Tuesday at the Studio

It was Elaine's birthday yesterday (notice balloon!) so a bunch of us gathered at Clayworks to celebrate. It was a wonderful thing that Elaine decided to hang out with us on her birthday. Fun, fun times. I even brought my new mug that I won in a raffle (see previous post) and it was fun to show it to folks.

Amy Sanders taught this last class of the semester in Ron's absence. She has such an 'eye' for how things look and gave lots of insight about what to do with the surface of pots and things to think of as one is making a piece. Things to consider like- where the eye goes when looking at a piece and how not to make a pot so busy that one gets lost looking at it. She said it way better than that; I learned much. Above are some of her recent demo pots.

Here she's showing a handbuilt planter to some of us.

A bit hard to see in this picture, but the planter has holes for drainage in the sides. It's really a gorgeous pot.

Late in the day, John came and did what we students have been busy doing: taking EVERYTHING off of his shelf(ves?) as the shelves will be cleaned in the upcoming weeks. So, it's a bit of a pain to do this and I've already heard stories of what friends have found on their studio shelf. :)

I finally finished this jar. Spent some time trying to decide just what kind of knob to put on it. This is my second jug. Will make many more in the days to come.

Here's some of the gang that gathered to celebrate Elaine's birthday. From L- R: Angela (in half of pic, Susan, Minke, Becky, and you guessed it, Elaine! We've figured out how to keep working with clay and talk at the same time (for the most part).

These days, I'm also getting ready for a trip to Bolivia, to see my extended family on my father's side. I leave towards the end of the month. hope to find some pottery there or at least learn about symbols and/or find some stencils or something I can use in making or decorating my future work. Only thing I'm not looking forward to is the weather. It's supposed to be cold--- and it's winter there, and high altitude too. 12,000 plus ft. and a bit less depending on where I am. Still all this is way worth it to see my family there. It's been way too long.

Before I leave towards the end of the month, I have much to do. Tonight I was thinking about how refreshing it is to read blogs from potter friends. I am learning so much. Thanks to all you pottery blogger friends.