So this weekend I was down in Peoria, Illinois for another “glitter gig.”
After the event, I spent some time with my “first art fair friends” Gerry & Rosene.
I met them years ago at my very first art fair… in Sandwich, Illinois!!!

I thought I knew what I was doing, but I was SO wrong. So there I was there struggling
to get my booth together, pottery sitting all over the place, nothing priced and in the
way of everyone else trying to get through. Lucky for me, I had a couple of veterans
right across the aisle. They took me under their wing and helped me through the show!
And we’ve been friends every since. They’ve retired from the craft fair circuit, and have
focused on gardening in their own backyard – and hosting an annual Garden Sale.
Complete with a HUGE assortment of beautiful perennials all split from their own plants.

Lucky for me, I left once again with a car full of “lovely parting gifts.”
Now I just need to find the time to get them all into the ground!!!

A HUGE thank you once again to my friends Gerry & Rosene!!! You guys rock.

With the summer art fair season closing in quickly, it’s always important to try
to introduce something new to the assortment. My “groupies” always ask the question…
“So what’s new this year?!”

Luckily, this year, I have a couple new things “fresh” out of the kiln… and ready to go!
With a limited quantity coming to my first two shows… Schaumburg & Hinsdale.
Okay, fresh out of my last soda kiln anyway… finally got around to posting the photos.

Creamer & Sugar Sets… slightly squared, fully stamped, completely functional.

And these… still looking for a clever name… any suggestions?!
They’re lidded jars with two separate sections in one pot.
Salt & Pepper pots?! Ketchup & Mustard? Who knows?… two of something?!

I must admit, they’re inspired by Julia Galloway and the workshop that I took with her
a few months ago. She makes a smaller version that she’s made (and I’ve loved) for years.
I thought it was worth a try… to use her inspiration, and give it a little twist of my own!

So we’ll see how these go over at the first two shows. Like I said, there’s limited quantities!
Especially as these were pretty much the “prototype” batch for each of them.

I’m a little over half way through stamping & labeling my show postcards…
and still have hundreds to go!  sheesh…

On an “up” note, ya’ gotta love the Hawaiian shirt postage stamps, huh???

Last night’s class demonstration was plates & platters. My beginners are progressing
quite nicely… cylinders, bowls, mugs… and now plates! I explained to them that plates
are fairly easy to throw, and that the drying & trimming of them is the hard part.
In class I threw two plates. But of course, I can’t leave a plate plain…
so tonight I stamped them up!

The class demo four-pound plate…

And now for the six-pound platter…

Plus, we have new clay at Lillstreet Art Center. For years we’ve had the same selections
of stoneware, B-Clay and porcelain. We’re now trying something new from Continental Clay.
It’s Stoneware with Ochre… which from what we’ve seen turns out to be a dark chocolate
brown after firing in a cone 10 reduction kiln. This is my first time trying the new clay…
hence the slight “greenish” hue in the clay. It was fun to throw with… although the color
was a little off-putting.

As a productive studio artist, I use a lot of clay.
And with that, comes a LOT of scraps & trimmings to be reclaimed.
I work hard to reclaim as much clay as I can. I put all of the dried scraps into
a large orange container in my studio, and fill it with water. As the clay absorbs
the water, it slakes down to become clay once again. When it feels & looks like clay
again, and much of the water has been absorbed, it’s time to scoop out the clay mix
and place it on a large plaster bat. So that’s what I did tonight… I scooped & scooped!
I scooped until my reclaim bin was empty and the bat was overflowing with clay.

And there it will sit until the overly-gooshey clay stiffens up and can be wedged up.
And when it’s ready… it’s a LOT of wedging, and wedging, and wedging…

And just in time… as my Northwoods potter friend Amy Higgason got “a little behind”
in her studio reclaiming and brought some of her scraps for me! Just a couple boxes…
okay, like twelve!!! That’s a lot of scraps!

So Amy’s scraps have now been placed in my reclaim tub. Add water. And wait…
Soon enough, it’s going to be  another huge batch of FREE CLAY!!!

Another beautiful garden surprise this morning…
my Jack-In-The-Pulpit plant is bigger & better than last year!

After an incredible weekend of pottery fun, this morning it’s back to reality…
and back on my bike for another sunrise bike ride!

By now you know that I love a lot of patterns & textures!
And since I’ve already told stories of how incredible the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour
is in previous posts, I decided this year to show off the “Potters of the Minnesota Tour”
by their patterns & textures! There are forty-nine potters on the Tour, but I’ve narrowed
it down to just twenty. All of them would just be overwhelming… as is the Tour!
So here’s the game…

How many of these twenty potters can you name just based on their work?!
So here’s the deal… I’ll show you the close-up, you tell me the potter who made it!

Potter #1 -  ____________________

Potter #2 -  ____________________

Potter #3 –   ____________________

Potter #4 –   ____________________

Potter #5 -  ____________________

Potter #6 –   ____________________

Potter #7 –   ____________________

Potter #8 –   ____________________

Potter #9 –   ____________________

Potter #10 –   ____________________

Potter #11 –   ____________________

Potter #12 –   ____________________

Potter #13 –   ____________________

Potter #14 –   ____________________

Potter #15 –   ____________________

Potter #16 –   ____________________

Potter #17 –   ____________________

Potter #18 –   ____________________

Potter #19 –   ____________________

Potter #20 –   ____________________

You know… after looking at twenty of the fantastic potters showing up north
in the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour, it seems like something’s missing?!
There’s a lot of glazing… a lot of carving… a lot of atmospheric firing… but…

Don’t you think they need some obsessively stamped pots up there?! I’m just sayin’…

I had a wonderful time up in Minnesota this weekend surrounded by thousands
of incredible pots… and the talented artists who made them! So much fun touring
the St. Croix River Valley area with old friends & making new ones…
and buying a few beautiful pots along the way!!!

Always excited to start my day off with waffles & peanut butter… again!
Plus a nice discussion with potter George Lowe, his wife, and then some potter
friends from Lillstreet. After a lot of “pottery-talk”, it was time to get going.
First up… back to Bob Briscoe’s studio.

Sundays are always slower, quieter and more relaxed on the Tour. Most of the
“real” shoppers & collectors come early on Friday. By the time Sunday rolls around,
there are a LOT fewer pots, and the artists are slowing down. It’s been a long weekend
for them too. Lucky for us, we had plenty of time to talk with Matt Metz, Suze Lindsay,
Kent McLaughlin and Bob Briscoe. After a couple hours, it was time to say our goodbyes
and move on to our last stop.

Back at Guillermo’s location, we stopped by to chat with Delores Fortuna & Roberta
Polfus. It was a lot quieter there too… so they had some time to sit and talk with us.
While we were sitting chatting, Clary Illian stopped by to join our conversation.
Nice to talk to a ceramic “legend”… but all too soon it was time to get back on the road
for the long drive home.

All in all, another successful Pottery Tour. So much fun to be surrounded by so much
fine ceramic work. And have access to so many talented potters so you can chat and
get to know them. It’s also encouraging to see so many people coming out for the Tour
to encourage & support the arts. And to buy some pots!!!

So, mark your calendars for next year’s St. Croix RIver Valley Pottery Tour.
It’s always the Friday, Saturday & Sunday of Mother’s Day Weekend.
Luckily, my Mom understands and we celebrate a week early so I can go to the Tour!