Tonight we went low & flat… and switched from basic bowls to basic plates.
I showed them how easy it is to throw plates. They’re basically just a low, flat cylinder
with the sides bent down. And then I explained that the tougher part of the process
is trimming & drying. I guess we’ll need to cover that more next week… or the next…

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

Tonight I made it back into the studio to do a little more work on the “basic” bowls
I made last night as part my class demo. A big part of my demo is trying to convince
my students to “make their own mark” and do something to their pots to make them
their own. Don’t settle for a simple, plain round bowl… when you can take time to add
a little design & style! So we’ve already made stamps in class… gently pushing my
“addiction” onto my students! As part of my mission, I had some work to do to add some
of my own “style” to a few of the “plainer” bowls from last night’s class demo.

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!

Tonight my beginning wheel class tackled their first bowls.
Bowls on purpose. Not cylinders that just “happened” to become a bowl.

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…

Two of my favorites!… Mugs & Stamps!
Tonight my Beginning Wheelthrowing students finished their first mugs!
They trimmed their cylinders, pulled traditional handles and attached them.
Not bad for their third week of class, huh?!

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!!!

I found out tonight that my Beginning Wheelthrowing Class is FULL.
The new session begins next Tuesday and all eighteen spaces are taken.
It looks like I’ll have a bunch of new people to play in the mud with!!!
Let the games begin…

Tonight I signed up for my third workshop with Julia Galloway!
If you want to see beautiful pots, extreme detail and exquisite design… this is the
clay workshop to sign-up for. Julia’s coming back to Lillstreet Art Center for another
two-day workshop on February 18th & 19th. And there are only 10 spaces left!

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!

One week from tonight my new Winter Session Wheelthrowing Class begins!
It’s a multi-level class for brand new beginners and “returning” beginners
or those who still need to hone a few basic skills before moving on.

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.

With just one week until Christmas, there’s no better time to buy yourself a wonderful gift.
Sign-up today for a pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center. I teach beginning wheelthrowing
every Tuesday night from 7:00pm-10:00pm. It’s for brand new beginners who have never
thrown, people who have been away too long, and those who have taken a few classes but
are still honing their basic skills. It’s a fun class with a lot of social interaction. I know it’s
not as easy as it looks, but I’ll make sure you have fun while you struggle to center the clay!

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!

Tonight we focused on making basic bowls… on purpose!
So instead of “embracing” that cylinder gone bad that happened to turn into a bowl…
this time trying to make a “real” bowl on purpose! And then making it your own!!!
So we made bowls, and then I demonstrated how to make each of them different
with some altered rims & slip decorations.

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!

Well, the new session of classes began tonight at Lillstreet Art Center.
My Tuesday night class for beginning & advanced beginning wheelthrowing started
tonight with a full classroom of 18 students. Several of my students this time around
are new to clay, or at least haven’t done anything in clay for several years! They were
a little frustrated tonight… as most beginners are. I kept reassuring them that centering
is the hardest part, and each week it would get easier & easier. Trust me…

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.