I mean… prize ribbons are nice & all…but a TROPHY is even better! Who doesn’t want to win the Grand Prize Trophy?! Especially a handmade one for my Lillstreet Throwdown class! Tonight was our last class… and one lucky winner went home with glittery trophy tonight!!! More to come…

Tonight was the final class for my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN students. So of course I had to come prepared. What’s a challenge-contest class without prize ribbons?!!! Not under my watch!!! They’ve been accumulating points all session… so there just had to be prizes… personalized of course!!!

As we get close to the end of the Winter session at Lillstreet Art Center, another “season” of my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class is quickly coming to an end. This past week was Week 9… and the last class for a bunch of crazy-fun competitions! Twenty to be exact!!!

So I set -up the room before everyone got there… separating the tables into challenge” clue & presentation” areas. Each section also had a folded clue attached. Hidden clues… no peeking!

So they all paired up into teams. Each player blindly choosing a different challenge clue. And then they could discuss their strategy & determine who would tackle each of their challenges. When they finished one task, they would then choose another clue and continue on. They had two hours to complete as many of the challenges as they could while working together or separately. There was a LOT of production going on all over the room… lots of handbuilding, lots of wheelthrowing… LOTS OF FUN!!!

As they finished a task, they got to choose their next challenge. Maybe with a little strategy… pick a new one…. or choose a challenge that someone else has already done, but you think you could do even better? Remember, only one winner per category!!!

Let the games begin!!!

Number One : Make an “ostrich” egg

Number Two : Replicate the glass bottle shape… disregarding the texture on the sides.

Number Three : Replicate the oval bowl.

Number Four : Make a free-standing cylinder 15″ tall

Number Five : Throw an 11″ dinner plate on the wheel

Number 6 : Make a pair of dice.

Number 7 : Matching coils each 24″ long

Number 8 : A hand-pulled slab at 15″ square smooth, flat & even.

Number 9 : Match the red votive cup three times throwing off-the-hump.
whoops… missed a photo?!

Number 10 : Make the :”best” spiral.

Number 11 : Recreate and OREO cookie

Number 12 : Create a chain with at least 20 consistent links

Number 13 : Create some cutlery – make a knife, fork & spoon.

Number 14 : Make a wheelthrown one-piece citrus juicer

Number 15 : Roll a coil and then tie a traditional Celtic knot.

Number 16 : Throw a 12″ wide serving bowl with a well-defined interior curve

Number 17 : Make at least 21 pieces of “Lucky Charms” cereal

Number 18 : Create a perfect sphere with a 22″ circumference.
whoops… my bad, no photos?!

Number 19 : Make a miniature bentwood cabaret chair at least 6″ tall
what was I thinking?… missed another one?!

Number 20 : Wheel throw a Christmas tree… and decorate it too!

And that’s that… okay, so I missed a few photos along the way. Sue me.

At the end, we discussed them all challenge-by-challenge. Determining as a group who the winning team for each challenge. Lots of points awarded tonight leading into the Big Finale this week when they present their big “final” project… the full teapot set based on their chosen Fairy Tales!

Last week in our LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, I challenged my students to build lidded boxes. While many of them have rather limited handbuilding skills… they still tackled the challenge head-on! They worked on their boxes during class last week… with slabs that were wetter than ideal. At the end of class, they found out that they had a deadline “extension”… as well as a twist!!!

Their lidded boxes were to be finished & refined during the week as “homework”… and they also had to add partitions inside to create at least three compartments!!! So much fun to see their assembled boxes last night at the start of our THROWDOWN class! Very creative & well done!!!

This past week, my THROWDOWN students brought their sets of nesting bowls back to class. The challenge was to see how well they nest… the sizing, the spacing, the design & overall craftsmanship. It’s one thing to see them side-by-side… but even cooler to see them trimmed & refined and STACKED!!! They all nestled so well. They did and AMAZING JOB!!! So many fine sets of nesting bowls… and remember, this was the first set of nesting bowls for all of them!!! Well done team… you guys are killin’ it this session!!!

A week & a half ago, in my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, I challenged my students to make a set of three nesting bowls in ninety minutes. None of them had EVER made a set of nesting bowls before… so it was the perfect challenge!!! And then towards the end of class there was a “twist”… and they got an additional twenty minutes to add a fourth nesting bowl. And it had to be the new smallest one!!! They all did AMAZING… and it was so impressive to see how many incredible bowls they all made in just one night! They even impressed themselves!!!

This week in our LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, I challenged my students to replicate three distinct forms in one hour. They had sixty minutes to make all three. And they couldn’t move the examples off the table. With very little guidance, it was fun for me to watch how each of them approached the task differently. Most quickly jumped on the wheel… one handbuilt them all… yet size & shape were still a challenge for everyone. But it was the “oval” vase that proved to be the real challenge. With a wide range of “success”… some used the wheel while others handbuilt the shape. It was a great challenge for everyone.

Although I will say, I was a little “disappointed” that no one thought to paint them all with the new orange slip we have in the classrooms now! Given another five or ten minutes, maybe someone would have gotten there?! I mean… the examples were ORANGE, right?!

So here are the final sets of the “matching” cups & saucers! My THROWDOWN students killed it in this 45-minute challenge. Making pinch pot teacups & saucers that matched each other.. while BOTH players were blindfolded!!! Plenty of discussion… but built “blindly” racing the time deadline. Again, since we had an odd number of players, I had to step-in to play along!

In the end, we called in Lillstreet handbuilding teach Nicole to be our judge not knowing who made which set… and she chose Melanie & my set as the WINNER!!! whoo-hoo!!!

For our final THROWDOWN challenge of the night, the teams of two were BOTH BLINDFOLDED and challenged to make a cup & saucer with pinch pot techniques! They each had to make a matching cup with handle & a saucer… MATCHING!!! Yes, they had to build a “matching” set while never seeing or feeling the other person’s piece. They had to discuss & analyze their pieces verbally so their partner had an idea of what they were both working on… size, scale, proportions, style, decorations, etc. With 45 minutes, they all had plenty of time to discuss & describe their pieces… and to be in the dark the whole time!

And since we had an odd number of students in class this week, I had to step-in & was partnered with Melanie who KILLED it in all three challenges!!!

This week in my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, we did some handbuilding challenges! Mostly just “technique” challenges… but the biggest challenge was being BLINDFOLDED!!! They were divided into teams of two… one was the “Maker” and the other was the”Caller.” The Caller was the eyes of the team… giving instruction, advice & encouragement for the Maker. The Maker was the one competing to make the longest coil, or largest slab. And yes, they switched places for the two challenges so they each had a chance to play with the clay… and a chance to see how it feels to be the Teacher. As many of my THROWDOWN students have not had a lot of handbuilding experience!

Sorry, I missed photos of the coil-rolling challenge… my bad!