My students this past session LOVED challenges.
They asked for them!!! One night challenges. Long-term challenges.
So as part of our “throwing with intention” discussion… and trying to plan ahead and make what you want to make with purpose & intention… I challenged my class to a Masterpiece Challenge. I came to class with some sealed envelopes. And told my class that anyone who wanted to take on the challenge could. No details. No information. Just say yes… and you’re in. Almost everyone signed on.

Then they chose an envelope without knowing the contents.
And then I explained the game. Inside were images from random famous artists. And their challenge was to make a piece that was “inspired by, representative of, influenced by or in some other way similar to” the artist inside their envelope. I tried to choose famous artists who had a very identifiable style.

So they’ve been working on their pieces for a few weeks. Some of them made it to the final class, while others just didn’t quite make it done in time. I know there are a couple pieces still waiting to be fired. But… for the ones that finished, they were SPECTACULAR!!!

RENE’ MAGRITTE as interpreted by Catherine.
The photo doesn’t show it, but… the inside of the lidded jar top is a green apple!!!

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE as interpreted by Taylore.
Pretty literal. Pretty darn amazing!!!

ANDY WARHOL as interpreted by Taylore… double-duty, over-achiever..
From the Warhol “Legs & High Heels” collection…

GEORGE SEURAT as interpreted by Emily.
With s little pointillism with colored stains on Shaner Clear glaze.

FRANK STELLA as interpreted by Ryan.
Three different versions bringing Stella’s work to clay.

WALT DISNEY as interpreted by Stacey.
A wonderful rendition of Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” done as a chip & dip set.
Yes, the dip fits inside her belly!!! Brilliant Stacey!!!

And Melissa’s interpretation of M.C. ESCHER…
her largest and most elaborate pottery piece yet!!! Unfortunately, timing got away from her a bit and Melissa’s is still in the greenware stage, but you can tell it’s going to be AMAZING!!!

Some great patterns & color combinations on these painted tiles that I found
at BoHo on West Illinois Street while downtown this morning.

Might be good inspiration for some new stamps???

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So my Tuesday night class has a new “challenge” this session. They each randomly drew the name of a famous artist out of a bowl and were challenged to create a ceramic piece “inspired by, reminiscent of, similar to, influenced by” or in any other way similar to the work of their famous artist. It’s been so much fun to see how they’ve each embraced the challenge… including this one that Melissa was working on last night.

Can you guess who her famous artist is???

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Here’s to a great year ahead…
and thank you Ceramics Monthly for the continued inspiration!

From my metalsmith friend Amy Taylor,
and host of this weekend’s ART IN THE GARDEN… it’s HER garden…
a little hope & guidance. A prayer for the collaborative process!!!

As the Irish would say:
May the cooling kiln caress you.
May her crack-free glazes bless you.
May the luck of the glue gun enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Collaboration behold you.

Need some visual inspiration?
Need a quick fix of pottery, textures, patterns, tiles and more?!
Or a few more stunning sunrise?!

Click here to find my Pinterest Boards.

With “Art In The Garden” just about a month away, Cory McCrory and I are busy working on a few “Limited Edition” collaboration pieces. Here’s a quick insight (and a few hints) into our visual inspiration… courtesy of Mother Nature!

I want this guy’s life.
I just found these videos online and was instantly mesmerized.
Such a simple concept. Such a wonderful adventure. Such beautiful videos.

Three guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage. All to turn three ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food into three beautiful and hopefully compelling short films by Rick Mereki.

Click here for the short film “Move.”

Click here for the short film “Learn.”

Click here for the short film “Eat.”

Pretty impressive, huh?! Now don’t you want to walk around the world too???