And apparently THIS is something new?… I guess the class last night thought it was a good idea to dry their clay in front of a fan??? Too bad it was still there this morning with the fan still going!!!! My campers would never let this happen! Just sayin’…

Well, we’re finishing up another week of Wheelthrowing Summer Camp… and what better way than by having the kids clean-up after themselves… and after some of the adults too! Once again they decided to push the reclaim clay through the grid & wash down the bucket.

Something I’ve NEVER seen an adult student do…
and never with such a cute face involved!!!

Trimming off the ribbons from this bowl thrown with marbled clay. I love trimming with my DiamondCore Tools … especially when shaving off the outer “skin” of the blurred clay to reveal the stark contrast of the marbled clay inside. Looks like it’s MARBLED MONDAY… spinning & trimming on my wheel!

After summer camp today, I putz’d around in my studio for awhile trying to catch up on a few “projects” that have been hanging out for quite awhile now. One of them was to pull out my latest batch of reclaimed clay & put it on a large plaster bat so it can start to dry. Goopey-gloppy fun… and a lot of FREE CLAY!!! Do you see the not-so-hidden surprise???!

Well, it’s the last day of April… and the last day for Monthly Handmade Chain Challenge entries! As I’ve been working hard in the studio lately… I saw some “inspiration” right in front of me on my pegboard. So I decided to make this month’s handmade chain out of the wire twist ties that all of my clay comes in from Continental Clay!

And what’s the perfect pendant for a clay-bag-twist-tie-necklace?…
well, a miniature bag of clay with its own twist tie of course!!!

#2021chainchallenge – #handmadechain – #chainlinks2021

When we last visited this class demo project, I had thrown these silly little spiky things off-the-hump in class as part of a “challenge”… thanks Christine!

Since then, I started to make pinch pots with the extra clay at the bottom… creating some SPOONS!!! I may have left the clay dry up a smidge too much, as the pinch pot clay was a bit harder to move around than expected.

But after a little “persuasion” the spoons started coming together nicely. I got them “mostly” formed, but then decided to let them sit & stiffen up a little bit more before finishing them.

A beautiful swirl of marbled clay! A small dessert plate by one of my students who has been playing with marbled colored clays! Nice swirl Katie!

Another example of cool marbled clay after trimming! Lots of layers of colored clay all mixed together!!! Works well as long as all of your clay bodies have the same shrinkage rate!

Another marbled clay class demo… this time with white porcelain & green-stained porcelain! Looking a little blurry after throwing, but as I trimmed the interior & exterior “skin” away you can see the layers & marbled effects. Trimming with my DiamondCore Tools made it easier with their T2 Arc Trimming Tool that has a great curved blade to get inside with ease… worked outside too!

Did some trimming of my marbled clay pieces from class last week. When you’re done throwing, the outer skin is all kinda blurred from the clays mixing & blending while throwing. But when you trim off the exterior surface, the crisp marbled effect reveals itself in striking ways!