rim bowls by Whitney Smith…

And these rim-flip bowls by Maria Gabriela…

Or a slightly Moroccan flair with a set by One Clay Bead in Asheville, NC…

I even showed them some photos of my own “nesting” bowls as they were going into the bisque kiln. Sure, they  weren’t designed to be nesting, nor were they glazed or finished as nesting… but they sure looked cool going into the kiln stacked this way. I may need to consider making some nesting bowls on purpose, huh?!

And these unbelievable & unconventional sets of nesting bowls by Alleghany Meadows!
See… they don’t always have to stack the way you think they should!!!

Tonight when I got into the studio, I was greeted by a little brown care package.
And who doesn’t love a good care package?!!! So I opened it up carefully…

Inside I found three adorable little bowls… each a treasure! And a wonderful Thank You note from a “fan” who stopped by my studio over a year ago! Stephanie from South Carolina stopped by my studio in November 2013. I love showing off my studio, sharing ideas and giving people a tour of Lillstreet. Stephanie and her husband got the full tour… and she left with a souvenir mug. Little did I know that Stephanie would appreciate their visit SO much,, that over a year later she’s still thinking about it and felt the need to send me a gift. A wonderful surprise… albeit unnecessary!

Thank You Stephanie… I love your little bowls.
Cute little shapes with wonderful colors… especially the green… oh, and the RED!!!

Tonight I came back into the studio to do some “detailing” on the bowls from last night’s class demo. Don’t get me wrong… there will be more detailing as they continue to stiffen up and I do some trimming.

Bowl #1 – Okay, so you had to know that I couldn’t let a plain round bowl go through…
I just had to do something to make it special!!!

Bowl #4 – a simple row of stamps below the flared out rim.

Bowl #5 – stamped detail on the entire wide flange area.

Bowl #6 – stamped detail just below the flared out rim.

Bowl #15 – a stamped rim with geometric circles to mimic the banded circle in the middle.

Bowls on purpose… and NOT a cylinder gone bad.
It’s “that” time in the class session for my students to start making REAL bowls on purpose. So tonight we did another demo on how to make a good, basic round bowl. But then the fun part is when I quickly throw a bunch of the “same” basic bowl. And then my students reconvene to see some quick tricks to change those basic bowls into a new & different bowl. Each one of the decoration techniques is quick & simple. Easy enough for any of my Beginners to tackle… and each took less than a minute to do!!!

Bowl A – the prototype bowl… all of them started just like this. Plain & round.

Bowl #2 – A quick flick & twist, giving four fluted points along the rim.

Bowl #3 – And if four fluted edges are good, are eight flutes TWICE as good???

Bowl #4 – This time we flared out the top of the rim.

Bowl #5 – And then flared out even more of the rim… more “canvas” to decorate later!

Bowl #6 – A combination of the flared out rim with the fluted edge detail.

Bowl #7 – A fun little flower detail pressed into the bottom with a dragon-scale tool.

Bowl #8 – A split rim pinched back together in eight places.

Bowl #9 – A split rim fluted to give the round bowl a new shape.

Bowl #10 – Another split rim with a lotus shape – curved out between notches.

And then I introduced colored slips as a decorative option… one more fun tool in the arsenal…

Bowl #11 – A simple layer of white slip, then a spiral dragged through with a rounded tool.

Bowl #12 – Another layer of white slip with bands & squiggles dragged through.

Bowl #13 – A much thicker layer of white slip squiggled with my finger!!!

Bowl #14 – A thinner layer of slip “chattered” with a plastic rib tool.

Bowl #15 – A two-tone ombre effect with white & blue slips.

And for now, they’re wrapped up for the night. Tomorrow I’ll come pack to them and do a little more detailing, stamping & refining. Remember, besides making better bowls… the main incentive for this demo is to get my students to start decorating their bowls. And to remember that they don’t need to be plain & round any more!!!

Another batch of pretty porcelain trimmed & drying. Gotta love a well-trimmed foot.