This week was a combination of Wheelthrowing & Handbuilding. We work on wheelthrowing for the first couple days, and then switch to handbuilding on Thursday. Friday is reserved for glazing of their wheelthrown pieces, as well as finishing & slip painting of their handbuilt pieces.

But first… it’s the messy fun of WHEELTHROWING!!!
And many of them are excited to finally have a chance… as they need to be at least 8-years old to take a Wheelthrowing Camp at Lillstreet. Some of them have “waited” to be old enough to come take the wheel for a spin!

And then on Tuesday after camp… THIS happened…
This year all of our campers’ tools & clay were stored separately in Ziplock bags to keep everything safe. And then we roll this cart back & forth to class & storage afterwards. Imagine my surprise as I was turning the corner after camp… and three of the wheels popped off the cart!!! Good grief. Always something exciting to keep you on your toes!

On Thursday, we switched to handbuilding… so we had to have separate & dedicated slip containers for each camper so there would be no “sharing” of tools to contaminate anything. Luckily, I had a camper “volunteer” to fill the containers with slip for me!

So we worked all day Thursday making handbuilt dinnerware pieces & parts. A lot of making slabs by hand, draping them into Chinet plates as molds… and then “maybe”… just “maybe” a little of my stamping addiction may have rubbed off on them?!

Then on Friday they started painting their dinnerware sets with colored slips as they would be glazed with clear glaze the week after camp by one of our Lillstreet Monitors.

And as always… I keep encouraging the kids to do their fair share of the clean-up. And if that includes pushing all of the reclaim clay scraps through the grid, and then wiping it off, so be it. Someone’s got to do it, right?!

We started camp this week with the usual introductions and discussion of our class projects. For FIRE, FORGE & FEAST, we have a LOT to get done in a short amount of time. So I need all of my campers to stay focused & engaged in the process. We do a lot of handbuilding in this camp… so there’s a LOT of scoring & slipping to be done.

And to make it one step tougher for them… I threw them a curve-ball by telling them that they needed to design their entire dinnerware set based on a Famous Artist. Somehow incorporating their style, imagery, color palette or characters into their pieces! So we started the class off with some Flash Cards of famous artworks by Famous Artists. Enough for them to get some ideas of who they might want to focus on for their project. Little did they know that the Flash Cards “Game” would continue all week long until they had them ALL memorized!!!

We started glazing everything on Wednesday. For the kids’ terra cotta projects, we use a once-fired color glaze so we can get their pieces back on Friday. The colors are limited, but easy to use… and they will be darker, shiny & more colorful after firing.

As the glazing continued, I set up a fun splatter glazing station for Graham in the hallway. We set out his pieces on a large piece of paper and let him go! Of course he had a full understanding of Gary’s Summer Camp Rule #3… whatever mess you make, you WILL be cleaning up! So he did a great job of keeping his splatters as contained as possible!

And one of the best parts… as he made painter’s palette platters…
he now had JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTER’S PALETTE SPLATTER PLATTERS!!! Say that three times fast!

And while the splattering was going on… Eve had a little more time to make a few more side plates. Such attention-to-detail… as I would expect… as this was her THIRD TIME taking my Fire, Forge & Feast Camp!!!

As the first kiln was unloaded, we got their ceramic handles for the cutlery. They figured out which ones fit best, and then I epoxied them together. Not quite as much fun as previous years when we actually made them in the Metalsmithing Department of Lillstreet… but these desperate times called for desperate measures!

So their dinnerware sets started coming out of the kiln… still warm, bit now more colorful. We started setting them out as a set to see how everything goes together. Unfortuantely, not everything made it out of the kiln… as some of it was put into a “second kiln” that wasn’t quite done by the end of camp on Friday. So the kids had to come back later to pick-up their stuff… and I didn’t quite get photos of everything!

So here are some of the FIRE, FORGE & FEAST dinnerware sets…
based on the work & style of some Famous Artists!!!

ALEXANDER CALDER –

Including a “plate-elevating-stand” based on the Calder sculpture downtown called “The Flamingo.”

JACKSON POLLOCK –
Every kids favorite when they realize the get to splatter everything!!!

JIM DAVIS – cartoonist of the “Garfield” series
Complete with chopsticks as whiskers!!!

WASSILY KANDINSKY –

PIET MONDRIAN –

VINCENT VAN GOGH –

WALT DISNEY –

HAYAO MIYAZAKI – Artist & director of the anime’ classic “Spirited Away.”

