Another beautiful morning on the lakefront. After traveling all weekend with my parents up in Minnesota… and so much time spent sitting in the car, it was great to get back out on my bike this morning!

And it’s always a welcome sign when the lifeguard stands finally reappear on the lakefront. One more sign that Summer might actually be on its way… for good this time!!!

My bisque kiln was loaded LATE last night when I got home from Minneapolis. It was pre-set to turn on at 4:00am this morning. And my bisque kiln cycle is usually around 12 hours long. So when I got back into the studio around 6:30pm I was more than a little concerned when the kiln was still on… and not even close to being finished!

I discussed my kiln “predicament” with my studio neighbor Karen Patinkin who also had a few pieces in that kiln. Ironically, she had loaded another bisque kiln of her own work that she turned on around noon… and her’s was going to finish ahead of mine. Go figure.

There was really nothing I could do but to wait and hope that it kept going. Although down deep I knew it wouldn’t finish. Eventually, around 10:30pm the kiln finally shut off and gave me an Error Code 1. So I called our studio operations manager to discuss my dilemma. I was really hoping that the pieces inside would be close enough to be considered “bisqued.” As my soda kiln is scheduled for later this week, I need to get these pieces through and ready to load on Friday night.

After much discussion, we all figured out that my kiln made it to a top temperature of 1727-degrees. I was hoping to get to cone 05… but at that point I was hovering somewhere between cone 09 and cone 08. The general consensus was that my pots would be good and would not need to be refired. So I guess they’re done for the day. Our guess is that one of the heating elements stopped working. At least I don’t need to unload, reload and refire eveything! Close enough… I hope we’re correct. I guess we’ll find out when I unload if we were right or not…

After three days of fun in Minnesota, and thousands of pots everywhere you looked, it’s always tough to keep your cool.. and keep your cash. There’s a certain excitement, and a certain compulsion that takes over as you see more & more incrediuble work. And the quesiton is always “which ones” would be coming home with me?!!! And here they are…

Always a favorite… As I’ve said before, we always go to Bob Briscoe’s studio first. Some of my favorite potters are there, as well as the one responsible for one of my pottery addictions. Matt Metz.And his incredible sgraffito technique!!! Let me just say upfront that I already have too of his pieces in my collection. But when you’re surrounded by so many more, along with Matt himself to talk to… it’s so hard to resist. I tried my best. But apparently didn’t do so well in the self-restraint category.

This sweet little rectangle box was the first piece I picked up. Then I put it down. Looked around more. Picked it up. Put it down. More admiring. Picked it up. Put it down. Eventually… after being drawn back to it so many times, I knew it was coming home with me!

And then I decided that I needed an Matt Metz “tumbler?” to actually use in the kitchen. So many of his pieces are part of “the collection” and they’re too cherished to use. So this one I purchased with the intention of actually using it… and loving it everyday!

Sure, I should have stopped. Sure I should have kept my wallet in my pants pocket. But then I saw this tall cylindrical vase. And it was over… mine.

And while I was getting a Metz to use everyday, why not get a Suze Lindsay tumbler too?!

Then we moved on to the other studio locations and we made it to Will Swanson’s studio. Another batch of incredible potters. Karin Kraemer was there once again. I remember last year being enamored by her colorful work. But it’s really not my style. I knew I liked it, but not sure why. Then this year I was drawn to it again. And had some time to talk with Karin as well. I kept going back to the same cheerful bowl… and I realized they just made me happy. So colorful. So fun. And if it makes me happy… I think I need it.

And another mug for my official “mug collection.” Again, who wouldn’t smile every time you see a rooster smiling back at you every morning?!!! So two of Karin Kraemer’s colorful majolica pieces made their way back to Chicago. And they continue to make me smile!!!

So I pulled out all of my bisque today to start the glazing process. Which I must admit is my least favorite part of the whole process?! Every time I start I keep thinking that I need to find someone to do this for me?! Ha… like that will ever happen?!

And this is just the first half…
there’s another bisque kiln firing that I still need to unload & glaze as well!

It was a late night last night. A long drive back from Minnesota AND even later in the studio loading my bisque kiln. So I was a little tired… but never too tired to have a great breakfast with a good friend.

My favorite metalsmith Sarah Chapman was in town and ready to “break some bread.” Oddly enough, Sarah used to live in Chicago. About a year ago she moved to Minneapolis. Of all the bad timing, she was back in Chicago while we were up in Minneapolis. And now that I’m back in Chicago, she’s headed back to Minneapolis as soon as we finish breakfast!!! Not only was breakfast yummy, but she also had some exiting news to share… a little “teaser” about a special commission piece she has done for a TV commercial. She can’t quite share all of the details yet, but it’s intriguing that there will be some computer-morphjing of her stunning necklace into the product the commercial is for! How cool is that?! And so intriguing… can’t wait for more details… and to see the final results!!!

