After a weekend away at my parent’s house celebrating my Dad’s birthday with a lot
of gardening & work around the house… then birthday dinner & cake… and then a
wonderful day pedaling in Wisconsin for the Harmon Hundred… it was back to the
studio tonight to finally unload the kiln now that it is quite cool. And I was quite
pleased with the results – including a new selection of stamped & glazed bowls!

We’re just a few days away from the start of the new Fall Session at Lillstreet.
I will once again be teaching a Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing class
on Tuesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm starting on Tuesday, September 14th.

So whether you’ve never touched clay or at least know the basics, you’re more than
ready to join my class for 10-weeks of fun & open studio time. You’ll learn the
basics of wedging, centering & throwing, as well as refinements like trimming,
surface decoration and glazing. And just in time for the holiday gift giving season!
But sign up soon – only thee spaces left in my class!

Plus, you know I’m always up for a challenge… and there’s been discussion amongst
some of my returning students that they want to see me make a Menorah?!
If they do request it… I guess I’ll need to start figuring it out in my head, huh?!

So this morning I didn’t get to ride. I had to work. Yep, duty called.
I had to start the kiln firing very early this morning instead of pedaling my sunrise ride!
I guess it was a small sacrifice, as Karen fired the kiln for the rest of the day.
So my “sunrise” today was a small gas flame coming out of an old burner port!

With “Art In The Barn” just a couple weeks away, I kind of feel like I’m ahead
of schedule by loading my kiln tonight… and firing tomorrow. No last minute
unloading and shlepping hot pots to the fair for me this time!

Tonight I loaded my work into a high-fire kiln for a cone 10 gas reduction firing.
I am sharing the kiln with my friend & studio neighbor Karen Patinkin. The back stack
is mostly mine, with the exception of her big bowls on the top. The front 2/3 of kiln
was loaded with Karen’s stunning large platters with intricate glaze detailing and
some of my smaller “kiln filler” bowls around them! Tomorrow we fire…
and it’s up to me to get it lit up & started very early in the morning!

And this morning, I got both…

As much as I hate to admit it… summer in Chicago might be over?!
The weather has changed. It has gotten a lot cooler. The sun’s not as strong.
One more “confirmation” was this morning when I saw that the lifeguard stands
along the lakefront are all being removed. Lifeguards are gone. Summer’s over?!
I’m not buying it… I will grasp onto “summer” as long as I can…

What better way to spend the Labor Day Holiday than laying around all day
in a breezy windowsill between some handmade oil lamps and the cactus
planter on the window ledge. Wish I could do the same… but one of us has to work!

So while my cat gets to lounge around all day, I’m busily trying to finish some business work
like accounting, filing, organizing, mail list updates and returning old e-mails. And then
later, I’ll be going into the studio to finish off my glazing efforts for Wednesday’s kiln loading!

Another night of glazing. Tonight I glazed more work in the studio
including these ovals. I lined them with temoku and inlaid the stamps. After
drying overnight, I will dip the exteriors in an accent color… and hope for the best.
That being some great glaze interaction & stamp accentuation! Fingers crossed…