As part of my demo last night, I also wiped away my large platter piece. It’s just clay… no colored slip. The color difference is because the unwaxed unprotected areas stay light, whereas the wet etching areas get dark. I was getting some good texture difference in areas… but didn’t quite finish. So I’ll be coming back to it after this weekend’s art fair. The more I wipe away, the greater the difference between layers will be… so as usual… MORE IS MORE!

After the wax layer had cured & hardened, we wiped away the background with a wet sponge. If there was colored slip there, that got wiped away… anything that was “protected“ by the wax stayed in place. As they continued to wipe away with cold water, their images & patterns began to reveal themselves. And if you keep wiping more & more, you start to create two surface layers… the top one being your original layer, and the second layer a smidge lower. It’s that tactile contrast in depths that is really cool. We even used some Q-tips to get into it to create nice crisp edges. When finished, they will bisque & glaze as normal for a cool bowl either a groovy pattern… all done with Water Etching!

In class last night, my SURFACE DECORATION class was focused on Water Etching as their technique of the week. I provided them with bone dry bowls to play with… some covered with colored slip. They started by painting their designs onto their bowls with wax resist. The areas that are not “protected” by the wax will be “etched” or wiped away later… after the wax has had time to cure.

Another “thick slip” demo this week… chattering while spinning to create some groovy textures & patterns. I usually do this demo on bowls… but it was kinda fun to do it a little larger this time on a platter! Can’t wait to see how the glaze pools & puddles in all the right places!

After my class demo, my SURFACE DECORATION students went off to start carving on their own pots. So much fun to see them using different techniques & tools to create their own special carvings, patterns & textures!

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…

Last night in my Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing class we tackled the right way to make BOWLS. And yes, I stressed throwing “bowls on purpose, and not cylinders gone bad!” So I did a quick demo for them… answering questions & showing them how to get a nice smooth curve inside their bowls, with no beginners ledges or indents!

And yes… I explained & demo’d my LOVE for a good spiral !!!

And then after the first bowl… I sent them back to their wheels so they could start practicing. Meanwhile, I continued to throw MORE bowls… a full bag of clay’s worth… while still helping & answering questions along the way!

After I had thrown all of my demo bowls… we were back to helping students make their own bowls. BOWLS. BOWLS . BOWLS!!! Towards the end of the class, I had my students regroup a my demo wheel so we could do some alterations & decorations to the bowls… making each one of them special & unique with some simple tricks & techniques. Turning each one into a “not-so-basic bowl.”

Bowl #1 – The Plain One. The first bowl… the standard for all of the other bowls to follow!

Bowl #2 – Two Little Flutes… one finger inside, one finger outside, pinch & twist.

Bowl #3 – And if two are cute… eight simple flutes might be cuter?!

Bowl #4 – A Flared out Flange… bent out over a finger on the outside of the bowl.

Bowl #5 – If a little flared flange is cute, maybe a bigger flared flange is even better?

Bowl #6 – Combined a flared flange with four twisted flutes.

Bowl #7 – A split rim… then pinched together in eight places.

Bowl #8 – A split rim indented on two sides with the side of my wooden knife… this one might just become a “basket” with a fun strappy handle up & over the top!

Bowl #9 – Another split rim… indented in four places. No one said a bowl needs to stay round!!!

Bowl #10 – Another split rim… four indented sides… and four “out-dented” sides?! Kind of a lotus-y quatrefoil effect.

After ten bowls, it was time to add a little thick slip into the demo. So we talked about how cool slip is… and that the colored clay can be used for some many applications. That it becomes “part of” your bowl… and it will not melt & run like glaze does. But I like to work with “thick” slip so I can benefit from the thickness & textures it can create.

Bowl #11 – A great spiral. A thick layer of white slip with the end of my wood knife dragged through while the wheel was spinning.

Bowl #12 – Thick slip with some fingerpainting… an index finger squiggled through while spinning on the wheel!

Bowl #13 – Thick slip with dragged-through lines using a rubber rib.

Bowl #14 – Again with my green rubber rib, and some chattering through thick white slip!

Bowl #15 – Ombre’ blend of black & white slips.

Bowl #16 – Another ombre’ blend… and then a spiral dragged through with my wooden knife.

Bowl #17 – Another ombre’ blend also spiraled through, but this time with my finger!

The goal of this demo is multi-faceted. First, I want my students to make nice, well-thrown bowls. Second, I want them to have an arsenal of tricks & techniques to use whenever they want to. Have fun woth your clay, make cool stuff… and if it doesn’t work out, do it again! IT’S JUST CLAY!!!

And for now they’re all up in my studio safely under plastic. Because there’s “a very good chance that there might just be some more detailing” to follow… stay tuned.

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!!!

As seen on the Lillstreet Show-Off Shelves! You may remember these plates from the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class when they were tasked with slip-trialing a set of two dinner plates. These fun dandelion seed pod plates turned out great… as the last time we saw them they were plain bisque. Shannon did a GREAT job glazing these… especially with the labor-intensive task of using wax resist on every seed before dipping in the celadon glaze! Congrats Shannon… it was worth the extra effort!!!

Look art Maya’s MASTERPIECE!!! She’s been in my Intermediate Wheeltrowing class for a couple sessions… entering with a plan to make this wonderful collection of platters for her wall at home. We worked on improving her platter-making techniques, as well as surface decorations & glazing. It was a labor of love for Maya… and now I LOVE IT TOO!!! Well done Maya!!! You’ve outdone yourself!