For the first day of Spring, it’s mighty darn cold out there!
When I got back from my ride, I heard on the radio that the temperature
was only 18-degrees!!! Let’s hear it for layers, layers, layers!!!

Doesn’t feel like Spring to me?!!!

So here’s my morning routine…
My alarm goes off and I drag myself out onto my back porch. Checking to see
what the weather is like, and more importantly if the ground is wet or frozen.
If it is, I crawl back in bed for a little more sleep. It’s just not safe to ride in the dark
with poor road conditions, or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I stepped out and found out the deck
was covered with snow?! A little crunchy. A little frozen. A little cold on my feet.
I guess it was only appropriate for the official last day of Winter, huh?

At least there was one up-side to the morning… there’s a little hint of Spring
sprouting out on the fence. One more sign that Spring might actually be around
the corner?! C’mon Spring.. c’mon warm weather!!!

I’m hoping for another “slasher” of a hit from TV producer Carlton Cuse.
He was one of the masterminds behind my all-time favorite television show “LOST.”
Let’s see if he can do it again with “Bates Motel” on A&E… starting tomorrow night!

Yesterday was my niece Taylor’s eighth birthday. And she decided that she wanted to
celebrate with her kid’s birthday party at the studio. She’s been here before to play in the
clay, but this was the first time she brought some of her friends! So we started with some
introductions, a few simple rules, some guidelines, some clay and lots of messy fingers!
Even my parents were there to watch, hang out and pitch in. Although I have a fairly
strict rule that adults can’t help “too much.” Which proves harder for some than others…
especially Taylor’s dad Scott who couldn’t quite keep his fingers out of things!

Our project for the day was to make terra cotta flower pots for Spring. We talked about
how we were going to make them and how they should have a plan, a theme, a concept,
a design. Some decided to keep it simple and keep it Spring. Others went for Mother’s Day
gifts, or even birthday gifts! Once they had a plan, they each started with a rectangular
slab of clay that they had cut out. With some fun stamps and texture tools, they set out
to design their terra cotta flower pots!

Once they all had their slabs decorated, it was time for them to form the slabs into cylinders
to become the sides of their flower pots. A bit of scoring. A bit of slipping! And pressing!!!

The cylinders then needed a bottom to keep things in! So we made round bottoms which
needed to be scored, slipped & attached to the bottom. Luckily, we had a few extra hands
at the ready. It was easier for the kids to score the bottom with Taylor’s grandpa helping out!

We then talked about how every good flower pot needs a water drip tray to catch the water!
So they started with another slab circle and attached a coil around to contain the water.

As always… the kids have mixed reactions to getting dirty. Some love every minute of it.
Some were tentative and try to stay clean. While some start hesitant and end up loving it!!!

After their pieces were assembled, we moved on to painting with underglazes.
Of course I always hope that they will take their time and paint with attention-to-detail.
Unfortunately, with time running out and pizza on the way… it’s a quick paint job!!!

And how fun it is to watch kids having fun… and more fun.. and even more fun…
Just to see the excitement & hear the giggles.

All too soon they were done and it was time to go. They look all cute & clean… but trust me,
they definitely have a wonderfully mischievous side in there somewhere. Especially after
a dinner of pizza, punch and chocolate cupcakes!

The birthday party was done. And I think everyone had a fun time playing in the mud.
So they all climbed back into the limo to take them back to the suburbs! Sure, they were a little
dirtier than when they came… but in the end, I think Taylor had a wonderful birthday party!!!

And special thanks to my studio neighbor Karen Patinkin for “unwittingly” letting us use
the work table in her space for the party. We tried our best to clean it all up afterwards.
To get our terra cotta out of her pristine porcelain world. Thanks again Karen!

Still making. Still stamping. Still trimming. Still drying.
Still trying to bump up my inventory for this summer’s art fair season! Coming soon!!!

This morning’s ride was dark & cloudy.
It had all of the makings of a beautiful sunrise with wispy clouds across the sky.
Too bad it never quite happened. It was “sunrise interrupted.”

There was a slice of orange across the horizon this morning. Shades of blue above,
and beautiful oranges below. With clouds moving along to keep the sunrise ever-changing.

And then, just moments before the sun actually appeared, there was a subtle pink hue
that started to light up the clouds!

Then it showed up… a small spot of sun on the horizon with a beautiful reflection on the water.

Spring has finally “sprung” in Chicago… even if it’s just inside the Chicago Flower
& Garden Show at Navy Pier. It was such a great “retreat” from the cold with beautiful
colors, smells, patterns & textures! A sign that Spring may actually be on it’s way!

Not only were there tons of beautiful flowers… but there were also piles of tulips!!!
A full color palette of petals. Who knew there were so many different kinds of tulips?!

But one of my favorite things were the vertical wall gardens. Especially because there was
a lot of colors & textures all in one place… each vying for a special place in the sun!

Tonight was the last night of our 10-week pottery class. It went by so fast.
We celebrated with a lot of great potluck food… chicken, samosas, sushi,
guacamole, cheese, brownies, two kinds of homemade cream puffs, and way
too much more! Including ice cream sundaes with my homemade hot fudge…
and a special late “entry” from a former student of baked kale chips!!!
Just for the record… I prefer my hot fudge!!!

We also finished our class with a fun “Mug Exchange” where everyone brings
in a mug they made during class. We do a fun hidden-trading-white-elephant-
kind-of-game where everyone puts in a mug and leaves with someone else’s mug.
Nadine got my stamped green celadon mug, and I came home with
an amber celadon beauty by Dave Benjamin.