Another week filled with a bunch of crazy 10-12 year olds learning to throw on the wheel.
Getting all gloppy & gloopy… with plenty of giggling too!

Last night with my Beginning Wheel class, we focused on making bowls on purpose… and NOT cylinders gone bad! After my first demo, I made “a few more” bowls while they practiced their bowls. With the plan of a fun Part Two demo to come… altering & decorating!!!

Part Two of last night’s class demo was altering & decorating the bowls… making them “not-so-basic bowls!!! Encouraging my beginning students to make their bowls a bit more personal, to add some style & most importantly to just have MORE FUN with their clay!!! No one ever said that bowls need to stay plain & round, right?!

A little quick throwing this morning… too rainy to bike! So instead I made a bunch of mini vases that I’m hoping to get into my soda kiln firing in a week and a half. Ten pieces thrown before 10:00am… now I gotta keep them moving along through the process… next up? STAMPING.

So last week I did another “quick” throwing session making a bunch of basic cylinders. I had a plan… and I knew that some of my students would have fun “playing” with them!

Tonight in class with my Advanced Beginners, I challenged them to make a single placesetting in one class. Dinner plate. Salad plate. Cereal bowl. Serving bowl. Tumbler. And not just throw them, but also think about how they can “throw with intention” to make their set “go together” visually. Several of them embraced the challenge… while we still have surface decoration, trimming, finishing & glazing to go. But I think my demo is off to a good start!

A little early morning throwing. Just a few quick cylinders with a plan in mind.
Another 10×10 challenge… more than ten pieces thrown before 10:00am!!!

For tonight’s SURFACE DECORATION class, I told my students to have some leatherhard pieces ready to play with. Looks like “someone”… me… might not have done their homework on time. Any wagers on whether I can get these freshly-thrown pieces to leatherhard in time for class??? You know I love a good challenge!!!

Thrown ten spoon rests before 10:00am!!! Just replenishing some of the “basics” for the kick-off of art fair season… which is coming a lot faster than expected.

We’re nearing the end of the Winter Session at Lillstreet, and I love when it all starts to “click” with my beginners, the proverbial “light bulb” goes off… and they start making some really great pots with intention. Like last night when Nick made this great platter… his biggest piece EVER!!!