Last night in my pottery class, my Beginners tackled trimming, pulling & attaching handles… thus finishing their first mugs. And it’s only Week Two!!

More then ten wheelthrown mug cylinders before 10:00am. A productive morning in the studio.

Last night was the kick-off of my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class!! With a great new group of potters ready to take on my silly games, races, projects & challenges!

Last night they started off throwing one “perfectly” mug shaped cylinder in their own style. Only to be followed up by a challenge to throw more cylinders that MATCHED… but not theirs, they had to match everyone else’s!!! Matching pots are tough enough, let alone matching someone else’s shape & style!!! Lots of pots, lots of fun!!! And we’re just getting started…

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to work with some artsy kids at Vernon Hills High School. What I thought was going to be a workshop mostly about altering & decorating bowls, turned into a much more “interactive” wheelthrowing class as many of them had never really thrown before?! Of course I encouraged & prodded them “just a little” to get the to lighten up, loosen up & get muddy in the clay with me.

I taught them some beginning basics… and then coached them along the way as I continued to throw two dozen bowls. At the end of the workshop, we started altering rims, adding some creative flair & blowing kid’s minds!!! I loved seeing their looks of shock & awe as I altered some of the bowls. They loved it… and I had a great time molding clay & molding young minds!

Spent the day with a bunch of great kids at Vernon Hills High School today… making a bunch of bowls, chatting about pottery & trying to inspire them to play with their clay more. After I threw two bags of clay… two dozen bowls… we talked some more and then started altering rims & decorating bowls. Great fun with a good number of “wow” moments… until the school bell rang & we ran out of time!!! Luckily, all of my bowls are staying there so that the students get to finish decorating, trimming & glazing them… and keep their new bowls!!!

10×10 : No sunrise ride today… what with the rain outside & my bike at the shop! So I started my day early in the studio instead. Cranking out another ten Christmas trees before 10:00 am. Is there such a thing as too many trees?… I think not.

By the end of class Tuesday, we had a tableful of bowls… all with some fun alterations & decorations! They’re safely under plastic for a couple days… as I think they “might” just need a little more. Perhaps a bit of stamping??? You know, more is more!!!

This past Tuesday in my Beginning Wheel class, we tackled making “bowls on purpose, instead of cylinders gone bad.” So I showed them the basics of how to get a nice smooth curve inside their bowls. And then while they practiced, I made “a few” more! Just one bag of clay… getting ready for Part Two of the night’s “not-so-basic-bowl” demo!!!

So while I’ve been so busy making, glazing & firing my recent soda kiln… I’ve also been working on THIS for awhile!!! Another project… some holiday fun with muddy terra cotta! I know it’s just the beginning making forty cylinders. All of which will transform in this year’s newest addition to The Ghouls Collection! One more “ghoul” to add to the collection of Halloween themed collectibles!

More to come…

And while I was already throwing off-the-hump… I decided I should make another batch of mini’s while I was at it. I mean, who doesn’t want more cutie-patooties?!