And so it begins… tonight was the first night of our LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class!!! Their first challenge was to “recreate” two drinking glasses in clay. Matching sizes, proportions, angles, textures & styles. Easier said than done!

Part two was to choose one of their new two cups… which then became their new prototype to make three more to match. Ultimately ending with a matching set of four.

Everyone did pretty good… with many of themselves even impressing themselves. So many cups made in not a lot of time. So much fun with a great group of students… some new “throwdowners” & some repeating for another season of pottery fun!!

Another festive night of IKEA BINGO!!!
Holiday fun with three winners at our table of bingo friends… sadly, just not me!!!

With an extra “bonus” Fall-back hour this morning… I thought it would be a perfect chance for another 10×10 Challenge. This time with some small bowls… ten thrown before 10:00am.

Okay… so entire POTTERY TOUR weekend was not perfect! Friday afternoon was not so great for me!!!

THIS happened on my drive out to Sandwich with all of my stuff!!!
On the entrance ramp from the Kennedy to 294 South…
on the side of the road by O’Hare!!! Fun, huh???

And realize … my car looks like this all packed up!!! And where is the spare tire???

Yep… you got it… UNDER ALL OF THAT!!!

So picture me on the side of the expressway unpacking my car… all over the side of the road… like a big garage sale!!! ugh. Luckily, I knew how to fix it… so I did my best. Passenger rear… so the side with the traffic flying by!!! And then packed it all back in!!!

However… who knew the real tire doesn’t fit in the same space as the spare tire?!!! So the only place it would fit was ON TOP with the other stuff?!!! Even more like the Beverly Hillbillies!!!

Not a good start. Luckily, Cory’s son Aidan took it to be fixed
on Saturday for me during the show!!!

Aidan to the rescue!!!

This weekend at the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival, a “few” of my ceramic fortune cookies “may have” fallen off my cart as I was packing up! Ten textured fortune cookies to find out in the park… and here are the clues to find them! Thanks to my art fair friends Rhonda & Maria for helping me “locate” the cookies. Happy searching!!!

Last night in my SURFACE DECORATION class, I challenged my students to several fun glazing tasks. No one “really” likes glazing… so my goal was to make it more fun by trying new things on cylinders that I made ahead of time for them! So they wouldn’t be “sacrificing “ their own pieces… giving them no emotional attachment to the piece… allowing them to have some fun while glazing! Can’t wait to see their results!!!! More to come …

A little early morning throwing. Just a few quick cylinders with a plan in mind.
Another 10×10 challenge… more than ten pieces thrown before 10:00am!!!

During the previous class session, my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class saw some amazing ceramic baskets in the Lillstreet Cafe’ Gallery by studio member Jennifer FitzGerald. We had a quick discussion of clay baskets & some basic construction techniques. Then this session, one of my students asked for a class “challenge”… so I suggested we all make our own versions of the baskets they were so enamored by the session before. While I channeled my inner “Mudweaver” while making this basket… my students realized it was a a LOT harder than they thought. While still inspired, none of them finished their baskets by the end of the session!

Be sure to check-out more of Jennifer’s beautiful work & give her a “Follow” on Instagram – @mudweaver_ceramics