And it looks like I may need to do some stamping before then, right?!!

Bowl #1 - A simple flanged rim quickly becomes far less “simple” with some repetitive
stamped impressions and a fun little pattern!

Bowl #2 – An extra wide flange gives me “extra wide space” to stamp. What fun!!!

Bowl #3 – What started with a simple fluted flange…
suddenly a lot more fun with a single row of stamps just below the flange!
oops… forgot to take a photo of the “in process stamping” stage… sorry!

We work on creating a nice “curve” on the inside of the bowls. And then, once they start
making bowls, I quickly throw a bunch of bowls all “kinda” the same. We then reconvene
for more demos on how to change & decorate their bowls. I try to encourage them to “alter”
their bowls and not just settle for the “round bowl the wheel made for me.”  I also introduce
color slips as a design possibility. So here’s a quick overview of the ten bowls I made tonight.
Each on starting from the same basic shape… but then pushed just a little further!

Bowl #1 – Four Fluted – just four simple flips of the rim.
Bowl #2 – Eight Fluted – if four is good, aren’t eight better?!

Bowl #3 – Flanged Rim – take rim and fold it down
Bowl #4 – Flanged & Fluted – once the flange is folded out, a couple flips to flute!

Bowl #5 – Wide Flange – more flange, more style, less food?!
Bowl #6 – Impressed Petals – a simple dragon-scale tool makes a quick flower!

Bowl #7 – Split & Squared – a split rim, pinched & squared a bit.
Bowl #8 – Slip Spiral - cover the inside with slip then drag a tool through it while spinning

Bowl #9 – Slip Bands & Squiggles – cover the inside and drag again – this time with style!
Bowl #10 – Chattered Slip – cover the inside then do some chattering with a plastic rib.

So now all of the bowls are safe in my studio. I wrapped them with plastic to keep them wet
overnight. Tomorrow I plan on doing a bit more decorating… maybe some stamping?!
Shocking, I know…

After finishing their mugs, we then switched over to making stamps!
We always do it early in the session so that they can get them bisqued quickly. Then they
can start using them for the rest of the session. Tonight they made their first stamps…
let their texturing begin!!!

My first workshop with Julia Galloway was several years ago. I had just started pottery
classes, and had finally moved on from my Beginner’s class to Intermediate. I was still
pretty new and didn’t think that I was ready for a workshop with such an established &
renowned ceramic artist. Plus it was more expensive than I was ready to pay. Luckily,
a few of my “more advanced” friends at Lillstreet convinced me to sign up for the workshop.
So I did. Thanks Amy. And within the first 10 minutes of the workshop I was hooked. Not
only is Julia Galloway’s work exquisite, but she’s also extremely eloquent, insightful and so
approachable. In the workshop she demonstrated her construction methods, as well as
her decoration tricks & techniques. I was enamored from the get-go. I could just sit there
and listen to her talk. Her anecdotes. Her insights. Her creative turn-of-phrase.

A few years later, Lillstreet Art Center moved to its current location on Ravenswood.
Julia Galloway was one of the first artists to come there for a Visiting Artist Workshop.
And I was right there ready for another workshop… and to be her workshop assistant!
By then I was a studio monitor, teaching assistant, had moved on to more advanced classes
and totally understood the benefit of taking a workshop from someone of Julia’s caliber…
regardless of the price!

As her workshop assistant, I also had the opportunity to work more closely with Julia.
Including helping her install her solo show in the Lillstreet Gallery. It was great to have some
quality time with her to discuss her work, as she also asked me about mine, as we unpacked
and put out her stunning pieces. Part of her show was this incredible & crazy collection of
tumblers. Each on it’s own shelf. But the crazy part was that when I put them all on the
shelves in the correct sequence, an image appeared across the collection. Like magic. Oh,
but wait there’s more… when you turned all of the tumblers around to show the opposite
side, the same image appeared but only as a black & white line drawing across all of the
tumblers! Luckily, someone just happened to catch me passing the installation one day…
me in my apron, smirking with a bunch of stunning tumblers behind me!

So now she’s coming back to Lillstreet Art Center for another 2-Day Workshop. She’ll be
showing her techniques, sharing her stories and hopefully giving away all of her secrets!
I’m very excited to be going to her workshop once again. My Julia Galloway Trifecta.
Each time that I’ve seen Julia in person, I’ve been at a very different stage in my ceramic
career. The first time I was a beginner, recently engulfed in clay. My second workshop I
was becoming proficient but wasn’t sure where my “path” would take me. This time, I look
forward to seeing her again with my current perspective as a now “professional” potter
working to make a living while playing in the clay!

In fact, I’m so excited and encouraging everyone to sign-up… so much so, that Sam,
my Tuesday night wheelthrowing assistant, has already secured her spot as Julia’s assistant
for the workshop! Hopefully she’ll have a similarly wonderful experience that I did
when I was Julia’s workshop assistant.

Sign up today – click here to register online with Lillstreet Art Center.
As of tonight, there were only ten spaces left for this special workshop!

As of tonight, there are only three spaces left in my class!
Don’t miss out on the fun. Come play in the clay… Sign up today!
Click here to register online – Tuesday night Wheelthrowing Class.

Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing
Tuesdays from 7:00pm-10:00pm – 10-week session beginning Tuesday, January 10th.
Click on Lillstreet for registration information.

And don’t wait to long to sign up… my class is already half full.
Not many wheels left in my class starting this January!

So I threw ten bowls. All basically the same. Basically round. Basically plain.
The my goal was to overwhelm then all with some quick tricks to make them special!!!

A simple fluted rim… and the basic bowl with a “dragonscale tool” flower in the bottom!

With a flanged rim… and then a flanged & fluted rim.

With a split-rim that I pinched together… and another split-rim that I squared off.

Bad photo… but this one was shaped using a rib that I cut out of an expired credit card.
And then I introduced colored slip as a decorative. Starting with a spiral dragged through!

Slip chattering.. and a slip stencil using a “2″ cut out of the newspaper!

So now they’re in my studio, waiting to be stamped, accented & trimmed.
But I’m going to be gone for the weekend for ART DETOUR. So I’ll be wrapping them up
extra tight with soaking wet sponges under the plastic… and hoping that they stay wet!

It was also great to see so many familiar faces in my class. Surprisingly, I have a lot
of returning students in class. And not any returning from the last session. Frequently,
I have a lot of students who just keep coming back. This time, I have students who have
returned after a couple-session hiatus! Including Pam, Ben, Janet, Nadine, Chris…
plus Martin & Christi who actually moved to North Carolina a couple years ago…
and suddenly, without any advanced notice, they show up in class again this session!
Apparently they missed me, and my class, so they had to move back to Chicago…
or at least that’s MY version of the story and I’m sticking to it.