I submitted my income taxes late last night.
Feels good to have it done… thanks to TurboTax.
However… I paid a HUGE chunk of change to the IRS… thanks to no one.
I kinda expected it… but it was a LOT more than usual!!!
I’m trying to get over it.

Today is a new day.
Taxes are done – and there was a beautiful sunrise to start my day!
I’m moving on…

So I just submitted my 2008 tax returns just  “under the wire.”
And is it just me, or am I paying a LOT of taxes this year?

Not only do I pay my sales tax on a quarterly basis…
but I also have to file my annual federal & state income taxes!!!
Conceptually, I get it… but it still hurts.

As a self-employed artist, it seems like the more I work, the more I pay.
It’s frustrating. Just when you think you’re getting a little ahead…
and the bank account is starting to show some upward momentum,
Tax Day comes around and whacks you right upside the head!!!
Plus, as a freelance”contractor” at the special events gig, none of my income
is taxed… nice on payday, but it comes back to bite you at tax time.

It’s painful... but at least it’s done for another year!

Well, the results are in… I was accepted into all of the art fairs I applied to.
Once again, I will be returning to the same shows as last year… and the year before!
Why mess with success – and the chance to see so many of my loyal customers
who come back year after year! So mark your calendars – and check back for
updates and special “blog-only” bargains prior to each of the art fairs!

Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival
May 23rd & 24th, 2009

Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival
June 13th & 14th, 2009

Evanston Lakeshore Fine Arts Festival
August 1st & 2nd, 2009

Barrington Art In The Barn
September 26th & 27th, 2009

Plus, mark your calendar for my annual holiday event…

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show
November 21st & 22nd, 2009
More info to come…

Another morning… another sunrise.
Another wonderful start my day with a bike ride along Lake Michigan!

After another good day at the freelance special events gig… and some very successful
“dumpster diving”… I scored a lot of flowers that had just returned from another event.
So before they were trashed, I pulled them aside to give them a few more days of life!

And who better to share flowers with than a bunch of potters who already have
a lot of vases on hand… all of them handmade! So several of my studio friends were
the beneficiary of today’s “floral reclaim process”… and may not find their floral
“surprises” until their next visit to their studios!

Pictured left to right: Karen Patinkin, Emily Murphy & Lisa Harris.

No candles… no silly hats… no singing… and sadly, no cake.
But it was a big birthday day today… for my bike!

Yep, today is my new bike’s first birthday.
A year ago today,  I finally upgraded from my old neon yellow Trek 1200
and purchased a new black Trek 2100. Who knew that a new bike
would so much nicer to ride?! Smoother… easier… faster!!! Love it.

It’s just a year old… and already has over 3,00o miles on it!
And hoping to at least double that this year…

The weather may have been miserable today… too cold & rainy to play outside…
so I had some “quality time” to make some new pots in the studio!
“Hope springs eternal”… or, based on today’s weather… Spring hopes eternal!!!
Either way… Spring is in the air… so it’s time for some new flower pots!!!

They’ve been thrown and stamped… now they just need to be trimmed, have drainage
holes pierced through, slip decorated, dried, fired, glazed and fired again!
Just in time for those summer plants on your back porch or windowsill!

Yesterday… sunny, crisp & clear – perfect for biking.
Today… cold, windy, rainy, snowy & miserable – perfect for nothing!
Just another Spring day in Chicago.

It may not be berry season yet…
but the new berry bowls are almost done in the studio! Just a couple firings…
a few plates to trim… and we’ll soon be ready for the season’s berries!!!

Without realizing it… today’s bike ride turned out to be a lakefront tour
of Chicago’s “hopeful” Olympic sporting venues! A quick look around the city
and it’s hard to miss that they’re pulling out all the stops for the 2016 Olympic bid.
Everything is covered… flags… banners… sides of buses… bridges… etc.
Plus, to show the International Olympic Committee where the sporting events would be,
they designated each of the venues with special Olympic flags!

While some are annoyed by the Olympics… concerned about taxes… concerned about
the temporary loss of nature on Northerly Island… issues… issues… issues.
Others are excited about the possibility of the Olympics coming to Chicago!!!
It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… and I’m one who’s very excited!!!

It’s a big deal here in Chicago regardless of which side you’re on!
And there’s no way they’re going to let you miss it!