So a pattern like this is pretty cool. Graphic. Colorful. Repetitive. Kinda fun…

Unless it shows up on your computer screen…

So I had to take it into the Apple Store for a repair.
You know it’s never a good sign when they refer to your laptop as “vintage.”
And just a quick heads-up… they don’t “fix” vintage!!! Seriously.

Apparently, any computer that is six years older than the date the stopped making that
model is considered “vintage.” And seriously, they don’t fix “vintage.” I wasn’t kidding.

So I am now the proud owner of new Apple Mac Book Pro…
Excited to have a new toy. Not so excited to have to figure it all out again…
and hope that all of my files, music & software all transferred over okay.
And just for the record.. my wallet isn’t so happy either.

So when Kristen came into the studio last weekend with her adorable son AJ,
she wanted to buy a new mug. So she “shopped” off my studio shelves while
AJ was making his ornaments. And when she had found just the right one…
I wrapped it up and it was a sudden & surprise birthday present for Kristen!!!

Hope you like your new mug Kristen… and that you have a wonderful birthday today!

Well… when you make small herb flower pots, you need to make water trays.
Don’t want water leaking all over your windowsills. Since the pots have already
been thrown, stamped, trimmed & drying… I had to make the trays.

I threw these last night… and today they needed a little somethin’-somethin’…
so I did a little stamping, fluting and some other detailing. Followed by a bit of
trimming and now they’re all done & drying!

And now that they’re all done…. I sure hope my calipers were still set
at the right size?! They do look a little small… we’ll see…

Don’t forget to “Spring Forward” tonight… and change your clock.
Remember to move your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed tonight.
It’s time to go back into Daylight Saving Time… or losing an hour of your Sunday?!
And wouldn’t it be more fun if you were changing the time on one of THESE clocks?!

Gotta love a good steampunk clock. And the whole “Steampunk Movement”
for that matter. Rusty. Crusty. Gears. Patterns. Layers. Details. Groovy cool.

It was another chilly morning along the lakefront.
And it felt even chiller with the heavy clouds hanging low over the horizon…
with just a sliver of hope for the sunrise to come!

Unfortunately, the sun peeked out for just a few minutes before it disappeared again
behind the bank of clouds. Going… going… gone…

So apparently I’m not the only one who has heard enough of the Righteous Brothers?!
And enough references to that movie from the early 90’s that shall remain nameless?

Click here to see the “Zero Ghost Tolerance Policy” video.
It’s pretty short… and hysterically funny! Ya’ gotta love a good Buster moment!!!
Thanks for the video suggestion DeAnn! Too funny.

We potters have all been plagued with every reference imaginable from that scene
in “Ghost” where Patrick Swayze & Demi Moore are getting all hot & bothered while
throwing pottery on a wheel. You know the scene… and then “Unchained Melody”
plays in the background. Making it an all-too-memorable movie moment that no one
seems to forget. We hear about it all the time.

As it if were even possible, and you’ve forgotten… click here for the “Ghost” video!

And now, just when you thought that maybe “Ghost” had been forgotten…
“Glee” has brought it that scene back! Sure, not quite so sexy. But still.

So now we’ll be hearing that “unchained” reference again… now from a whole new,
younger generation who may have never even heard of “Ghost.” Great. Just great.

Well, Winter has returned to Chicago… and it’s beautiful.
We’ve had a pretty easy Winter so far. Very little snow. So it’s fun to get snow today!

Hard to believe that it was just yesterday when I was riding my bike along the lakefront.
The “huge” snowstorm they predicted seems to be a little bit lighter than expected, but
it’s still coming down! The snow is even covering the roof of my birdhouse on the back
porch. And there’s still more snow on the way!!!

Tonight I started with trimmed pots… trimmed, smoothed, refined… still leatherhard.

But if these little cylinders are going to become the little herb flowerpots as planned…
they still need some drainage holes. So I started by marking the placement of where
the drainage holes will be placed. Sure, I could do it freehand… but why?!
When you’ve got some great little tools which practically do it for you?!

These great little disks from MKM Pottery Tools are a huge help when trying to divide into
equal segments. And here’s the cool part, they give you two disks. One for an even number
of segments, and another for an odd number of segments. Plus little holes on the disks that
you can poke through to mark your pots. I’ve got the smaller 4″ disks, but they also sell a
larger 15″ disk for larger pots & platters. Click here for more info on MKM Pottery Tools.

Once the hole placements are marked… it’s time for the power tools!
Sure, I could use a small manual hole punch. Sure, I could carve through by hand.
But why do all that when an electric drill can do the trick much quicker & cleaner?!
Just insert the drill bit of your chosen diameter and drill away… carefully!
Of course you need to make sure your pots are still a good stiff leatherhard. If they are
too dry there’s more of a risk of cracking the pot. If you clay is too wet, it will just kind
of gunk-up the drill bit. Go for stiffer-leatherhard. You’ll be glad you did.

So once the drainage holes were done, I added some colored slip accents into a few of the
stamped impressions. And since these little herb flower pots are going to be soda-fired, I
used a couple different colors of flashing slips. These slips may appear to be whites & beiges
now, but when they’re fired the slip will hopefully turn into shades of oranges & yellows!

So now they’re all drilled… slip decorated… signed…

And drying…  Next up?… I still need to throw the water saucers that will go under them!

When faced with a roof full of empty bowls at Lillstreet’s “Empty Bowls Project”…
how do you choose? It’s especially tough when there are already far too many bowls
in my life. Most of them my own. Do I really need another one?! And the answer is
“of course I do.” Especially when you see one that catches your eye… and it’s made
by a friend! So here’s my new empty bowl…

I was pretty sure that it was made by Jay Strommen… remember?… the guy I posted
about a week ago? The one with the really cool wall pieces at the Bridgeport Art Center?!
If you missed that blog post, click here.

All of the clues pointed towards Jay and his partner Gina. The clay looks like Jay’s…
dark brown, gritty, chunky, with a ton of particles in it. The tea bowl shape looks very
Jay-like as well. The stamped “chop” signature looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure.

The clincher was the word LUNAR painted on the bottom in white slip. I remembered
that Gina’s company is “Lunar Media.” it all seemed too coincidental. But I went with
my gut picked this one… knowing that it just had to be from Jay & Gina.

And it was. I contacted Gina and she confirmed that it is indeed a Jay Strommen
original. Jay actually referred to it as one of their “lunar lovelies.” And I agree.
I liked it because it was beautiful… I love it even more now that I know
a friend made it!!!