Last night was the kick-off of my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class!! With a great new group of potters ready to take on my silly games, races, projects & challenges!

Last night they started off throwing one “perfectly” mug shaped cylinder in their own style. Only to be followed up by a challenge to throw more cylinders that MATCHED… but not theirs, they had to match everyone else’s!!! Matching pots are tough enough, let alone matching someone else’s shape & style!!! Lots of pots, lots of fun!!! And we’re just getting started…

As this is the last week of the Fall session of classes at Lillstreet, my Intermediate Wheel class did a fun “trading-exchanging-stealing game” with platters!!! You bring a platter, then play the game & go home with someone else’s masterpiece!!! So much with such beautiful platters!!!

I came home with the beautiful slate-blue platter with a subtle water-etched motif made by Kristen. While Christine & Abena went home with each others!!!

I’ve always said that I have the best students! But when these two boxes of yumminess showed up in class last night… let me just say, “Nick is my favorite student ever!” My own custom OREO’s … how cool, how thoughtful!!!

Okay, so maybe favorite EVER is a stretch?! So let’s just say favorite student this session?… favorite this week?… well at least favorite last night!!! Either way… NICK, YOU ROCKED IT!!! Thank you, thank you!!!

Doin’ some last minute prepping’ & packin’…
making some fun trick-or-treat goodie bags for my beginner pottery students tonight!
Lots of candy, toys, goodies, some extra tools, sponges & more!!!

Fun for all… unless you don’t like spiders?!!!

Tonight in my pottery class, we kinda celebrated NATIONAL PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE DAY. Well, it wasn’t actually “cheesecake” but… Christine made these amazing gingersnap cookies with a yummy pumpkin fluff “frosting!” Tasted pretty close to cheesecake… so I’ll call it a day! Thanks Christine!!!!

This past week in one of my pottery classes
we had a “demo-on-demand” request… and so it begins…

By the end of class Tuesday, we had a tableful of bowls… all with some fun alterations & decorations! They’re safely under plastic for a couple days… as I think they “might” just need a little more. Perhaps a bit of stamping??? You know, more is more!!!

After showing my pottery class how to make “bowls-on-purpose,” we switched to doing some fun alterations & surface decoration techniques. I kinda feel like the wheel makes nice round things for you… but then YOU need to do something to it to make it YOURS!!! So I showed them a few things to play with!!!

Bowl #1 – Plain… this is how all of the bowls started out!

Bowl #2 – Four Fluted Edges

Bowl #3 – and if four were nice, maybe Eight Fluted Edges is better?!

Bowl #4 – a One-Inch Flared Flange of a rim

Bowl #5 – and if one-inch was nice… maybe a Three-Inch Flared Flange would be better?!

Bowl #6 – combined a Flared Flange with some Four Fluted Edges

Bowl #7 – two sharp indentations that will eventually be a good place for a Basket Handle.

Bowl #8 – a Split Rim that has been pinched back together in eight places

Bowl #9 – a Split Rim dented in at four places

Bowl #10 – a Split Rim dented in & dented out… four in & four out.

Bowl #11 – a little dragonscaling tool indented on the bottom

After some fun bowl alterations… I also introduced using colored slips as a decorative option. Basically adding a layer of colored clay of a change of color, or for a textural accent inside the bowl. I did my demos with white slip to accentuate the thick slip textures.

Bowl #12 – thick white slip with a Spiral dragged through to reveal the clay body contrast.

Bowl #13 – thick white slip with bands dragged through

Bowl #14 – thick white slip with some decorative Chattering for a cool pattern

Bowl #15 – an ombre’ blend of black & white slips then a finger tip Squiggle through it all.

This past Tuesday in my Beginning Wheel class, we tackled making “bowls on purpose, instead of cylinders gone bad.” So I showed them the basics of how to get a nice smooth curve inside their bowls. And then while they practiced, I made “a few” more! Just one bag of clay… getting ready for Part Two of the night’s “not-so-basic-bowl” demo!!!

Last night in class, my Beginning Wheel students tackled trimming & pulling handles… making their first MUGS of the new session! Not too shabby for their second class, right???!