And then potluck on Friday… the FEAST portion of Fire, Forge & Feast.
It was questionable as to whether or not we could pull-off a potluck feast during Covid Pandemic times. No such things as bringing homemade treats in any more. No more sharing. No more finger-licking!!!

Luckily, we did it… all with pre-packaged, individual serving foods that the kids brought in. We separated them onto plates so everyone had one of each. They then went back to their “assigned” safe work space to feast! I did have to tell them there would be no sharing, exchanging or passing around of their treats. Once on their plate – it was theirs!!! And it was one of the weirdest conglomerations of potluck food that Lillstreet has EVER seen!!!

At the end of camp, we did a little Pop Quiz on the famous artists that they had been memorizing all week long. They had over fifty artists on the list… so I had them write them all down as I showed the flash cards. And here’s the kicker… they needed first AND last names!!! I told them that spelling didn’t matter unless there was a tie.

After fifty-some flash cards, Jo was the big winner!!!
Just missed one… just one FIRST NAME!!!
Had the last name… but forgot Anish.

So the BIG PRIZE was the demo plate I had made earlier in the week!
Looks like Jo was pretty pleased with the prize!!!
And I was more than pleased with another successful week of Summer Camp!!!

After finishing their Robert Indiana inspired letter sculptures… and sending them off to the kiln!… my Summer Campers re-focused to start their new larger sculptures! We discussed options & ideas with a little bit of brainstorming. Then we covered how were going to build them… discussing process, materials and options. We all worked together to finalize our plans, and the kids drew pictures of their sculptures.

We then started building the basic structure & inner armatures for their sculptures. I helped them with the structure and power tools… but it was their creativity & inspiration that led the way. After building their armatures, they set-off on filling them in & bulking them out with lots of newspaper & masking tape. Their challenge was make it look as much like their “intended” sculpture with minimal supplies. A lot of crumpling, folding & taping in place.

After filling the armatures, we started covering the newspaper with a thin layer of plaster gauze. Think “industrial-strength” paper mache! It’s the same stuff they make plaster casts out of at the hospitals. A bit of water, several sheets of plaster gauze… and they were able to add an outer layer to their sculptures.

After a full day of working with plaster gauze, we were ready to clean-up for the day! Yes… back to Gary’s Summer Camp Rule #3... “Whatever mess you make, you WILL be cleaning up!” So they did… on their hands & knees scrubbing the floor to get the plaster dust & splatters off the floor before it dried too much.

The next day, we came back to the plaster gauze… this time adding details, patterns & textures. The goal was to make them as “realistic” as they could… and easily identifiable for what their plan was. The perfect chance to bring their sculpture to life!

After building the sculptures and getting them to dry overnight, we started painting them with acrylic paints. So much fun to see them really come to life in technicolor!!! And a little bit of color-theory… as they only go primary colors to work with. They needed to mix & blend their own special colors!

On Friday, while the paint dried on their sculptures, we pulled together a quick Gallery Show Opening Reception. I had them make a large poster for the door to our classroom, as well as small “art gallery tags” to put next to their artworks. Basically just a show for their parents as they came to pick-up their kids. Tough to do while keeping the quantity of people in our classroom down to a small number. But we did it… and the kids LOVED showing off their work in their ART GALLARY (sp)!!!

So here are most of the final sculptures in our ART GALLARY (sp)…

AVERY – Desert Cactus Flower

CICI – Red Fox

FELIX – Koala Bear

ORI – Quilted Bed

TALI – Magical Pegasus

JANE – Colorful Peacock

Another great week… kicking off what will hopefully be a great Summer at Lillstreet. This whole panademic crisis has been so weird for all of us… it just felt AMAZING to be back teaching the kids in-person. Hoping that the whole summer goes by without incident at Lillstreet. I think this week went smoothly… and we all learned a LOT about how to teach a class of kids during these times of Covid-19.

A LOT OF HAND DISINFECTANT & MASKS!!!

So now we’re two weeks into the Fall Session of classes at Lillstreet… but I’m still not over Summer!!! Nor am I over the fun we had a Summer Camp this year. Sure, it was a little “different” for all of us to keep everyone safe, masked & socially-distant. But still… it was just a little bit of “normal” that just made me happy every day! I mean, who doesn’t love working with kids, teaching life lessons & making art every day?!

