I’m curious to know - what was the first piece of pottery you made? This is a picture of mine sitting on the railing of my deck. I found it the other day when I was trying to clear a shelf in my studio. I made it probably 34 years ago. A local college offered a 4 part class with yoga and raku. I’d never done either so everything was a challenge. Luckily we made pinch pots but I was hooked and started taking classes at the local community college. After I finished this piece I filled it with wax to use as a candle. What was your first piece? Do you still have it? If you can, please post a picture of it.

April is here (almost), and with it comes that little shift that gets us outside again, into the light, into the fresh air, and a bit closer to everything around us. Nature is waking up, and so is our creativity! 🌸✨ This month, we are taking our inspiration straight from nature. And yes, that includes pretty much everything you can think of. Flowers, plants, and organic shapes 🌼 Animals and all kinds of creatures 🐾 Landscapes, textures, and the little details you suddenly start noticing 🌊 Your task is to create something that reflects what you see or feel when you step outside. Or even what you think you see when you stare at a cloud for a little too long 👀 It can be anything you like. A sculpture. A functional piece. Something painted, carved, printed, or fully experimental. 🎨 There are no limits here, only your interpretation. 🌱 One important rule Your piece should be created in April. Not something you pull out of your shelf thinking, “well, this kind of fits.” Nice try! 😄 Just like spring creates something new, this is your moment to do the same. You can also challenge yourself a little. Try something you have not done before. Go for that idea that once felt a bit too tricky. See what happens if you just give it a go. And of course, you are very welcome to share your ideas, your process, your progress, or even those moments where things are not quite working yet. That is all part of it, and honestly where the good stuff happens. Let’s inspire each other, learn from each other, and maybe surprise ourselves along the way! 💛 By the end of the month, we will hopefully have a whole collection of pieces that show just how much creativity this season can spark. Now go out, look around, and then get your hands dirty! 🌿✨

I’m borrowing this from @Ronda Bynon, who said during the call that this community feels like CREATIVITY on steroids, and honestly, she is absolutely right.🤪 What was supposed to be a one hour recap of NCECA Detroit with @Clare Fuchs, @Renée Glasgow, and @Ona Papageorgiou beautifully guided by @Jeanette Stevens, turned into almost two hours full of inspiration, information, and excitement.✨🤸🏻‍♂️ Now I already feel like there is no way I will be able to experience everything Baltimore has to offer. Not just NCECA itself, but also meeting all of you, which will be such an important and special part of this journey, along with hopefully some successful pottery shopping 😄 It was a wonderful call.🥰 We recorded the part that focused on NCECA, and we will upload it to YouTube as an unlisted video. You will be able to watch it either here or via the link, whatever works best for you. Jeanette will share the link in Discord as soon as it is ready.🚀 Thank you all for your participation, your curiosity, your input, and the constant support you give each other. This community is something really special.💝 I truly love it 💛

We’ve got something really special lined up… and I’m so excited about this one 💛 Ona, Clare and Renee — who have just been to NCECA Detroit 2026 — are coming together to share their experiences, tips, and everything they learned from their visit. What they’ve already shared has been incredible, so having them all in one place is going to be amazing 🙌 📅 Friday 10th April⏰ 8pm (GMT) (Suza will add this to the calendar so it shows in your own time zone 👍) We’ll focus the first part of the call on NCECA (this part will be recorded), and then we’ll stop the recording and carry on with our usual relaxed chat afterwards for anyone who wants to stay on. ✨ Just to say — this week (Friday 3rd April) is still our normal weekly call, so we’ll have our usual catch-up then 💛 🌍 A little reminder about NCECA 2027… I'm currently organising a group trip to NCECA 2027 in Baltimore, with the hope that as many of us as possible can meet in person — which would be incredible ✨ Most of you here may already know about it, but if you’re new or haven’t had a chance to look yet… 👉 We have a dedicated Discord community where we’re planning everything together — travel, accommodation, meetups, swaps, and making sure we get the absolute most out of the experience. Discord works a little differently to Skool — it’s less about posts and more about organised conversations, so we can keep all the trip planning in one place. If you’re even slightly thinking about coming, or just want to follow along and see what’s involved, you’d be so welcome to join us 🤍(I’ve shared the invite link — just shout if you need it again) https://discord.gg/xpEdNPUHM Honestly… I just love how all of this is coming together — online friendships turning into real-life meetups is something really special. Can’t wait to see you Friday , will be doing my best to join💛

Even though I haven’t stepped into my studio for the past four days and haven’t spent much time on pottery lately, I still had a little win today 😊 Amazon delivered these fantastic lids, and of course I had to test them on my cups. And guess what? One of them fits perfectly. No leaks at all. I basically turned a regular cup into a to go cup, and I am way happier about that than I probably should be 😄 Now I can take my cappuccino with me in the car tomorrow. Small things, big joy.🤩 Have any of you tried these lids that press into the cup with a kind of rubber seal? I think you can also get them on Temu. I would love to hear your experiences. Also, if I wanted to throw cups specifically for these kinds of lids, is there anything I should keep in mind? Any tips or things to watch out for? I will be back in the studio starting tomorrow, finally. But tonight I will spend my evening catching up on your videos. I have a lot to watch 👀✨