Always a beautiful stop on a bike ride headed north… and you know I’m always up for a good photo-op. The B’ahai House of Worship in Wilmette is just a few miles north of me on Sheridan Road. Such amazing details & craftsmanship on every surface. I still think it is one of the coolest architectural buildings in the Chicagoland area… even if it does look a bit like an oversized citrus juicer?!

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was all windy & splashy. Today, not so much. It was much quieter along the lakefront this morning with a bit of a haze over the lake. A nice morning ride… albeit except for the flat tire I got halfway through! ugh.

Plenty of clouds & plenty of pretty. It was another beautiful morning to be outside playing along the lakefront today. And it sure does feel like Fall now… crispy & chilly… I even had to pull out the long sleeves & gloves this morning! Yikes!… too soon, too soon!!!

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!!!

After showing my pottery class how to make “bowls-on-purpose,” we switched to doing some fun alterations & surface decoration techniques. I kinda feel like the wheel makes nice round things for you… but then YOU need to do something to it to make it YOURS!!! So I showed them a few things to play with!!!

Bowl #1 – Plain… this is how all of the bowls started out!

Bowl #2 – Four Fluted Edges

Bowl #3 – and if four were nice, maybe Eight Fluted Edges is better?!

Bowl #4 – a One-Inch Flared Flange of a rim

Bowl #5 – and if one-inch was nice… maybe a Three-Inch Flared Flange would be better?!

Bowl #6 – combined a Flared Flange with some Four Fluted Edges

Bowl #7 – two sharp indentations that will eventually be a good place for a Basket Handle.

Bowl #8 – a Split Rim that has been pinched back together in eight places

Bowl #9 – a Split Rim dented in at four places

Bowl #10 – a Split Rim dented in & dented out… four in & four out.

Bowl #11 – a little dragonscaling tool indented on the bottom

After some fun bowl alterations… I also introduced using colored slips as a decorative option. Basically adding a layer of colored clay of a change of color, or for a textural accent inside the bowl. I did my demos with white slip to accentuate the thick slip textures.

Bowl #12 – thick white slip with a Spiral dragged through to reveal the clay body contrast.

Bowl #13 – thick white slip with bands dragged through

Bowl #14 – thick white slip with some decorative Chattering for a cool pattern

Bowl #15 – an ombre’ blend of black & white slips then a finger tip Squiggle through it all.

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!!!

After the weekend’s art fair… and my booth flowers are still looking pretty good!
A little flash of Fall floral in a stamped & soda-fired oval vase!

On a beautifully sunny day, it’s nice to see a little visitor in the garden. I haven’t seen a lot of monarchs this summer… but I’m guessing their migration must be soon?! One quick snack before the arduous journey heading south?! Take your time… and bring your friends.

Celebrating another yummy holiday… late night snacks tonight for NATIONAL HOMEMADE COOKIE DAY!!! Special thanks to Christine for making these yummy pumpkin spice oatmeal chocolate cookies for our pottery class last night!!!

Pretty orange roses in a pretty orange vase!
Stamped & soda-fired little mini vase with some little spray roses…
always fun in my favorite color!!!