It was an early morning Evanston artist trade… a stamped cake plate stand for some rusty spirals. I already had a collection started, so I was thrilled to get more!!! They’re now in my dining room “growing” in the corner behind the radiator!

Thank you Joanie Drizin of Girly Steel for making my “curl collection” grow!!!

Looks like I’ve got a bucket full of fun to start glazing!!! And quick…

Cory has been cranking ’em out…

And showing off more & more… little teasers pecking & poking out all over Facebook!!!
Guess I need to start getting my act together if I’m going to be ready to put it all together for “Art In The Garden.” Remember, it’s the last weekend of August… which is coming a lot faster than I would like!!!

Another beautiful morning with pastel clouds sweeping across the horizon.

It’s always nice when you get a phone call the day after an art fair…
from a customer who purchased work during the fair, but resisted from buying everything she wanted. But then found she couldn’t quite get it out of her head. And she thought about it all day long.

Today was one of those days when Louise called me and asked if I still had any Double Spice Pots left and could she still buy one?! Luckily, I did have three for her to choose from. So we met up at my studio and now she’s the proud owner of the piece “that almost got away.” Thanks Louise for having me stuck in your head. Glad I could be there for ya’!!!

Two days of standing around selling artwork can be exhausting. Especially with the day before set-up. Not to mention the endless hours of making all the work, packing & transporting. Well, I had a wonderful booth neighbor who makes beautiful watercolor painting. But later this afternoon… she had had about enough…

Luckily, her husband was there to man the booth while she went down for a quick siesta. Getting ready with a quick “power nap” for the rest of the fair… plus the hours of pack-up and her drive back to St. Louis!!!

Day Two at the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival.
Shelves are restocked, ClayQuilt tile boards have been replenished… and we’re kicking off the day with a NEW sales receipt book. Day One, book one. Day Two… here’s hoping we fill up another one today!!!

Well, when I arrived back at the art fair this morning, everything seemed normal from the front of the tent. So I rolled up the front flap and stepped inside. Everything looked good. Everything looked normal. Just where I had left it.

Except… uh oh, what’s that?!!!
Why is the back flap unzipped??? I know I didn’t leave it like that?

The two spikes I put in at the bottom were still in place so it wasn’t opened too far. Nothing was taken… it just looks like someone unzipped the tent flap, reached in and opened my food cooler that I had left there. Nothing but water, Gatorade, bananas, Twizzlers and some granola bars?!!! And they were still all there too?! Huh??? Guess my food wasn’t what the culprit was looking for??? The bill of fare must not have been up to his standards?!!!

As the morning set-up continued, there were a few other tents around me that had been tampered with too. Nothing seemed to be missing. Just moved. Just rearranged. Just some overnight rummaging?!!! Sure, the organizers of the fair set up for overnight security, and I’m sure they were there watching the tents. But the way our tents backed up to each other in a long corridor, I’m sure it was easy for the “invader” to skip from tent to tent in the back while the police watched the fronts.

Regardless, a good reminder that our tents are NOT invincible. And that we all need to be a little more cautious. Over time we get a little relaxed. We were all very lucky that they weren’t there to steal anything of real value, or to ruin any artwork. We were all very lucky… a good reminder for all of us!!!

Day Two of the Evanston Lakeshore Art Fair, and once again I had plenty of time to “play” along the Lakeshore before the start of the show at 11:00am. So what better way to “play” than with another sunrise bike ride and a quick swim?! Perfectly still waters… good for my swim!!!