A quick glimpse “before & after” a cone 10 reduction glaze firing…
just in time for this Saturday’s Holiday Home Show.

Here’s a stamped platter leatherhard “before”… and glazed “after.”

And here’s a stamped bowl leatherhard “before”… and glazed “after.”

What a fun weekend hanging out with metalsmith Sarah Chapman at the “One Of A Kind Show.” Followed by a wonderful dinner tonight at our favorite restaurant “Rose Angeli’s.” Lots of good conversation, great food, even better caramel sauce… which we found out now comes in jars to go!!! Uh oh… this could be very, VERY bad news for me!!!

And for the record – I came home with only one jar thanks to Sarah!!!

Mark your calendar for next Saturday, December 14th!!!
I’m throwing another Holiday Home Show at my place. With pots in every room so you can finish off your holiday gift shopping! Plus, I’m replenishing the “Tired Of Shlepping Sale”…
and oh, but wait there’s more, offering 20% off Ceramic Masks & Tiled ClayQuilts!!!

“My Home For The Holidays” Second Home Show
Saturday, December 14th – 10:00am-6:00pm
If you need my home address, just let me know!

The “online” mugs & ornaments are ready to be shipped out.
My first online sale seems to have been a pretty big success, huh?!
It’s kind of exciting to have pieces going out all around the country… places like Kansas, Utah, Maryland, Louisiana, Iowa, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Alabama, Virginia… and of course, Illinois.

Just for the record… I’m still not a fan of shipping my one-of-a-kind pottery. I much prefer the face-to-face interaction with my customers who can touch, fondle, caress and love my textures & pots. But I feel a little guilty about not offering a few pots for the rest of you NOT in the Chicagoland area. So this “online sale” was a special event, not a regular occurrence. Yet with the success of this “online sale”… I’m sure there will be more! I’ll keep you posted.

Tonight I stopped in at the Ceramics Showcase in Evanston. So much fun hanging with a few of “My Talented Friends.” Cory McCrory, Roberta Polfus, Delores Fortuna, Amy Higgason & Mary Dye, Glad I got there when I did, as Delores was running really late and I got to “save the day” by helping her unload & get her space set-up! If you’re looking for some nice pottery this weekend, be sure to stop by Evanston and say “hi” to my friends!

Here’s a quick peek at what I came home with from the Evanston Ceramic Showcase…
wonderful goodies from my friends Cory Mccrory & Delores Fortuna.
I love having Talented Friends!!!

A wonderful tufted & textured goblet by Cory McCrory…

A whimsical, dotted mug by Cory McCrory…

A little party blackbird ornament by Cory McCrory…

And a beautiful dinner plate by Delores Fortuna.
It was actually a “thank you gift” from Delores for helping her out this evening. As she said, it was one of the worst days ever for her… lots of problems, conflicts & personal crises… capped off with a flat tire as she was driving in from Galena.

So there she was, arriving in Evanston “after” the show had already started! Luckily I was there – ready & willing to help. Trying to quickly get her shelving & pots into the room so she could get set up. It wasn’t until I was taking a couple extra plank shelves back out to her van that I ran into a little trouble.. err, well ran into a shelf… literally!!! The plank shelf that I was carrying out was apparently longer “taller” than the door frame I was trying to go through. The plank hit the door frame and stopped… unfortunately, I didn’t stop. Wham!!! I walked right into the plank. Ouch. But I was still trying to get Delores all set up, so I didn’t really think too much about it until I felt a little bit of swelling. It wasn’t until I got home and looked in the mirror that I noticed I might be getting a little shiner!!! Yep… took one for the team!!!

But I digress, back to pottery…
My new Delores plate is a great “partner” to this other Delores Fortuna plate
that I’ve loved using for years! Whoo-hoo… now I have TWO!!!

Tis’ the season… with a lot of mugs & ornaments to pack up today!!!

Just one more “Fan” and we hit FOURTEEN HUNDRED!!!
Woo-Whoo will it be???

Click here for Fire When Ready Pottery on Facebook… and then hit LIKE.

I stopped by the “One Of A Kind Show” last night to help my friend Sarah Chapman.
Her booth is packed full of beautiful pieces for the four-day art fair at the Merchandise Mart.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. Four days of wonderful art.

This is just a sneak preview… be sure to stop by this weekend and see everything for yourself! You’ll be glad you did…

Less than two hours until the opening of Winter WonderFest.
Lots of lights, lots of crazy themed trees, and a LOTS of people coming soon!!!
And we’re almost done… just a little more glitter…

So I’ve been busy this week setting up Winter WonderFest at Navy Pier.
It seemed slightly ironic that this showed up today on www.HuffingtonPost.com…

More than a few artists have proved that macrophotography has merits beyond simply magnifying very small things. It can also capture aesthetically beautiful images lurking beyond our usual visual perception, whether they’re hiding inside a meteorite or on the wing of a dragonfly… or inside falling snow.

Just in time for winter and the onslaught of December snowstorms, Russian photographer Alexey Kljatov has devised a clever way to bring the wonder of macrophotography to the minuscule world of snowflakes. Using a homemade rig comprised of a working camera lens, a wooden board, some screws and old camera parts, Kljatov captures the breathtaking intricacies of snow, six-sided symmetry and all.

The wide range of shapes Kljatov manages to document certainly support the claim that no two snowflakes are alike. And while the tiny crystalline sculptures appear too perfect to believe, the dedicated photographer is able provide detailed instructions in both English and Russian for artists who wish to replicate his process. In honor of the winter wonderlands to come, feast your eyes on the delicate artworks hiding inside each snow.

NOTE: If you’re wondering about the seemingly hairy backgrounds behind these snowflakes, another image on Kljatov’s website reveals that some photographs are taken just as the snowflakes fall onto a carpet.

Click here for more of Alexey Kljatov’s incredible photographs.