Today we got up early for breakfast in the hotel…
Belgian waffles with peanut butter & syrup!!!

Our first stop was down in Minneapolis. Amy needed to buy her
“year’s supply” of clay… and I needed some new clues that I really don’t “need.”
After packing up the car, we went over to the Northern Clay Center. We looked
through the gallery which is full of beautiful pots. Some of them actually from the
potters who are on the Tour. While looking in the gallery, Emily Murphy stopped by
for a visit and lunch. So great to get caught up with her… and some great Thai food!

While wandering through the studio spaces at Northern Clay, we ran across pots
by Kip O’Krongly. Remember back to “the tumbler that got away” blog post?!
Click HERE for a reminder recap. Anyway… she makes these really great terra cotta
pieces with imagery of farm equipment, wind turbines and bicycles!!! Yes, bikes!!!
Without question, I needed them. Last year I was hoping to get bike tumblers…
but this year she had bike plates!!! So I go two. Plus, she’s adorable to boot!!!

Then it was back to the Tour. We stopped by a few of the Tour Studios, as well as
a side trip to see The Rogue Potters. They’re not “officially” part of the Tour, but they
have set up their signs on the road and filled a house with pots. They’ve been there
for a couple years, right off Route 95. It’s a collective of ceramic artists all making
beautiful pots that are quite affordable! Including my new plate…

Then it was back to Richard Vincent’s place for more… more pots, more chatting
with the potters. Then back to Will Swanson’s place for more. It’s always amazing
to see how the quantity of pots has decreased so drastically by the end of Day Two.
Many of the shelves were empty, or even taken down in some cases. Shop early!!!

Then it was almost 6:00pm… so our Tour Day Two had come to an end!

Well, it was a very long day… with a LOT of pottery!!! And while I was starting to wear down,
and needed a good night’s sleep in the worst way, we went out for dinner and were saluted
with this stunning sunset as a beautiful end to our day. Almost…

With a little after-dinner, second-wind we decided to head back to Bob Briscoe’s place
for a little Post Party! Every year he hosts a little get-together for the artists & friends.
It was great to go back, relax around the campfire and chat with a few more potters.
And then finally to bed… for some much-needed shut-eye before Tour Day Two!

It was a very long drive. Luckily, it’s pretty much a straight shot to Minneapolis!
I got into town fairly early, so I swung past my cousin’s place in White Bear Lake
to drop off some “surprise presents” on their front porch! Remember back to
“the incident” and the projects the kids were working on? Well, I finished them off
for the kids, glazed ’em & fired ’em. So I dropped off their planters… plus my
demo planter with a colorful arrangement of succulent plants.

Then I drove further on towards Bob Briscoe’s studio – always the first stop in my
annual Pottery Tour. I got there a bit early so I squeezed in a few moments of shut-eye.
The tour “officially” starts at 10:00am, but who am I to play by the rules when others
were getting a head-start?! So I began my Tour fun about 9:45am!!!

Straight to the Matt Metz collection… of course, I needed to add to my Metz collection!
I quickly snatched up to adorable lidded jars. Then headed on to see more…

After setting down my new Matt Metz jars on the “hold” shelves, I was quickly greeted
by Suze Lindsay with a hug and a great discussion. It was still early in the morning and
the hoarding masses hadn’t arrived yet, so she was free to chat for awhile. My friend
Amy arrived and we continued our shopping. As we were admiring, shopping, resisting
and being inspired, Amy’s friend Debbie showed up to join our adventure. Before we left
Bob’s place, I did snatch up a new Suze Lindsay tumbler!

After a long visit at Bob Briscoe’s we finally moved on towards Connee Mayeron’s
studio which is not the closest one… but it is the studio with two of the artists that
Amy was anxious to see… and shop! There we found Jenny Mendes and the work
of Shoko Teruyama. Both make these insanely detailed & meticulous pieces with
incredible illustrations. While Amy & Debbie were fawning over their work, I was
quickly distracted by the s’mores at the campfire!

We then moved on just south to Guillermo Cuellar’s studio. Hundreds of pots scattered
all over the tables around his yard. Our friend Delores Fortuna shows her work here,
and her Tour assistant Roberta Polfus was there to play with us for awhile! While there,
the beautiful blue skies clouded over, the temperature dropped and the winds picked up…
it felt like a storm might be rolling in.

We made a quick stop off for a picnic lunch overlooking the river. Unfortunately, it was
getting chilly… and the picnic table only had one side?! So we didn’t linger too long…
and we had more studios to see!

Moving along the Tour, we went to Will Swanson’s place – which had expanded from last year.
More big tents in the backyard gave more room for more great pots. Tom Turner was one
of the “new” potters on the Tour. He’s been making pots for a long time, and has created
some wonderful crystalline glazes. I was lucky to snatch up a small tumbler to add to my
mug collection… okay, not quite a mug, but close enough!

