Another groovy floral display going on at Lillstreet! This wonderful trumpet vine is growing up the side of the building right on the corner. I do love how the flower clusters seem to dangle & float away from the brick wall.

After finishing their terra cotta sculptures on Tuesday, we started our larger sculptures on Wednesday. We had a big brainstorming discussion about what they wanted to make. And then we discussed how we were going to make them and that they needed a good pose, posture & environment. We discussed the armature they were each going to need inside their sculptures to get them to stand up and hold their shapes!

So we started with some “individual consultations” and I helped each of them build their initial armature… as it required some power tools & construction materials. After I helped them build the armature, they started “fleshing it out” with newspaper & masking tape. Trying to give their sculptures some shape & bulk. So much fun to see their vision coming together… and their blind-faith that it will all work out in the end. They each had a plan… and I’m just there to help facilitate their vision!!!

Once they had filled it out with newspaper & tape, we started adding a layer of plaster gauze over the whole sculpture. Plaster gauze is pretty much like industrial-strength paper mache’!!! It’s actually the same material they make casts out of at the hospital. You take a sheet of plaster gauze, dip it in the water and then place it on the sculpture… rubbing it together to spread the plaster. Layer after layer, sheet after sheet… eventually they covered their sculptures. And you could see it all coming together even more!

After we finished the first layer of gauze, we did a bit of clean-up… again Rule #3… “whatever mess you make, you will be cleaning up.” And they did!!! Gotta get the drips & drops of water cleaned up before someone slips on it, and before the plaster dries on the floor!

After lunch, we finished up the plastering… and added a few more details to their pieces. Textures, patterns & details to bring their pieces to life! Always fun to see the creativity & energy at Summer Camp! These kids have unbridled enthusiasm… and I’m just there to foster it and encourage them to channel that towards their artwork!!!

When they finished all of their plaster details on Thursday, we put them in front of the blowing fans so they could dry completely overnight.

On Friday, we started the day by painting the sculptures with acrylic paint. They only get the primary color, black, white & brown. All of the other colors they need to mix to get what they want… a bit of color theory along the way!

When they finished painting their sculptures, we cleaned up our workspaces and started turning our classroom into their Art Gallery… or maybe ART GALLARY??? Two of the kids made a sign for us to post on the door to welcome our guests!

After the kids had finished painting their sculptures, and making their signs, we were ready for their “Gallery Opening”… which really just meant showing off all of their work for their parents as they came to pick up their kids! The kids were so proud of their achievements… and the parents were impressed by all they had made in such a short time!

Thanks to this group of great kids for making our first week of Summer Camp at Lillstreet a success!!! It felt so great to be back at camp… I LOVE SUMMER CAMP!!! And especially for making it feel like we’ve taken one big step towards a little bit of normalcy… masks included!!!

More Summer Camp to come… I have three more weeks scheduled!!!

Last week was our first week back at Summer Camp!!! Lillstreet Art Center is finally re-opened for classes & camps… and it was so fun & exciting to have “people” back in the building. The energy. The creativity. The smiling faces… or well, at least I assume they were smiling behind their masks?! Anyway… summer camp was AMAZING as always. I had a wonderful time with a wonderful group of kids!!!!

So I taught my new Intermediate Wheelthrowing class yesterday in the new wheelthrowing room at Lillstreet Art Center. I was stupified by the amount of natural light coming in through the windows!!! My studio has no window access so it was all new to me. It was kind of amazing… huge windows along the wall above the wheels… then I realized that I typically teach night classes… and that might be part of it too?!

Tonight kicks-off my return to teaching at Lillstreet Art Center!!!
They’ve re-opened and I’m so excited to see people back at the wheel, getting messy & sloppy, having fun in the clay!!! It’s been far too long… and it’s going to be great to have the Lillstreet Community coming back together again… even if it is with new rules, guidelines and a LOT of social-distancing. Yep, that’s going to be a new challenge for all of us!

SO EXCITED!!!… Summer Camp starts today!!!

After far too many months of quarantine, sheltering-in-place and e-learning… it’s so exciting that we’re ready to teach kids again!!! My camp this week is a Sculpture Camp… sadly no field trip to the Art Institute this year, but we’ll make up for it with a lot of art history, clay projects & amazing sculptures made by the kids!!! So exciting to be starting up again… with a LOT of proper precautions in place. Fewer camps, fewer campers, lots of new guidelines, more cleaning and a LOT of social distancing!!!

Looks like the new Wheelthrowing Classroom is all ready to go… which is great because Lillstreet Art Center officially re-opens tomorrow with a lot of improvements & remodeling done for better social distancing to keep all of the students & teachers safe… and we’re all VERY eager to get back to making muddy messes on the wheels!!!

So if a handbuilding classroom suddenly gets a couple pottery wheels… is it still called a HANDBUILDING room?! More changes happening at Lillstreet as we prepare for more social-distancing when we re-open soon!

So good to see all of these hand sanitizer dispensers “popping up” in every classroom at Lillstreet Art Center as we prepare to re-open in a couple weeks!!! So excited to go back, to start teaching again, to see everyone again… and to see that we’re going to be following all of the guidelines to keep everyone safe!!!

And here’s a view of the “original” Wheel C classroom… now spaced out with “alternating” wheels for “social-distancing” when we get back to pottery classes at Lillstreet. It’s so weird to see so few wheels in there… I’m accustomed to teaching in there with eighteen wheels all going at the same time!!! It’s going to take some getting used to this… and I hope we make it back to the full eighteen wheels & eighteen students some time real soon?!