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.

Last week with my SURFACE DECORATION class, we discussed a lot of glazing techniques & tried to rectify some bad habits. Then I challenged them to “play” a bit more with their glazing… and to try some new techniques on the stamped cylinders I provided for them. I was hoping that they would be more free with their glazing if it wasn’t on one of their own “precious” pots. They all took good step-by-step notes… so now we’re just anxiously waiting for them to get fired in the cone 10 glaze kiln. Fingers crossed for some fun glaze results!!!

All letter-code labeled & waxed… a fun “surprise “ project for my SURFACE DECORATION class tonight. They have no idea what they’re in for!!! If you haven’t guessed already… it’s Glaze Night!!!

Well, registration begins tomorrow morning for summer classes at Lillstreet Art Center. I will again be teaching my Intermediate Wheel class on Monday nights & my Beginning Wheel class on Tuesday night. Classes fill FAST!!!… so good luck if you’re looking for some summer fun playing in the mud with us!!!

Last night in class, I did a couple demos of plates & platters. One of the plates was kinda plain… so I decided to add some thick white slip & chatter through it with a rubber rib.

My final class demo for my SURFACE DECORATION class last Thursday was a fun & colorful floral pattern. I used black, red & green slip… and let it dry to a stiffer leatherheard surface. And then started carving through the layers with my DiamondCore Tools. It was a fun platter to work on… my first time doing a multi-colored sgraffito piece. I’m pretty pleased with this new direction… although I feel it still needs some more detailing & clean-up. I might just need to make more of these…

It’s always fun to share my collection of DiamondCore Tools with my students. We were focusing on sgraffito as this week’s SURFACE DECORATION technique. And I wanted them to learn how to do sgraffito the “right way”… and that means by having some great tools to do their carving!

My students had a great time with their sgraffito projects last Thursday night. They all realized that the hardest part is making the very first mark carving through the colored slip. It’s like looking at a blank canvas & freaking out just a little about how & where to start. But once they started carving with my DiamondCore Tools … they found out how much fun it was… and how tough it is to stop!!!