So we met at Pauline’s for breakfast… so share some stories and get caught up. Imagine my surprise & delight when I found “s’more pancakes” on the menu! Yes. S’mores!!! You know how I love ’em!!! Graham cracker crumbles, chocolate chip pancakes and mini marshmallows sprinkled on the pancakes as they were cooking on the griddle. The tiny “holes” in the pancakes are where the marshmallows used to be before the melted into sweet goodness.

We both laughed when we saw this sign as we were exiting Pauline’s. So true!!!

After my “greenware explosion surprise”... I was ready to some quick loading. Quick because I really wanted to get home for a goo night sleep in my own bed!!!

Layer 1 – bowls, salt & pepper shakers, mini vases & glaze test tiles

Layer 2 – plates for berry bowls, tiles and some porcelain Christmas ornaments.

Layer 3 – More berry bowls, salt & pepper shakers, ikebanas, tiles and mini’s.

Layer 4 – More ikebanas, more tiles, more glaze test tiles and the “exploded” greenware plates!
Really no good reason to glaze them… other than a souvenir and visual “evidence” of my story!

Layer 5 – tumblers, a couple mini’s and some porcelain pieces by studio neighbor Karen Patinkin.

After a LONG day in the car driving home from Minnesota, we finally made it to my parents house where we switched cars and I continued back into the city. It was late. I was tired. But I knew that I still had work to do. With my next soda kiln less than a week away, I knew that I had to fire one last bisque kiln if I was going to have time to glaze the pieces. So it was a very late night at the studio loading my bisque kiln.

So there I was bringing pieces in from my studio, and taking them down from the shelves in the kiln room. Only to notice some “explosions” on three of the berry bowl plates! And I have no idea what happened?! Three of the plates appear to have had “explosions” while I was out of town.

So here’s the sequence of events… I threw the plates. Dried them to a soft leatherhard. Did a little stamping. Dried some more. Trimmed them and then let them dry in my studio. The next day, I stacked them up and took them down to the kiln room for storage. There were five stacks of four plates. Now I know for a fact that I would never stack plates  if there was ever a chance they were still wet. So the tray of plates was sitting in the kiln room for a couple weeks while I continued to make more work in my studio. And I do this all the time. I frequently have trays of greenware drying until I load my next bisque kiln.

Anyway, when I took the tray of berry bowl plates down, three of the plates had “explosions” on them. It was the top two in one stack, and the top one on another stack. Cracked. Broken. Exploded. And if you look closely, you can even see some of the “rubble” that exploded up and out of the plate?! Someone suggested that maybe something fell and landed on them?… but if that was the case tey would have cracked downwards, not up! And so far… the best “solution” is that there was some moisture trapped inside even though they appeared to be dry. And then somehow the temperature in the kiln room exceeded normal levels… which would have to be hovering above 200-degrees for this kinfd of damage?! Any other possiblities? Any other thoughts on how this might happen???

Okay, sure. Our weekend had been jam packed full with clay, pots & potters.
We did the official St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour, we did a little shopping, we did a little chatting. We also went down to Continental Clay, Northern Clay Center and Emily Murphy’s pottery studio. We also played with the Rogue Potters and toyed with Steven Hill. But today was our day to head home. So why not make one more stop along the way?!

So we drove to Hudson, Wisconsin… right across the river from Stillwater, Minnesota. It’s a cute little town with a very nice art gallery. It used to be located on the east side of the street, but Seasons On St. Croix has relocated to the the west side of the street to a much larger facility. And when you see a big sign like this on the side of the street… you’ve got to stop by!!! You know we love ART!!!

We’ve been tot he gallery before. They have a lot of great artists, and generally quite a bit of nice pottery. And this newer gallery space has room for even more pottery! Including some really large pieces by Joe Christenen If you’ve been to the One-Of-A-Kind Show in Chicago, there’s a really good chance you’ve seen his large vessels on display there. But his is a much larger collection of his work… large urns, bottles and newer pieces with some sculptural animals on them. I know my friend Nancy loves his work!!!

And while you’re there, you need to go downstairs to see Joe Christensen’s studio. It in the walk-out basement of the gallery building. There’s a large work space and a separate kiln room. Unfortunately, Joe wasn’t around today while we were there. But luckily, his studio space was unlocked so we got a chance to look around.

And a great pot that he had apparently just finished sgraffito carving as it was now drying.

For more information about Joe Christensen’s pottery, click here for his website
or check out Joe Christensen’s LINK the right hand column of my blog.
And you’ll be glad you did… there’s a time lapse video of him throwing a 5-foot tall pot!!!