Sunday, April 12, 2009

Got the Blues... Berries, That Is!

What a great time we had at the April Fruit of the Month workshop! Phil put some blues CDs on the stereo and we got busy workin' and swayin' to the Blues-Berries! You can see each of the individual pieces in the photos at the bottom of this post. Photo (left to right) - Front row: Barb, Patty, Rhonda; Middle Row: Lindy (vase), Sherrie, Katie, Lisa, Stacy (vase); Back Row: Minerva, Konnie (vase), Sara, Chris (vase), Dorothy.


We had plenty of "blueberry" dots for everyone (though a little short on the light mauve that many sought out), and once again everyone came up with a totally unique design of their own. It never ceases to amaze me! We even had one piece that was identified as "Not a Blueberry"! (I'll let you guess which one it is!)

This bowl is one that I made for a sample - just a clear circle with blueberry dots on it. I did a contour fuse and slumped the bumpy side down in the mold.

The bottom side of the bowl shows the contours of the dots.












And, oh boy, did we enjoy desserts: a gorgeous blueberry cobbler provided by Chris, and a cheesecake with glazed blueberries on top that I'd made. Too bad I didn't think to take a photo of the desserts. Phil took all the leftovers to work with him the next day - nothing went to "waist" here! And, after all was said and done, Phil went around the studio and ate the "research" blueberries that were left on the small dishes on the tables.

Since everyone had sketched out their designs and picked out a mold for their project, I was able to map out where everything went in the kilns to keep it all sorted and identified. There were 3 or 4 pieces that were constructed entirely of dots - and yet each person had picked a different color background, so they were still identifiably different from one another. They came out beautifully, and I think everyone is thrilled with them!

Here are the photos of the "Before" and "After" blueberry dishes. Just click on the images to see them in a larger format. Enjoy! Try to not get blueberry juice on everything!

c@