Tonight we worked on making basic bowls. It’s Week Six… and it was time
for my beginners to learn how to make real bowls – and not a cylinder gone bad!
So we started out with my demo of throwing basic bowls. With a nice smooth
curve inside, instead of a flat bottom & corners! So everyone made bowls…
but anyone can make a bowl. So we went a little further and worked on some
basic decoration techniques to make their bowls a little more special!

I started by quickly throwing eight bowls… all quick, all round, all plain.
And then we started playing… flanges & stamping, and dragging spirals through slip!

Chattering a rib through slip , and pressing in a “fish scale” tool to make a flower!

Then fluting the rim in four places, and a layer of black slip waiting for some sgraffito!

Then folding out the rim & stamping which I did a little after class when the bowls were
a little drier… as well as chattering done by one of my beginners Hanna!

Tonight was another pottery class… week four of our ten-week session.
We tackled basic glazing & throwing plates. Nothing too exciting…
at least by comparison!!!

I brought left-over Valentine’s candy – conversation hearts & Hershey’s Kisses.
Only to be out-done once again by Cam, one of my beginning students who is also
a pastry chef. He can “show me up” anytime!!! I’m pleased to eat… tonight it was
Fudge Sour Cream Habañero Brownies with Sal-De-Mer Caramel Sauce!

Now I’ve frequently said that I have the palate of a four-year old.
Nothing is every too rich, too sweet or too chocolately. Pile on the frosting!!!
But these were “adult” brownies!!! And they were incredible. The first bite was
“just a brownie.” But then, the flavor started to build. Each bite brought on more
flavors – and by the end of the brownie, my mouth was singing!!!
I think it sang about five times!… although I lost track of how many I had?!

Tonight we finally made it back to pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center.
After a week’s hiatus for the snowstorm, it felt kind of odd to be back again.
Especially with glaciers still covering the majority of Ravenswood in front.
It kind of felt like we were “re-starting” the session. We had only had two classes
before the snowstorm week. So tonight was out third class after missing a week.
It was great to see everyone tonight… all except Eric, pastry chef #3?!

And speaking of pastry chefs… my beginning students Cam & Paul both brought
snacks tonight. Okay, so maybe our not-so-subtle discussions last week about how
they “can bring snacks anytime they want” and that we don’t mind broken cookies,
poorly frosted cupcakes or other day-old snacks didn’t hurt our cause?! Apparently,
Paul works for the Chicago Greater Food Depository and teaches culinary classes
to people trying to turn their lives around and/or make a career change. So tonight
we all benefited from his students’ efforts – Maple Brown Sugar Shortcakes and
White Chocolate Chunk Brownie Cookies. Yum. And then Cam brought in some of
the best cupcakes ever!! Get this… Balsamic Cherry Fudge Cupcakes with Cream
Cheese Frosting and Caramelized Cherries in Balsamic Reduction. Oh my!!!
Not a single one left by the end of class! Hopefully we all gushed enough to encourage
them both to bring more any time soon!!! Sadly, no recipes were shared?!
And Eric, if you read this… you’ve got some catching up to do!!!

Another great bonus tonight… my friend, potter & former student Pam stopped by
and “somehow” became my second TA?! Which was fine by me! Jess, my first assistant,
was busy tonight doing a slide show as she’s one of Lillstreet’s Artists In Residence.
Pam was hanging out, saw someone struggling a bit and she stepped right up.
She was a great addition to my class – and I was glad to have her back in the mix!
I even told Karen, my boss, “slightly-jokingly” that she should stay on as my 2nd TA.
Jess can be my “technical TA” and Pam can be my “cheerleader TA.”
How fun would that be for me?!!!… oh wait… maybe it was just Pam “working off”
her Balsamic Cherry Fudge Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramelized
Cherries in Balsamic Reduction?!!!

Well, Lillstreet Art Center is officially open again, and classes are all back
on schedule and ready to go. So if you’re in my class, I’ll see you tomorrow night!

But be prepared… the parking spaces on Ravenswood have not been plowed yet.
It’s been a week since the big snowstorm, plus the new snow we got today!
The street is passable, however, less than half of the spaces are open for parking.
I would suggest public transportation, walking… or even snow-shoes!!!

And just so you know… our classes will be pushed back a week to account for our
“snow day” last week. So we all missed a week of fun… but you didn’t miss a class!
The session will be pushed back a week. So the new “last day to work wet” will be
Friday, March 18th. And our last class will be on Tuesday, March 22nd.

And don’t forget (especially my three pastry chefs)…
that last class is also our Potluck, Critique and Mug Exchange!
…did I mention potluck?!

For my pottery students who may be wondering, Lillstreet Art Center has officially
canceled all classes for Wednesday & Thursday. The building will however be open
with limited open-studio hours. I would call them before you trudge over there.
I hear that Ravenswood is still not plowed?!

