One thing you’ll learn pretty quickly in Mr. DW’s Art Room is this: we don’t just “make projects.” We experiment. We test. We pay attention.

Today’s studio time was all about small pinch pots and big curiosity.

I threw together a handful of simple pinch forms not masterpieces, not portfolio pieces, just honest little clay vessels meant to gather information. I’ve been testing out a series of raku glazes that I plan to fire in a microwave kiln (because yes, sometimes art class feels like a controlled science experiment).

These pieces are really just test tiles in disguise.

I was watching for:

Thin pinch spots and how they respond to heat

Where glaze naturally pools

How surface texture affects the final finish

What happens when control starts to give way to chaos


Ceramics has a way of humbling you. You can plan all you want, but once fire gets involved, it becomes a collaboration. That’s the magic. That’s the learning.

In this room, we talk a lot about process over perfection. When you approach clay like a lab, mistakes stop being failures and start becoming data. Observe. Adjust. Refire. Repeat.

This experimentation is leading toward something bigger. I’m developing a hands-on workshop for the 2026 WyAEA Spring Conference in Laramie (March 21–22), with a special Friday night session at the museum on the 20th. The goal? To help educators and artists embrace that sweet spot between structure and spontaneity—between teaching and tinkering.

Because in Mr. DW’s Art Room, art and science aren’t opposites.

They’re partners in curiosity. 🔥🏺