Uh oh… the nest of four baby bunnies was gone today.
Try explaining that to all of the Summer Camp kids… over & over & over again!
Where are they? Where did they go? How did they get out? Where’s Mom? etc….
I hope that my “safe” answer is correct… that Mom carefully carried them out
to safety by the scruff of their neck.

The kids seemed to buy it…
better than any of the other possible scenarios that were all a bit more gruesome!

Clouds. Dark. Moody.
I kind of thought that we might miss the sunrise all together this morning.

But as the morning progressed… by sunrise expectations began to grow as well…

At just the right time the clouds & sun aligned and we got a beautifully majestic sunrise.

And then when I got home… it rained.

I also trimmed all of the “24”… and added some colored slip accents to the tops & stamps.
Now all set and drying.

It felt great to get back into the studio tonight after this weekend’s art fair in Evanston… and the start of another week of Summer Camp kicking off today. Luckily, the bowls I stamped last week were at a perfect leather-hard state for trimming. So now they are all trimmed, burnished, signed and drying upside-down.

And here’s the “other” alternative to booth neighbors!
We’ve all had them at one time or another. So glad I made it through another fair with GOOD neighbors… although I do love “buttons dipped in glitter and hanging on strings” as art!!! Hysterical… yet sadly so true!

Click here for the video “Art Fair Neighbors.”

Once again, the weather was beautiful. And my “backyard” view was stunning.
The Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival is always a fun weekend on the lakefront.

Sure, my booth was filled with a LOT of pottery. And it was so much fun to see so many supportive friends & customers passing through this weekend. I just love watching people pick up my pieces, caress them, fondle them, and eventually fall in love with them!

I was also lucky to meet another fun metalsmith this weekend… as she moved into the booth next to me! Carole Axium of Chicago was great fun to play with all weekend long. And her work is beautiful to boot. A weekend art fair is always so much more fun when you have good “booth neighbors” AND you admire their work.

Here’s a quick peek at some of her beautiful designs. Everything is easily functional, you can wear them everyday, and she OBVIOUSLY has a love of incredible stones! She has quite a collection of crazy “picture” stones with so many layers, colors and more!

But the funniest part of the weekend playing with Carole was on Sunday when her daughter Megan decided to “work” for the day to make some extra money. And I use the term “work” very loosely!!! I tried to get her to negotiate a deal & a contract with her Mom before she even started working. But as the day went on, it was apparent that she was eating more from the food vendors than she ever could be earning from “working”?!

Megan was adorable. And just as quirky & goofy as you would expect any pre-teen to be!!!

For more information on her website, click here for Carole Axium Designs.

Special thanks to everyone who came out to the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival this weekend. It was so much fun seeing so many friends, familiar faces & loyal customers in my booth… as well as those new fans who played with me & my pottery! Thanks for making this weekend so much fun!!!

Day Two in Evanston was another beautiful day on the lake.
There were a few more clouds, and a little chill in the air, but I’ll take ’em. It was quite possibly the best “art-fair-weather-weekend” ever!!! No rain. No storms. No wind. No forced evacuations. No gnat infestations. Nothing that we’ve grown accustomed to in Evanston?! Just beautiful… and more beautiful.

“Officially” we open at 11:00am… but I’m all set up at the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival an hour ealry. C’mon by for an early sneak peek!!! Booth #42 with a great view of the lake!!!

Speaking of beautiful views… here’s the backyard with clear skies and a wonderful breeze. Perfect.

This week is traditionally one of my favorite weeks of Summer Camp every year. Pam & I have been teaching this theme camp for a few years now, and the kids continue to amaze me every time. The concept is that in one week (five days) the kids will create an entire thematic dinnerware set made out of clay & metal. So we kick-off the week with two days of terra cotta making plates, bowls, cups & handles on Monday & Tuesday. We then shift to metals for Wednesday & Thursday to cut out their forks, knives & spoons… as well as other serving pieces. On Friday, we put everything together and have a potluck lunch with the kids. Hence the theme… Fire, Forge & Feast. Clay projects that need to be fired, metal pieces that need to be forged and a potluck lunch than needs to be feasted on!

My co-teacher for the week was Pam Robinson. I do most of the clay teaching, she did most of the metal teaching. Luckily, we’re both able to do both, so it’s a great tag-team-combo-teaching experience! Not only is it fun to play with the kids all week, but Pam keeps me laughing as well. And she’s great with the kids… keeping them working hard, teaching them the basics and keeping it fun even though there are more safety concerns & rules than in clay.

When we get into the Metals Department, the kids draw out the shapes of their cutlery, glue it to the sheet metal, and then start cutting it out. Once cut out, they need to file the sharp edges, and then sandpaper them smooth.

Once they had cut out their metal pieces, done a bit of filing and sanding, it was time to add some textures & patterns… which means a LOT of hammering & banging!!! Pam did a quick demo on how to use the different tools correctly to get the desired effects. And then the kids set off to make a bunch of noise… and make some hammered textures!

Some pieces also require some metal-to-metal connections, so Pam taught them all how to do a simple metal rivet. Simple for Pam… a little tougher for the rest of us!

By the end of the “metal fabrication days”, the scoreboard for broken saw blades was getting a little scary. Some of the kids did really well… others, not so much. Remember, the object is to NOT break blades… and therefore have a LOW number on the board. The winner with the lowest number of broken blades was promised a handmade prize from Pam.

We also used the dry-erase board to make a list of who was bringing what for Friday’s potluck feast. The kids signed up for what they wanted to bring in, then Pam and I filled in the holes. Sometime later, unbeknownst to us, someone did a little “graffiti” on the board… I’d like to think this means they like ME better?!!! But I really think it has more to do with salad vs. drinks! One quick clue would be that I don’t have curly hair?!

On Friday, it’s always a frantic rush to get everything finished and put together. There’s lots of terra cotta pots coming out of the kiln, as well as metal pieces coming out of the tumbler… all needing some assembly & finishing touches!

Once separated and organized, the metal cutlery pieces were inserted and epoxyed into the clay handles. Thematic metal pieces fitting into their thematic clay handles. The perfect combo!

By the middle of Friday, the final dinnerware sets were coming together quite nicely. Some still had a few pieces to finish, and we still had a potluck lunch to share.

Dinnerware Set #1 –

Dinnerware Set #2 –

Dinnerware Set #3 –

Dinnerware Set #4 –

Dinnerware Set #5 –

Dinnerware Set #6 –

Dinnerware Set #7 –

Dinnerware Set #8 –

Dinnerware Set #9 –

Dinnerware Set #10 –

Well, that’s it for another week of Fire, Forge & Feast. So much fun for me & Pam… and a whole lot of work for the kids to accomplish on one week!