So… every day this coming week I’ll be featuring another week of Summer Camp 2020! Get ready for a week full of Summer Camp Flashbacks… so much fun!

I LOVE SUMMER CAMP!!!

Here’s your chance to come play in the mud with me!!! New for the Fall session starting next week… I’ll be teaching Advanced Wheelthrowing on Thursday mornings from 10:00am-1:00pm. There’s still a couple openings… even though my Beginning & Intermediate Wheel classes are already booked.

Check out www.lillstreet.com to register for Fall classes!!!

So, after several month of pandemic, quarantines & sheltering-in-place… many of my students from last Winter’s LILLSTREET THROWDOWN have returned to Lillstreet to finish up the projects they were making during my challenges & contest class. One of the best challenges in class was for the students to build a set of Matryoshka Dolls… with a minimum of five pieces that all nestled in on each other. Most of them got their pieces made… but no one had a chance to glaze them as COVID-19 set-in just at the end of class. No time to finish. No time to glaze. Our final THROWDOWN class happened just days before the lockdown!

But now we’re back at Lillstreet… and students have returned to pick-up where they left off. There’s been a lot of glazing going on. Including Christine who won the Matryoshka Challenge… as well as the overall trophy!

Here’s a look at her Matryoshka set that recently came out of the glaze kiln!

Her set was based on the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class itself, and some of the bigger challenges along the way! BRILLIANT!!!

Her largest jar was an homage to… well, err… little embarrassing… ME!!!
It’s not everyday you get memorialized in underglaze!!! Complete with my tie-dyed t-shirt & black gym shorts!!

The other exterior sides of the largest jar hosted shelves of pots and the names of everyone in class! Again, honoring the class, the fun , and everyone who took part in Season Three of THE GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN!

Oh… but then it opens up…

And then the second layer was based on the challenge when they all had to make Flower Bricks. Self-enclosed vases with a bunch of holes on the top for the flower stems to go through!

Inside the Flower Brick was a set of Matching Mugs… another one of our weekly class challenges. They were told to incorporate four different patterns & designs on the mugs… stripes, polka dots, paisley and plaid!

Inside the matching mugs, is a set of matching bowls. Another one of our class challenges! Smaller than the actual bowls made for the challenge… but they had to fit inside, right?!

And oh, but wait there’s more…
Inside the stacked bowls was a miniature ceramic OREO cookie!!!

YES!!!… Christine actually made a clay OREO cookie!!!
Okay, so “maybe” I have a bit of an OREO addiction going on.
Perhaps we ate far too many of them during class?!
But good to see that they’re getting honored in Christine’s set!!!

And there it is!!! Well worth the wait!!!
Even though the pandemic is still carrying on… it does feel great to be back at Lillstreet teaching & working. So good to see students back in classes, and campers back at Summer Camp. Happy that we are all making the best of the situation… with more than enough social-distancing, sanitizing, procedures and structural changes within Lillstreet.

Happy to see Christine’s finished set of Matryoshka nesting dolls!
A BRILLIANT concept!!! Thank you Christine for sharing your talents!

After the mug “trading-exchanging-stealing” game at my final Intermediate Wheelthrowing class… I came away with these two beauties! One faceted, twisted & textured mug by Christi, and a carved texture & shino swirl mug by Stephanie! Both wonderful additions to my ever-overflowing Mug Collection!

As part of the final class of my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class at Lillstreet, I had challenged them to bring two matching mugs for a fun “trading-exchanging-stealing” game! I made my mugs for the game… although I couldn’t make it to the final class as I was at ART IN THE GARDEN.

My substitute teacher Chelsea covered the class, and they all decided to trade the mugs – but to mix up the pairs so people would get two different mugs by two different people! Looks like Stephanie got one of mine!!!

Here’s a flashback mug for MUGSHOT MONDAY! Molly’s sister has had this mug for years… apparently loving it… and they just figured it out that it’s one of mine. Molly coordinates all of the Summer Camps at Lillstreet… and this was a little bit of “small worlds colliding” when this came together.

And then Molly bought a new mug for herself too…
not to be one-upped by her sister!!!

We’re all enjoying the natural light coming through the skylights in the new & improved Glaze Room at Lillstreet Art Center. So much larger now so there’s plenty of room to keep your distance… and get some glazing done at the same time! Plus, now we have a sign-up for a glazing time-slot system to keep the traffic down, time to clean & sanitize… and to keep everyone safe & socially-distant!