We did a quick stop at the studio of Jeff Oestreich, and saw some pieces by Josh DeWeese.
I had taken a workshop with him years ago, and it was great to see a collection of his work.

Next we went to Linda Christianson’s studio. A beautiful, wooded area with plenty of
trillium blooming and a beautiful pile of wood next to the kiln shed. While there, we
also met Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish on the Tour. It’s a husband & wife working
together to create their pieces. Apparently, Naomi went to Earlham College with my potter
friend Emily Murphy. So I just “needed” to pick up a couple plates…

Moving on, we went to Richard Vincent’s studio for some more great pots… and some
quality time playing with & making fun of my potter friend Steven Hill. I’ve known
Steven for a few years during his time here in Illinois. He has since moved back to
Missouri… and still not made my set of dinnerware?! It’s only been a few years…
but I’m still waiting… and not letting him off the hook!

By this time… it was already past 6:00pm. So officially they were closed!
Begrudgingly, we finished up and headed back to the hotel.
Day One almost done.

Gotta get some sleep tonight – as tomorrow is going to be another busy day!

Headed out for the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour… under cover of darkness!
I’ll be driving up overnight so I can make it there for the kick-off at Bob Briscoe’s studio.
Then it’s on to the rest of the locations. A full weekend of pottery, shopping,
schmoozing and hanging out with friends!

For more information on the tour, click here… Minnesota Pottery Tour.

Hard to believe that the summer art fair season is coming so quickly.
Luckily, I feel good knowing that I have a great inventory of beautiful pots…
including my latest soda kiln that still needs to be added into the mix!

So here’s my upcoming art fair schedule… mark your calendars now.
I can’t wait to see you at some point over the Summer!

Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, May 26th, 2012 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, May 27th, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center
201 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg, Illinois

Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, June 9th, 2012 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, June 10th, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Burlington Park on Chicago Avenue between Washington & Garfield Streets
in Hinsdale, Illinois

Evanston Lakeshore Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, August 4th, 2012 – 11:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, August 5th, 2012 – 11:00am-6:00pm
Located in Dawes Park along beautiful Lake Michigan
on Sheridan Road between Church & Davis in Evanston, Illinois

Okay, we’ll go a little further – and cross out of Summer and into Fall…

Art In The Barn
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, September 23rd, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Located on the grounds (and in the barns) of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
on Route 22 in Barrington, Illinois – Lower Barn E4 & E6

Art Detour… in the beautiful Wisconsin Northwoods!
Friday, October 5th, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Saturday, October 6th, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, October 7th, 2012 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Featuring artists: Amy Higgason, Sarah Chapman, Kathy Furda, Wendy Powalisz & me!
Beautiful fall colors, handmade art and gourmet s’mores to top it all off!
Located on the grounds of Pigeon Road Pottery… also Amy’s home!
7744 Pigeon Road, Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin 54539
www.facebook.com/artdetourwisconsin

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show
Saturday, November 17th, 2012 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, November 18th, 2012 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Contact me for invitations & more information…

“Mud & Metal” : Another Holiday Home Show
A collaborative holiday show with master metalsmith Sarah Chapman.
Saturday, December 15th, 2012 – 10:00am-6:00pm – DATE PENDING
Contact me for invitations & more information.

I love it when patterns, textures, slips & glazes all come together!
Just a few more “teaser textures” that jut came out of my soda kiln yesterday!!!

It was nice to have a morning without rain… but it was pretty apparent that
the rain had passed through fairly recently. I love how the raindrops cling to the
leaves. The plants are loving the wetter & cooler weather. Me?… not so much.
Although I can’t complain, the bad weather has helped my studio production time!

We’ve had quite a string of rainy mornings… and other mornings where I was “up too late”
in the studio glazing the night before. So it seems far too long since I’ve been able to get out
on my bike for a beautiful morning bike ride. It was great to be out riding again… beautiful.

Well, tonight I unbricked & unloaded my soda kiln.
It’s always exciting to take the brick door off and finally see my newest pieces!

It’s like a little treasure hunt. You have certain expectations & hopes while you’re
making the pieces and glazing them. But at some point, you have to release control
and let the kiln do its own magic. So here’s a quick glimpse at the front of the kiln…
knowing that the front “face” is always the grayest from a lot of soda. And then the
pieces that are deeper into the kiln have a bit more color.  As I unloaded, I was quite
pleased with the colors… a little brighter & more vibrant than usual?!

It’s always a good feeling to unbrick the kiln and find you cones melted exactly
to where they should be for a cone 20 firing. Towards the end of my firing,
it was impossible to see the top cone pack at all. It was quite “hazy” in the kiln
with flames shooting out at me when I tried to peek in. No visibility!!!
Glad I turned off the kiln when I did!