Big sky. Big clouds. Big photo.

Colorful calico clouds crossed the sky this morning. We went through a couple different colors as the sun came up, and eventually decided to hang out behind the clouds! Dark & moody… pastoral pastels… vibrant colors… golden hues… and then just CLOUDS!!!

Tonight my Beginning Wheelthrowing students tackled trimming, handles, mugs & stamp-making! It was a busy class… and they’ve now completed their first mugs!!! And it’s only Week #2!!! They’re off to a good start.

A few more wall pocket planters making the greenery hang higher! Specially made with some drainage holes for soil & plants… usually I make them without holes for flowers in a vase. Loving how this trio has some cascading vines working their magic. Thanks Patty for sharing your green thumb!

Looks like my coleus cuttings are really taking hold… who knew it was this easy??? Just water! I think I’ve just effectively doubled the number of coleus plants on my front porch!!!

Another quiet morning along the lakefront.
Not a lot of clouds… but the few we had did a wonderful job of making a sunrise splash of color!!!

Another layer of bricks coming off as the kiln cooling continues… encouraged by this new view into the kiln! Especially on this another Mugshot Monday!

Popped the top. Cooling the kiln… getting ready to unload tonight!

Barely a cloud in the sky… just a cool breeze blowing in off the lake along with the waves. A beautifully quiet start to another week.

Uh oh… well THAT doesn’t look so good…

As part of my Sculpture Summer Camp, I like to teach the kids some art history along the way… this time focused on famous sculptors! I made a set of flash cards for some famous sculptures – many of which are in Chicago that the kids might have seen. I also tried to show them at least two pieces by each artist so they weren’t just memorizing one photo… but trying to get them to learn about their style, subject matter and time period. And just to keep them on their toes… there are a few duplicates along the way!

The trick to using flash cards is to make it a game… so at some point, they’re so excited to play a game that they don’t even realize they’re learning stuff at the same time! By the end of the week, most of the kids have memorized all of the following artists… first and last name!!!

Like this game on Friday where I turned it into the classic game of “MEMORY” where they had to match up the cards – finding two cards by the same artist. Keeping safe social distances with a LOT of hand sanitizer along the way!

HOW MANY OF THESE FAMOUS SCULPTORS CAN YOU NAME???
Not the sculpture name, but the actual artist… first & last name!

I must admit I had to Google a few of them myself.
I mean… do you know who made the Venus de Milo???
… and his name is NOT Milo!!!