This week was a combination of Wheelthrowing & Handbuilding. We work on wheelthrowing for the first couple days, and then switch to handbuilding on Thursday. Friday is reserved for glazing of their wheelthrown pieces, as well as finishing & slip painting of their handbuilt pieces.

But first… it’s the messy fun of WHEELTHROWING!!!
And many of them are excited to finally have a chance… as they need to be at least 8-years old to take a Wheelthrowing Camp at Lillstreet. Some of them have “waited” to be old enough to come take the wheel for a spin!

And then on Tuesday after camp… THIS happened…
This year all of our campers’ tools & clay were stored separately in Ziplock bags to keep everything safe. And then we roll this cart back & forth to class & storage afterwards. Imagine my surprise as I was turning the corner after camp… and three of the wheels popped off the cart!!! Good grief. Always something exciting to keep you on your toes!

On Thursday, we switched to handbuilding… so we had to have separate & dedicated slip containers for each camper so there would be no “sharing” of tools to contaminate anything. Luckily, I had a camper “volunteer” to fill the containers with slip for me!

So we worked all day Thursday making handbuilt dinnerware pieces & parts. A lot of making slabs by hand, draping them into Chinet plates as molds… and then “maybe”… just “maybe” a little of my stamping addiction may have rubbed off on them?!

Then on Friday they started painting their dinnerware sets with colored slips as they would be glazed with clear glaze the week after camp by one of our Lillstreet Monitors.

And as always… I keep encouraging the kids to do their fair share of the clean-up. And if that includes pushing all of the reclaim clay scraps through the grid, and then wiping it off, so be it. Someone’s got to do it, right?!

Throwing some quick rounded cylinders that will “grow” into pumpkins as they move through the process! I made a few different sizes… including some smaller ones, as smaller is sometimes cuter! And who doesn’t like a “cute” pumpkin???

So now we’re two weeks into the Fall Session of classes at Lillstreet… but I’m still not over Summer!!! Nor am I over the fun we had a Summer Camp this year. Sure, it was a little “different” for all of us to keep everyone safe, masked & socially-distant. But still… it was just a little bit of “normal” that just made me happy every day! I mean, who doesn’t love working with kids, teaching life lessons & making art every day?!

So… every day this coming week I’ll be featuring another week of Summer Camp 2020! Get ready for a week full of Summer Camp Flashbacks… so much fun!

I LOVE SUMMER CAMP!!!

Thrown & stamped all in one day. I LOVE when that happens! A quick batch of spoon rests on Friday-Funday… where a LOT of the day was spent outside playing on my bike!!!

For class tonight I did a couple demos of throwing plates & platters. For this dinner plate I channeled my inner Steven Showalter… trying out some of his amazing textural slip work! Thanks Steven for being such a great teacher & sharing so much online. Love your work, your techniques & your willingness to share! I just payed it forward!!

Be sure to follow Steven on Instagram – @stevenshowalterpottery

Thanks to those of you who have purchased mugs online or at my two art fairs this summer, I need to make MORE MUGS!!! Oh shucks… it’s a shame that they’re my FAVORITE thing to make!!!

Here’s your chance to come play in the mud with me!!! New for the Fall session starting next week… I’ll be teaching Advanced Wheelthrowing on Thursday mornings from 10:00am-1:00pm. There’s still a couple openings… even though my Beginning & Intermediate Wheel classes are already booked.

Check out www.lillstreet.com to register for Fall classes!!!

Well, apparently today was “small plate day”!!! Lots of bats. Lots of small plates. Just getting one step closer to ART IN THE GARDEN… still working on my collaboration project with my “cohort” Cory McCrory!

I’m working on my part of the collaboration project I’m doing with my pal Cory McCrory for ART IN THE GARDEN. We’re just three weeks away so it’s time to get things going in high gear! Gotta get my part done… as I would hate to be the one who doesn’t fulfill my part of the collaboration!!!

So I’ve been stamping & details another set of bowls… getting one step closer…

Bowl #1 –

Bowl #2 –

Bowls #3 –

Bowl #4 –

Bowl #5 –

Bowl #6 –

More to come as I keep working on my part of the collaboration!
This is just a start… and little bit of a “teaser”!!!

This morning with my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we tackled how to throw good plates & platters. A dinner with a smoothly curved flange, and a larger platter with a flared out rim. One with a nice spiral, the other with concentric circles just to mix it up a bit!!!