I’m pretty sure it’s not pear season in Chicago… but I was still happy to find some on sale at the grocery store! Just waiting for them to ripen… hoping that it’s not all on the same day!!!

I hate when I come home and find broken flowers in my front garden… presumably from someone, or someone’s kids, or someone’s dog…. trouncing through the flowers I’m trying to grow out there. Luckily, I have plenty of mini vases to give them a little “extra life” after being broken off the plant.

So after Tuesday night’s “bowls-bowls-bowls” demo… I took my class demo bowls up to my studio. And there “just might have been” a bit more stamping & detailing done tonight. Just making my not-so-basic bowls even more not-so-basic-er!!! Allegedly…

Single flowers in a cutie-patootie little vase for another Floral Friday! Thanks for sharing Tiffany!

Some soda-fired fun for another TEXTURE TUESDAY! No glaze on the outside, except some tenmoku inlaid in the stamped impressions. All of the color & shine comes from some flashing slips & the soda-firing process itself!!!

Love this time of the year when everything is in bloom. Especially the lilac bushes with their fragrance wafting around bringing childhood flashbacks.

So proud of Taylor… who definitely paid attention to my class demo & listened to my mantra “More Is More” again. Look at this amazing plate that she decorated with my stamps during class this week. I’ve already warned her… it’s a slippery slope. But have a GREAT time stamping!!! With great results like this… we want to see MORE!!!

After my stamping class demo, I encouraged my students to use some of my handmade stamps on their own pieces. I suggested they start by”testing” the stamps on a small slab, and then move onto their own bowls, plates & vases. They seemed to have so much fun playing with my stamps… and they made some really cool patterns on their pottery!

This week in my SURFACE DECORATION class, the topic of the week was “Stamping & Sprigging”… mostly stamping! It was fun to show-off a bit, and demonstrate how I make my pots… and then encourage them to “borrow” the technique and find a way to “flip it” to make it an option in their own styles!!!

Doing a bit more stamping tonight in the studio. Just “practicing” to get ready for tomorrow night’s Surface Decoration class… as the topic is going to be stamping & sprigging. Wanted to “brush up” on my stamping before I head in to show-off tomorrow night!!!