This past Monday night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we discussed how to throw with a bit more “intention”… and how to approach throwing “matching sets.” I offered up a few options… as one of their class challenges is to bring two “matching” bowls to our final class as few weeks from now! One of my best suggestions is to throw a few extras that are “similar” and then decorate & trim them to make them match even more… and then pick the two that match the best!!! I went with four… hoping to get two that match!!!

Throwing some enclosed forms today in the studio… working on something new!!! Sure, I coulda done one prototype to see if it works… but no, I’m more of an “all in” kinda guy!!! Fingers crossed…. more to come!

It was a pretty productive morning today in the studio. Seems like I always start with my “default”… making more MUGS!!! You know they’re my favorite thing to make!

So tonight is the last class for my SURFACE DECORATION students. Sure, we could sit back, relax & potluck… but instead I told them we have one more surface decoration technique to tackle!!! MISHIMA.

I told them to bring some leatherhard cylinders to class as part of their homework. And I told them that I would NOT be providing pre-made cylinders for them to practice on this time!!!

Okay… so maybe I lied.

Prior to last week’s SURFACE DECORATION class, I threw these three large platters and added a band of black underglaze. The goal was to get them to a nice stiff leatherhard stage to be ready for our surface decoration project demo of the week. Yep… you guessed it… SGRAFFITO!!!

For my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we tackled throwing larger pieces last week… by stacking two pieces together and then re-throwing through the attachment. There’s always a little apprehensive moment when you hold your breath & flip one over to connect them together. Hoping they fit… hoping they don’t squish… hoping they don’t flop! Luckily, the demo went pretty well… as I connected the two pieces but didn’t worry too much about the finished look as I knew there “might just” be some stamping in the near future!!!

Finally getting around to throwing some small “drip plates” for my newest batch of berry bowls. Made enough to fill my whole wedging table!!! Hoping to speed these through trimming, drying, firing, glazing & firing in time to have them at my upcoming art fairs… coming up in just two weeks!!! Yikes!!!

Looks like I’ve got some trimming to do…

A quick throwing session… some quick bowls before teaching class tonight!!! Always good to “squeeze in” some production work before heading downstairs to play with my Beginner’s!!!

So I saw a random post on Instagram over the weekend about a basic potter’s challenge… for newbies & more advanced throwers. One pound of clay, perfect cylinders, four inches tall with just four pulls. Not a bad way to start the morning…