Once the demo bowls were detailed, I continued stamping!
And tackled the latest batch of cylinders destined to become mugs!
Now that they’re stamped, next up is trimming, then handles, then slip, then drying.

So last night was my “basic bowl” demonstration for my wheel throwing class!
We were working on making each bowl different and unique. After class, I brought them
all upstairs to my studio so that I could do a little more work on them. So today after camp,
I spent some time refining & stamping the bowl samples. It will be fun to show my students
how they’ve all been transformed seemingly “overnight.”

This first bowl has a flared out rim… plain & flat until you add some stamped fun!

This second one has the same flared rim, but with the addition of fluted curves. A simple
ring of stamps keeps the gently undulation of the rim intact without overpowering it.

This third bowl had a simple, solid layer of white slip inside. Kinda plain & boring.
But a quick textured rim makes all the difference. One stamp… again, and again, and again!

One of my students asked about a “squared-off” bowl form, so I took the split rim and
literally pulled out the corners to create a square-ish bowl. But it seemed a little predictable.
So I decided to highlight two opposing sides as a “canvas” for some fun stamping,
and changed the split rim on those same sides!

With a wider flanged rim, I originally though I was going to stamp the whole thing.
But then I thought “hey, I do that all the time.” So I forced myself to try something a
little different. Nice… but I’m not quite sure if I like it or not?

So there it is, the demo behind the demo. The “magic” that occurs in my studio after class
ends. The bowls are still wrapped overnight and waiting to be trimmed and finished. I may
actually add some more “fun” to the bowls before they done and ready for the bisque kiln.

This morning, my wheelthrowing campers trimmed & finished their first stoneware pots.
And look… surprisingly, they were also stamping them!                                  Go figure…

Last night’s class demonstration was plates & platters. My beginners are progressing
quite nicely… cylinders, bowls, mugs… and now plates! I explained to them that plates
are fairly easy to throw, and that the drying & trimming of them is the hard part.
In class I threw two plates. But of course, I can’t leave a plate plain…
so tonight I stamped them up!

The class demo four-pound plate…

And now for the six-pound platter…

Plus, we have new clay at Lillstreet Art Center. For years we’ve had the same selections
of stoneware, B-Clay and porcelain. We’re now trying something new from Continental Clay.
It’s Stoneware with Ochre… which from what we’ve seen turns out to be a dark chocolate
brown after firing in a cone 10 reduction kiln. This is my first time trying the new clay…
hence the slight “greenish” hue in the clay. It was fun to throw with… although the color
was a little off-putting.

I love it when patterns, textures, slips & glazes all come together!
Just a few more “teaser textures” that jut came out of my soda kiln yesterday!!!

After finishing the slab vases with some colored slip accents,
it was time to make another “batch” of something. I was feeling a little less than inspired,
so I decided to make one of my favorites. No, not mugs… but ovals.

This time they’re slightly smaller – not so much a casserole, but more of a bud vase or
tchotchke keeper! I was pretty pleased with today’s “production” mode. Throwing them all,
stamping them all and ovaling them all in one afternoon! Okay, so I “pushed it” a bit.
The ovals were a little wetter than I would like them to be… in fact, I had one casualty while
stamping when the clay was to wet, stuck to the stamp & wouldn’t release! It ripped instead!

They’re wrapped up overnight and tomorrow I’ll add the bottoms, as well as some
colored slip accents! Finish these off… and then it’s another batch of… something?!

With my next soda kiln less than two weeks away, it’s time to start making some of the taller
pieces that will go on the top shelves… and follow the curve of the roof quite nicely. These
large slab vases are a lot of fun to make with different textures on each side of each vase.

Now that they’re all stamped and ready to start drying, I just need to add some colored
slip details on them. Good thing Flat Stanley stopped by to help!

Yep, my first grade niece Taylor read one of the “Flat Stanley” books and is now watching
Stanley travel around. I received Flat Stanley in the mail yesterday and have about a week
to capture his travels and exploits around the city. I thought it only fitting that Flat Stanley’s
first stop would have to be the studio where Taylor loves to play in the mud!
Apparently Flat Stanley like to play in the mud too!

So tonight while I was in the studio, I checked the bowls we threw last night
during my Beginning Wheel class demo. They were protected under plastic
and drying slowly. Luckily, with a little patience, they were ready to stamp a
few details into a couple of them. If you want to compare them to the original,
check the blog post from yesterday… you’ll the difference a little stamping can do!!!

Bowl #2 – Flanged… and now stamped!

Bowl #3 – Flanged, Fluted & Flopped… and now stamped!

Bowl #4 – Wide Flange… and now stamped!

Bowl #6 – Divided, Pinched, Squared… and now stamped!
Once this one gets trimmed, I’m also planning on adding some little “balls” on top
of the four pinch points. I’m not really a fan of the “pinch marks.” So I think they’ll
need some “creative camouflage.”

Tonight I stamped…and stamped… and stamped some more!
With twenty-four mug cylinders to stamp,  I started stamping and thought you might
like to see some them… side by side! Along with the stamp that did all the hard work!!!

Next up?… trimming, handles and some colored flashing slips.
Looks like tomorrow might need to be another productive day?!!!

Tonight in class we tackled two of my favorite things… MUGS & STAMPS!!!
My students trimmed their cylinders from last week, pulled handles and attached
them to make their first mugs of the session. Pretty good since it’s just Week #3.

And then, when their mugs were completed, we sat down for an interactive,
and somewhat chatty, demonstration on making clay stamps. We discussed how to
make them, fire them and use them. I tried to explain how they need to think about
their designs in reverse. How the high points on the stamps make the low points in
the impressions. And visa versa. How letters and symbols need to be carved in reverse.
That they just need to make a LOT of stamps and find the ones they love to use…
and then make more! Once these are fired, my class will have their own stamps to use!