A very thoughtful gift from one of my pottery students this week… a handmade soy candle… and a second one as part of our “not-so-basic-bowls” exchange game!!! Extra special as Kelsey made the bowl and the candle… and it won’t be stolen from the freezer!!!

Thank you Kelsey… see you when the next session starts up again!

Huge thanks to Kristen for making brownies!!!
Too bad they didn’t last very long… but I’m still totally diggin’ the powdered sugar “shadows” on the plate after the brownies were gone!!! burp…

Last night in my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we celebrated the end of another class session with a fun “trading-exchanging-stealing” game with matching soup crocks. One of them even came with an onion & the recipe for French Onion Soup!!!

Now a quick “liner glaze” on the insides of the mugs. These still need a bit of cleaning up… as there are a few drips around the rims. Plus, I want a nice, clean even line of glaze right around the rim. None of this willy-nilly randomness for me!!!

Started glazing some mugs today… adding some tenmoku glaze into the stamped impressions. These mugs will be in my next soda kiln firing, so they don’t need a lot of glaze. The soda kiln atmosphere will take care of “glazing” the exterior!

After the Shamrock Shuffle, Tracy and I wandered around Millennium Park taking in the beautiful day. Too many people all around Cloudgate… so I was more enchanted by these floating nuggets of blown glass by Christine Tarkowksi. A perfect way to enjoy today’s blue skies… with a little art along the way!!!

And it was a beautiful day to kick it off here in Chicago… clear blue skies, warmer temperatures & a few Spring flowers finally making their much-awaited appearance!

A beautiful day for Shamrock Shuffling through downtown Chicago this morning… a perfect way to kick-off the first day of Spring with my friends!!! Sure, some people were running the race… while others (like me) were “shuffling” and enjoying the sights along the way for a fun photo tour of the downtown route!

While I was in St. Louis this week, my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class went on without me… thanks to my sub Lisa… and my pre-determined wheelthrowing challenges! This week they had to make their own version of a “perfect” seven-inch cylinder! Not realizing until later that they would also have to recreate that same “perfect” vase proportionately at 5-inches tall… and them again at 3-inches tall… and one more time at 9-inches! Looks like they killed it!!!

And I can’t wait to see them next week… when they need to bring back all four vases with “matching” surface decoration using SLIP TRAILING as their primary technique!

A dreary morning downtown… but always cool to see Buckingham Fountain before they turn it in for the summer. All of the pipes & valves are exposed as they prep it for the season ahead.