I hope you’re all staying warm, enjoying the snow… and dreaming of playing in the mud!
Soon…

Tonight was the first night of my new session of pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center.
And it’s always exciting to get a new “crop” of students excited to get started in clay.
Imagine my excitement when I found out that three, yes, count them three…
are working PASTRY CHEFS. I’m hoping for some really good snacks this session!
I brought Oreo’s tonight… I’m sure they can do better than that.

The Winter session of clay classes at Lillstreet Art Center begin next week!
Just when the holidays are over… and everyone is looking for something fun to do!!!

My wheelthrowing class for beginners & advanced-beginners starts one week from tonight!
Don’t worry if you’ve never touched clay… or did, but it was back in high school…
We start each session with introductions to find out where we all stand and determine the
10-week syllabus based on who’s in the class. We always cover the basics, from centering
to cylinders, onto bowls and other forms… but I do take requests!

Tuesday evenings beginning January 11th from 7:00pm-10:00pm.
Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60640 – (773) 769-4226

I just found out tonight that there are only three spaces left. Sign up soon – don’t be left out!
Call or stop by Lillstreet Art Center – or register for class online: www.lillstreet.com

Tonight is the Lillstreet Holiday Open House Party from 6:00-10:00pm
to kick-off the holiday shopping season. The studios are all decked out and
stocked up for the eager shoppers! Including mine…

The group of artists who share the spaces in Studio 205 West at Lillstreet Art Center
will be open for holiday shopping every weekend through Christmas! So stop by for our
scheduled hours, or throughout the week if one of the artists happens to be around working.
Saturdays 10:00am-6:00pm and Sundays 10:00am-5:00pm.
Even if I’m not in the studio, any of the other studio artists can help you with your transaction.

Tonight was a special night for my Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing
class at Lillstreet Art Center. My friend Amy Higgason from the Northwoods was
passing through Chicago and stopped by for a fun evening of dinner, conversation…
and a wonderful demonstration of her fantastic decoration techniques for my class!

Amy was once a Lillstreet Studio Artist back at the original location. She has since
moved on to the Wisconsin Northwoods – and set herself up as Pigeon Road Pottery.
I was up there a couple weeks ago for her Fall Art Tour – and it was great to have her
stop by my class! What a great opportunity for them to see another great potter at work
and sharing all of her surface decoration “secrets.”

After some brief introductions, Amy started to work on a couple simple bowls
that I had thrown on Sunday. I made five different bowls for Amy and I to work on.
The demonstration for my students was to see Amy’s work & techniques… but also
to see how a little surface decoration can dramatically alter the look of a pot.
And how five very similar bowls can end up completely different with her techniques,
my techniques… or our combined efforts! Amy then proceeded to start carve, chat and
discuss her path as a ceramic artist. Amy and I have similar backgrounds – both as
graphic designers who have shunned the corporate life. She worked on decorating her
bowls as she answered questions and demonstrated different techniques… and laughed!

The evening went by very fast. By the end of the evening, Amy had carved three
different bowls… and I had stamped one bowl in my newer “puffy stamps” style… as well
as one bowl that we worked together on as a collaboration piece! During her time, I also
worked with my students on their own throwing, and demonstrated how to throw a plate.

By the end of the evening, we had completed five dramatically different bowls. All of which
were very much the same at the start of the evening. I have a few small finishing touches
to do on them tomorrow before they can all start drying. I think my students enjoyed
our “surprise” special guest artist. Plus, I think Karen Avery’s Intermediate Wheelthrowing
Class enjoyed it too… as they came in and joined the Amy party! And special thanks to one of
my former students Chuck (and his wife) who brought in a tray of the best homemade
chocolate chip cookies ever!!!… and they were still warm! – Chuck, you rock!!!

I know that one of my students, Pam, enjoyed the night with Amy. They met
just a couple weeks ago during the Northwoods Tour – and Pam has become one of
Amy’s greatest fans VERY quickly!!!… and has already started her own
Pigeon Road Pottery Collection!

Big surprise for my Tuesday night Wheelthrowing class… shh, don’t tell anyone…
but my good friend & fantastic potter Amy Higgason will be stopping by
for a “surprise” visit this coming Tuesday to show off some of her incredible
surface decoration techniques. We may even get the chance to do some tag-team
demos to show off why her work has been referred to as “more feathery” and my
work as “more footprinty.” She’ll be passing through Chicago on Tuesday, and I
persuaded her to stick around for an evening with my beginners!

If you want to see more of Amy’s work, scroll back a few posts to see more about
my trip up to the Wisconsin Northwoods. Amy is THAT incredible potter!!!
My class is so lucky to see her demo… and they don’t even know it yet!