Another simple bike ride… with another simple sunrise!

Okay, so I was biking with my friend Chris up to the Chicago Botanic Garden
again this afternoon. And as we were pedaling along, Chris was describing
GeoCaching. I had heard about i many years ago when you needed to purchase
a GPS unit to participate in the scavenger hunt fun. It never crossed my mind
that my iPhone could do it too… you know, there’s an App for that!

Basically, the idea of GeoCaching is that you use the GPS to find small little “treasures”
that people have hidden around the world. You find the coordinates of any “treasure”
located in your vicinity. They give you maps, directions and clues to help you find them.
So of course, we had to give it a try!

So Chris and I were pedaling along and with the GeoCaching App running on Chris’ phone.
We were watching the moving dots, the bleeping on the screen, until we were close to one.
We rode past it. We went back. Until we realized that we had to park our bikes and go for a
short hike – straight into the woods!!! Into the thick of things looking for who knows what?!
The dots overlapped on the GPS so we knew we were close. We started looking everywhere.
For what, we don’t know?! It seemed impossible.

But then I channeled my best Russell Hantz and questioned “What would I do on ‘Survivor’
to find the Hidden Immunity Idol?” So I started to deduce where it could be. It had to be in,
on, or around something. It would never be just sitting there on the ground, right?!
Touching. Reaching. Flipping. Searching… and coming up with nothing.

And then, I saw this odd tree stump just sitting there. And it moved when I kicked it.

So I picked it up and found that there was a hole drilled in the bottom of it.
And stuck into that hole was a small canister. I pulled it out and found a small scroll inside.
Apparently, you’re supposed to sign it, add the date, and put it back into the canister.
Then, you need to replace the canister so that the next person can find it in the same place.
Apparently, some of the “treasures” are things you actually get to keep?! We’ll see…

I must admit it was a lot more exciting than I expected. The pursuit. The adventure.
The thrill of finally finding it. Sadly, we didn’t have a pen with us so we couldn’t sign it?!
We plan to stop by the next time we’re riding up that way… because yes, we’re dorks!

So I’ve now downloaded the App to my iPhone too. And looking froward to getting started
to see where the next “treasure” might be. And of course, I immediately questioned how I
could possibly turn it into a marketing possibility for me?! I could make my own “treasure”
location for others to find… maybe in my studio?… at an art fair?… by the totem pole
in my front yard? Haven’t quite figured that out yet. But I’m still working on it.

Until then… back to be ing a dork and searching for more “treasures”!
For more information, click on GeoCaching.com.

As I was getting ready to head home, I stopped for gas and a grape pop… my favorite!
When I turned around there was an incredible sunset coming together on the airport’s horizon.
There was a huge storm coming through – and it looked like it was going to open up any
minute! Kinda looks like a scene out of “Wizard Of Oz”… before it turns to full color!

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!