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The new Fall Session of classes begins next week at Lillstreet Art Center.
And my Tuesday night class will once again be from 7:00pm-10:00pm.
It is wheelthrowing for Beginners & Advanced Beginners. So whether you’ve
never touched clay, or have some basic skills that need to be refreshed…
this is the class for you. We’ll cover all of the basic skills over the 10-week class.
We’ll get dirty. You’ll make cool pots. And have a lot of fun along the way!

Register in person, over the phone or on the Lillstreet website.

Today would have been his 65th Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday to the original Killer Queen. You left behind a legacy.
And who better to celebrate one of your favorite masterpieces besides The Muppets?!

Watch the video… “Bohemian Rhapsody” with The Muppets

Well, the temperature has dropped dramatically… and Fall is definitely here!
The clouds were crazy, it was quite windy and the waves were crashing all around.
I even had to pull out my long-sleeved jersey & windbreaker vest this morning?!

After throwing my latest batch of ornament forms “off-the-hump”…
I’ve let them set-up a bit and they were no longer sticky or squishy.
So it was time to trim them, add a clay hoop-hanger and some stamps & textures!

Next up… a little slip decoration for color accents, drying then to the bisque kiln!

Okay, so my small little studio just seems to be getting smaller?!
The more I make, the smaller it all seems to get. How does that work?
Therefore, I needed to improvise… so thank you to my studio neighbors Karen Patinkin
& Lisa Harris who’s “studio weekend off” gave me a little extra space to dry my pieces!!!
Perfect for me – and they didn’t even know it… until now!

Continuing my “Labor day Weekend” by “laboring” in the studio!
And today I was assembling some oval casserole dishes. So here a few shots
of each one along the way. Basically three easy steps…

Step One: Throw a bottomless cylinder, and re-shape it into an oval.
Step Two: Stamp the textures & patterns into soft leather-hard clay.
Step Three: Add a slab bottom and lug handles.

Oval #1… in three easy steps…

Oval #2… in three easy steps…

Oval #3… in three easy steps…

Oval #4… in three easy steps…

So now it’s some “slow drying” and then off to the bisque kiln…

It’s been a productive day in the studio. Turning some basic bowls that “anyone”
could make… into stamped & textured bowls ala ME!!! So here goes…

Bowl #1 – before & after…

Bowl #2 – before & after…

Bowl #3 – before & after…

Bowl #4 – before & after…

Bowl #5 – before & after…

So now it’s a little more drying time… then some trimming to make a nice foot!

And if it’s too soon for pumpkins…
then it’s REALLY too soon for Christmas ornaments!!!
But I made another new batch of them tonight too. Freshly thrown…
now I need to trim, stamp, slip, add hanger, bisque, glaze, fire!
Luckily, I’ve got a few months until Christmas, right?! Getting an early start…

Only eight weeks until Halloween. Is it too soon for pumpkins?!
I hope not, because I made a whole lot of them tonight in the studio!!!

After a very warm & steamy overnight in Chicago, I thought it would be a great idea to
lower the core temperature of my non-air conditioned body by going for a morning swim
in the lake. So I pedaled down for my first “return swim” post Triathlon! So there I was,
swimming in the pre-dawn hour, with clouds on the horizon and a single sailboat cruising
back & forth along the shore. When all of a sudden, as I bob my head up to breath, I could
hear music. Music?! Typically the only thing I hear is water splashing & me gasping for air!
But no, this morning I was being serenaded by a single saxophone player on that sailboat.
Crystal clear music breaking through the morning sky. A beautiful surprise to make my
morning routine even more magical. And then, oh but wait there’s more… the morning
sunrise was pretty darn impressive too! Another great morning on my bike!