The weather was indeed much better today. Still a little chilly, still a bit cloudy, but no rain!!!
So we “returned to the scene of the crime” to revisit the wonderful potters today. My parents
returned to the first two stops, and then went off on their own to discover Stillwater & Hudson;
two local towns on the St. Croix River. So I hooked up with my friend Amy Higgason, and her
friend Katlyn. I’ve known Amy for years through our time together at Lillstreet Art Center.
She has since moved up to the Wisconsin Northwoods, but continues to make incredible
pottery way up north! Katlyn is a college student preparing to graduate in a week. She’s
worked with Amy over the years, with Amy acting as her mentor & teacher. It was great fun
to play with them both today – chatting, shopping, discussing, critiquing, and laughing
our way through the tour. We saw old friends, shared stories, talked with potters and made
new friends & contacts along the way. Some good-old-fashioned networking never hurts.

Today we spent a little more time actually “looking” at the work, since the frantic pace
and the race of shopping had subsided yesterday. It was fun to look at the work again with
fellow potters to discuss our likes, dislikes, preferences and “clay crushes” all day long.

One of Amy’s favorites is Sylvie Granatelli… okay, I bought one of her mugs yesterday too!
We all were impressed by her lines, shapes, carved textures and color pallate. Very nice.

Then we had a chance to chat with Laurie Shaman from Chicago. Laurie used to be the
Gallery Director at Lillstreet Art Center when I was first starting to take classes. I wasn’t
sure she would even know who I was, as our time there only overlapped for a couple years.
But Amy re-introduced us and she was indeed aware of me and my work. She’s no longer
working at Lillstreet, but instead has her studio just a few blocks down the street!

We then made our way to the studio of Linda Christianson where we met up with our
potter-friend Emily Murphy and her husband Ian. She introduced us to Kristin Pavelka
who has a whimsical & colorful approach to her work… much different from the other
potters invited to Linda Christianson’s place, including Dan Anderson. At this point,
I was becoming entranced by some of the textures & patterns…

Then we met up with my friend Steven Hill and introduced him to Amy & Katlyn.
His work is stunning and I’ve had the chance to work with Steven over the past couple
years on his marketing. He also had some great advice & insights for Katlyn as she
is just starting her ceramic career. In fact, now that I am “so-not-an-expert” on
Facebook, I encouraged him to set up his own Fan Page on Facebook. Which he did…
so show him that I was right, and search “Steven Hill Pottery” and click his “LIKE”
button to become a Facebook Fan of Steven’s work.

In the category wonderful studios, wouldn’t you like a large picture window overlooking
a beautiful prairie just like Jeff Oestreich?!

After visiting most of the official potters on the tour, we ran across a sign on the highway
that said “Pottery Sale” and an arrow pointing off to the side. We decided to give it a try
even though we knew they were not part of the “official” tour route. We were impressed
by this merry band of rogue potters… by their enthusiasm, signage and willingness to
become part of their own “tour.” The house was quite dilapidated, but the pots were quite
nice and very economical. From the sounds of it, our “rogue potters” were a teacher and
his students putting their work out there an capitalizing upon the hoards of pottery
enthusiasts traveling the area this weekend. BRILLIANT marketing plan!!! I love it.

We ended Pottery Tour Day Two with an evening with our friend Emily Murphy
who recently relocated up to Minneapolis from Chicago. We had dinner, toured
her house, saw her newly built studio area and some work in progress and waiting
for a kiln to finish them in… and celebrated Ian’s birthday.

It’s been a long day… and a long weekend. But I know I’ve had a wonderful trip,
and I think my parents had fun too. It’s always so inspiring to see so much great
pottery all at once. To see all of the customers coming out to support handmade craft.
To see such support for local artisans. To talk with fellow potters about their path.
To see all of the different “things” that can be made out of a simple lump of clay.
To realize that there is a larger audience out there looking for quality pottery.
Now if they would all just read this blog?! And more importantly…
How do I get “invited” to be a part of the Pottery Tour next year?!