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!

So today was my first official day of Summer Camp this year! This week I’ve got wheelthrowing camps for morning & afternoons. They all get dirty & messy, but while they’re having fun in the mud… they also need to clean up their mess! So today I had two of them already on their hands & knees cleaning the floor. It’s all part of the process, right?!

Who even knew that the shelves “under” the wedging tables needed to be cleaned?… but they did!

So much fun… I LOVE Summer Camp!

It’s another Thursday… so another SURFACE DECORATION class tonight. And this is getting to be a little bit of a “habit”… but I made a bunch of trimmed & leatherhard bowls for my students to carve through tonight. Can’t wait to see what kind of magic they create this evening! Not so bad for throwing these bowls late last night, huh?!

Last night in my ADVANCED WHEELTHROWING class, we tackled throwing LARGE!!! One of my students requested the demo for a large flower pot. When I asked Kelly to estimate just “how large” she was thinking… and she said about the size of a five-gallon bucket. So that was my demo-challenge… and I think we accomplished it pretty well. I still need to do a bit of detailing, stamping & trimming… and throw a water tray to go underneath.

Now it’s Kelly’s turn… CHALLENGE ON!!!

Last night I had the pleasure of doing a little ZOOM studio tour & demonstration for the Glenview Art League. They all “stopped by” for some chatting & banter…. then a few demos of throwing on the wheel, followed by some stamping & surface decoration… and more discussion. Hopefully they all had fun… I know I did. After all, it was all about ME!!!… ha!

Such weird times when we’re still showing our studios, artwork & process through a small, non-tactile computer screen. I so look forward to getting back to in-person face-to-face fun! Keep getting those vaccines so we can get some herd immunity and get back to more normal days!

Who says the wheel only makes circular pots?!
Not me.

Here’s a quick glimpse at some of my new “handbuilt-wheelthrown-combo” mugs… fresh from the soda kiln! I did a couple demos for my classes this session that “sparked” my need to make more of these textured mugs! Sure, some of them are a bit larger than maybe they should be… sometimes a class demo can get a little out of control. But I am loving how these turned out… so I’m sure I’ll be making another batch or five!

So then THIS happened…
Last night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class I was doing a demo on throwing-off-the-hump. And then Christine threw out a challenge… and you know how I love a good challenge!!! More to come…

Once I had finished my class demos with marbled clay, my students got all colorful and started throwing their own marbled pieces! So much fun… as it’s kinda magical when the colors appear!!!

Just for fun, I followed up the first marbled clay demo with a simple two-color piece. Kinda looks right for the season… as the color reminded me of a yummy Shamrock Shake!!!