So yesterday my summer camp kids finished their sculptural flowerpots… and have moved onto their BIG SCULPTURES!!! We’ve built the “armatures” out of cardboard, dowel rods, wire hangers, newspaper and a LOT of masking tape!!! Next, they’ll start covering everything with plaster gauze… kinda like paper mache’ on crack!!!

And as always, we all follow my Summer Camp Rule #3… “If you make a mess, you WILL be cleaning it up.” And apparently that includes spilling water drops from the sink to our classroom across the hall. If you spill it, you gotta clean it up before someone slips.

A splash of color. A smudge of fun.
zColorful glazes on terra cotta… all part of SUMMER CAMP FUN!!!

This week my Summer Camp is SCULPTURE CAMP!!!
On Monday my campers made handbuilt flower pots & water drip trays with sculptural accents. I have slightly younger kids this week… 8-9-10 years old! They glazed their terra cotta pieces yesterday… as they were preparing to start their BIG sculptures when these are finished!

One of my summer campers today made her own potted cactus… guaranteed NOT to die!!! She threw the flowerpot on the wheel, and then handbuilt the cactus. She connected the two & then painted them with colored slips. What a great idea… well done Sophia!

My campers ate lunch on the roof deck at Lillstreet again today… before the rain! I know wheelthrowing might be tough, but it looks like CJ was a little wiped-out! Taking a quick nap instead of eating lunch… guess I wore him out?! At least we know that his face mask can now do double-duty as a sleep mask too!

Another day of Wheelthrowing Camp today… with the kids throwing again on the wheel. Let’s just say that not all of the pots made it safely to the end! Like these sad little pots by Madelyn!

Just a few pots… trimmed, decorated, initialed & “coded” for my campers! Not bad for two days of throwing… as these two trays are just for my morning campers! My afternoon kids have different trays! These will all be bisqued quickly so the kids can glaze their pots on Friday morning!

Today my summer campers trimmed & decorated the pots that they had thrown on Monday & Tuesday… some carving, some stamping, some colored slips. A few campers even went one step further and added handles to make their first mugs!!

Summer Camp has been great so far this week. My campers have been throwing on the wheel, many for the first time ever! Some of them are struggling a bit, while others are killin’ it. But as long as they’re all having fun I think I’ve done my job!!! And from all of the laughter & giggles… I think we’re good!