Morning mosaic time… with a quick glimpse at the bricolage mural on the front of Lillstreet Art Center. With lots of fun “pieces & parts” mixed in throughout… including one very recognizable stamped vase near the bottom corner!

Tomorrow is class registration at Lillstreet Art Center for the Spring session of pottery classes. I will be teaching my usual Intermediate Wheel on Monday nights, Beginning Wheel on Tuesday nights & a once-a-year special Surface Decoration class on Thursday nights. Registration begins at 10:00am… in-person & online. But I will say… that ever since Covid, it seems like registering for a pottery class is pretty tough! My classes will typically fill-up & close in about five minutes! Everyone jokes… but sadly, it’s not very funny… that registration at Lillstreet has become kinda like “The Hunger Games.”

Here’s the online link…. and good luck… www.lillstreet.com

Last night in my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class… it’s Week Two and they just got their “Main Make” Project!!! While they’ll have ongoing challenges, contests & projects weekly… this ongoing project needs to be done & presented for critique & final judging at our last class in Week 10.

Since we’re in the dead of winter… I figured it’s Soup Season! So their challenge is to create a full Soup Service Set. Complete with a lidded soup tureen, tureen plate, ladle, four soup bowls & four soup spoons! That’s a hefty challenge to take on with a strict deadline looming.

And oh, but wait there’s more… you know I LOVE a good theme. And since it’s “Award Season”… our theme for the soup sets is “Academy Award Best Picture” movies. I printed out a bunch of movie posters for them to choose sight-unseen. They just got a little hint of the year it won the award!

They were all very excited about their big THROWDOWN challenge project. And there was a good bit of googling & researching as them began to ponder their theme and how to best approach the project. I can’t wait to see how their projects progress!!!

LILLSTREET HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE is tonight from 5:00pm-8:00pm
I’m in my studio ready to help you with your holiday shopping.
I have plenty of MUGS for everyone. Be sure to stop by!

Lillstreet Art Center
4401 North Ravenswood at Montrose – Studio 205 West… on the second floor
Chicago, Illinois 60640

It looked like it was just going to be gray & gloomy this morning… so I skipped my morning ride and went into the studio instead. But then THIS happened!!! A beautiful urban sunrise from the roof of Lillstreet Art Center!

Such a FANTASTIC group of students this session for my Lillstreet Throwdown class! Hard to believe this was my “season seven” of teaching this fun class! They all did such an amazing job. Always so creative, always focused & willing to take on any challenge I presented them with. They were all forced out their comfort zones… and seriously rose to the occasion! And yet always laughing & encouraging each other. Such great class camaraderie!!! They’re the best… they are the CHAMPIONS!!!

My apologies to Barb in advance… somehow I missed getting a good headshot photo with her ribbons! My bad.

The Final Challenge!!! Earlier in the session I tasked my students to create a full tea set based on a famous Fairy Tale. They had to make a teapot, two cups & saucers, a sugar & a creamer and a tray to hold them all together! That’s a LOT of parts & pieces… and the very first teapot build for most of them!!! Last night was the “Big Reveal” and they came out AMAZING!!! So much creativity & craftsmanship. So proud of them all. I just wish we would have had time to get them all glazed… as we decided for scheduling reasons that bisque-fired was good enough for last night. Huge congrats to them all… and THANKS for playing along with my pottery games!!!

I mean… prize ribbons are nice & all…but a TROPHY is even better! Who doesn’t want to win the Grand Prize Trophy?! Especially a handmade one for my Lillstreet Throwdown class! Tonight was our last class… and one lucky winner went home with glittery trophy tonight!!! More to come…

A lot has been happening around Lillstreet Art Center during the holiday break. Most exciting to many of us… the soda kiln has been torn down & rebuilding will start soon! Very exciting as they’re starting over all the way down to the cement pad with lots of brand new bricks!

Today’s the day!!! My Summer Camp “tour of duty” begins today… and continues through Labor Day! This year I will be doing mostly wheelthrowing camps with the kids, as many of the extra-fun “specialty” camps were not offered this year at Lillstreet. We still have Chess Camp at the very end of summer, but sadly, no super huge sculptures this summer!!! mwah, mwah, mwah…