So we’ve had a couple fun OREO flavors lately in my pottery classes! Including Sour Patch Kids… that were surprisingly YUMMY!!! I know, they sound kinda terrible… but I was mistaken. And the Maple Cremes were imported from Canada thanks to Tessa!

Last night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we celebrated our last class of session with a fun trading game. The category was a handmade orchid pot with a live orchid in it. Beautiful pots & beautiful flowers… thanks to those of you who participated… Christine, Darcy, Claire & Tessa!

My entry in the game was this last one… purple glazed with a purple orchid. It worked out well for me… as it was also a class demo on “carving” a few weeks earlier for my Surface Decoration class!

And since we had a lot of “extra” ribbons of colored slabs… a few of my SURFACE DECORATION students continued on in different directions… yes please… by all means PLAY WITH YOUR CLAY!!!

So we were kinda “quilting” with ribbons of clay slabs last night in my SURFACE DECORATION class to make handbuilt bowls. Everyone mixed it up to get different pattern & color combinations by sharing & using each other’s slabs. I think everyone was a little apprehensive at first… doubting that this would work. But I think they were all duly impressed in the end.

Huge thanks to everyone we Follow on Instagram who inspire us to play with our clay more. In this case, we did our own version of the wonderful & far more colorful bowls of Stephen Biggerstaff… be sure to Follow him on Instagram… @stepbigg_clay

Last night in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled some colorful handbuilding projects using textured & colorized slabs. Everyone set out to hand-throw their slabs & add colored slips. Then we all got to use everyone’s slabs to “randomize” our quilt-like projects!

As part of my demo last night, I also wiped away my large platter piece. It’s just clay… no colored slip. The color difference is because the unwaxed unprotected areas stay light, whereas the wet etching areas get dark. I was getting some good texture difference in areas… but didn’t quite finish. So I’ll be coming back to it after this weekend’s art fair. The more I wipe away, the greater the difference between layers will be… so as usual… MORE IS MORE!

After the wax layer had cured & hardened, we wiped away the background with a wet sponge. If there was colored slip there, that got wiped away… anything that was “protected“ by the wax stayed in place. As they continued to wipe away with cold water, their images & patterns began to reveal themselves. And if you keep wiping more & more, you start to create two surface layers… the top one being your original layer, and the second layer a smidge lower. It’s that tactile contrast in depths that is really cool. We even used some Q-tips to get into it to create nice crisp edges. When finished, they will bisque & glaze as normal for a cool bowl either a groovy pattern… all done with Water Etching!

In class last night, my SURFACE DECORATION class was focused on Water Etching as their technique of the week. I provided them with bone dry bowls to play with… some covered with colored slip. They started by painting their designs onto their bowls with wax resist. The areas that are not “protected” by the wax will be “etched” or wiped away later… after the wax has had time to cure.

Last night in my studio before class… I did a little “pre-waxing” of my design to give it time to dry. The demo was going to be water etching with my SURFACE DECORATION class… and I had planned to do a little “cooking show switch-out” in mid-demo. So this was my platter before class… wax drying… and waiting for the actual water etching to begin!

It’s seems like I made these bowls quite awhile ago… simple bowls with some colored slips on some of the exteriors. Tonight we finally get to tackle them… as I’m providing some “demo fun” for my SURFACE DECORATION class tonight.