Gorgeous morning... little windy with a strong breezes off the lake….
and the water a little choppier than I’d like… but the sunrise was simply gorgeous
as parallel streaks of color splashed across the sky!

Soon enough, the pink skies give way to the golden sun as it breaks through the clouds!

Tonight in my beginning wheel class we tackled basic glazing techniques…
and then continued our throwing demonstrations with plates & platters.
I showed my students how to throw the plate. Then we discussed how plates are pretty
easy to throw… starting with a wide, low, flat cylinder… but tougher to trim & dry properly.

3-pound plate with white slip decoration – squiggled while still spinning!

6-pound platter… pretty plain now, but soon will be stamped which is no surprise!

The sunrise was beautiful this morning as the sky was pretty clear and bright.
I love when the sunrise goes through so many colors and changes.
from darkness, through oranges, to yellows and blue skies.

Apparently I’m not the only loon out there so early in the morning?!
At least it looked like a loon… dives like a loon… and swims like a loon.
So I assumed it might be a loon?! Right???

AND A “LOON” CLARIFICATION FROM MY MINNESOTA COUSIN MICHAEL…
It’s a Cormorant – dirty filthy  – small fish fry eating machine!
Northern Lakes have DNR officers shooting them by the hundreds/thousands,
so that walleye fry have a chance to grow. Leech Lake has a huge project that started
some years ago, already making a difference to the catch limits.

It’s always fun during an art fair to make new artist friends…
especially when you like their work. And even more so when you trade!

Yep, this weekend at the Evanston Art Fair, I met a talented photographer and
his girlfriend as they stopped by my booth a couple times. Apparently, they’re
pottery fans. Lucky me. So when I finally had a chance to get out of my booth to
scan the tents, I ran across the booth of Josh Merrill… and his girlfriend “assistant.”
His photography is beautiful – much like the photos I’d like to take. So I was excited
when he offered up the “trade” opportunity… and I was in!!! Here are the three
photos I came home with… and I’m loving them!!!

So not only are his photographs beautiful, but I also like the fact that there’s a story
to go with every one of them! He can tell you exactly where & when he took the picture.
He’s passionate about his travels and capturing these beautiful images! He captures
nature in such a special way with incredible colors & composition. While his work focuses
mostly on beautiful nature shots, I was drawn to the urban decay of Gary, Indiana.

I totally trust that he has taken every image – unlike a lot of other art fair
photographers! C’mon… you know you’ve seen them… pictures from all over the
world, capturing images from every exotic destination, much like the images
you can easily & readily purchase online! And no “stories” to back them up.

Click here to check out more images from Josh Merrill Photography.

With my favorite metalsmith moving to Minneapolis, I found myself going to the
Evanston Lakeshore knowing that my favorite booth neighbor” wouldn’t be there.
Instead, Sarah Chapman would be showing her work at the Uptown Art Fair in
Minneapolis. So that also meant that I would be getting a new art fair neighbor!

Luckily, I had a very nice new neighbor who made some really incredible photos!
JD Dennision has this great technique of shooting much of his work at night with
a flash, and then inverting the image to give it a glowing, ethereal, unreal effect.
Many of them look similar to traditional Chinese calligraphy brush paintings!
Like the photo below… where the blue “flowers” are actually the green leaves, and the
yellow “sky” is actually the dark evening sky inverted. Crazy… but very cool.

It was a fun weekend. And having JD in the booth next to me was a pleasure.
He’s kinda “new” to the art fair circuit… and eager to pick my brain for stories, suggestions
and encouragement. This is his first summer doing art fairs, and he still has one more year
of college. I can’t wait to see how his career and photography grow & evolve in the years
to come. And I hope that he comes back to Evanston again next year so I know that I’ve
got a good booth neighbor!

This weekend was beautiful… okay, except for one little weather “situation.”

Saturday started out hot & humid with no breeze. Very sticky. At some point, the breeze
kicked in and the humidity seemed to drop a bit. We had a great day with a lot of great
customers stopping by to play in my booth. including my Northwoods potter-friend Amy
Higgason who surprised me with a visit! I didn’t even know she was in town! But as the day
went on, there were “rumors” of a big storm moving in. Late in the afternoon, everywhere
you looked there were people checking their smartphones for weather radar updates!
Soon enough, everyone was getting panicked as there were reports of a huge storm headed
our way! Reports of storm wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. Announcements over the PA,
staff members alerting all of the artists, and urgent panicked messages that we should pack
up and get out as soon as possible. Yes, we literally got evacuated from the art fair!!!

So we packed down the pottery as much as we could. Put most of the pots back into their
crates and lowered almost everything onto the floor of my booth. Tightening the anchor straps,
zipping down the sides and hoping for the best. At some point, you just need to trust that
everything will be okay… and you leave with fingers crossed. So mu parents and I went to
have dinner in Evanston. While we were there, the storm came crashing through with huge
winds, followed by crashing rain, and then it was over almost as quick as it came in.
A big sigh of relief… and then the skies cleared. However, the art fair was closed and we were
done for the day! Hoping for a better Sunday.

Later that night, we also found out that the storm was apparently worse downtown.
And the huge crowd of concert-goers down at Lollapalooza were actually evacuated as well…
picture thousands of people evacuated into the Grant Park underground parking garage!!!

Sunday was gorgeous! The humidity was gone, the sun was shining and it was perfect.
There was a great breeze coming in from the lake keeping it very cool & comfortable. In fact,
towards the end of the day, my Mom actually mentioned that she was “cold.” Go figure!
But to the rest of us, it was “picture perfect.”

And here’s the most beautiful “backyard view” from my booth. Yes, my booth literally backs up
to Lake Michigan. So not only do I get to enjoy the cooling breeze coming in off the lake while
chatting & playing with my friends & fans… but I also get this incredible view all day long!

With a low flying band of clouds on the horizon,
this morning was a great day of sunrise transitions.

Ending with a beautifully golden splash across the sky!

So our menagerie fills the table! Luckily, all of the animals seemed to get along overnight.
Each of them ready to go home with the kids to take up residence in their new digs.
It’s always fun to see the looks on the parents’ faces when they come to pick up their kids
and suddenly see them walk out of the building carrying a huge animal! Hysterical…

Each animal cuter than the next… some more animated than others, each quite adorable!
Including a fennec fox, alligator, dachsund, great dane, sting ray, anemone, caiman, fox,
elephant and a wonderful flamingo striking a statuesque pose!

This morning was pretty hazy. With the sun rising slowly over the lake without much
excitement or fanfare! Just a large red ball rising over the horizon!

Maybe I forgot to tell the kids that we’re painting the animals… not their hands???

So today the kids were finishing up their Wild Things sculptures! The plaster gauze is dry
and they animals were really “coming to life” as they were painted with acrylic paints.

I especially LOVE when some of the sculptures take on a life of their own and get larger &
larger… and eventually cover most of the table. Who am I to tell them to to limit their project?!
Definitely not me… instead, I encourage it!!!