It’s always such a pleasure to hang out in a beautiful garden with good friends. Even better to get away from the City for a quick weekend getaway with my cousin Kim. We’re both working too hard and have six million things to do. So it was extra special this weekend to put “everything on hold” and just go away for a road trip! My talented friends Gerry & Rosene live on Central Illinois near Peoria. They were my very first at fair friends several years ago. I was just starting out at MY VERY FIRST art fair… okay, holiday craft show... and they were across the aisle. The were the seasoned veterans. I was the newbie providing “naive entertainment’ for them. They have since “retired” from crafting… and now they spend all their time creating & caring for the most wonderful garden ever. Such a treasure. Not only are the layered terraces & plants pretty amazing. But the creative whimsy and rusty metal accents still harken back to their crafting days. And who doesn’t like some well-utilized rust?!!!

So there it is… a quick tour of their award-winning garden. So many things to find & discover. So many incredible colors & textures. So many plants to tend to. As I’ve always said…. so much fun to have Talented Friends!!! And even more fun that they are so generous that they can be credited with helping my own gardens look pretty special too. The majority of my garden plants have traveled home from Peoria to take up residence in Chicago. Thank you Rosene & Gerry!!!

One of the best… this morning was spectacular.
Such wonderful colors so early on in the morning. The saturated shades kept changing & evolving.
Getting better & better every few minutes.

Finally the purples & reds dissipated and the sky took on a wispy golden-orange tone.

Tonight I did a little stamping & detailing of my class demo bowls from Tuesday night.
“Not so basic” just got a little more textured!!!

So my “constellation” of textured wall pockets has been hung in the Gallery Annex. I love how it turned out. And in the perfect location right there at the top of the stairs (thank you Brian). Kinda nice being the very first thing you see as you come up to the second floor. Finishing touches are still being added to the show… and the Opening Reception is next week on Friday, July 24th.

Who says panoramic photos need to be horizontal?!
Not me.

This morning started out dark & cloudy.
I love when you can actually see the rain falling from the clouds out over the lake.

Then soon enough, the sun came up and the orange clouds become AMAZING!!!

Sorry, there’s a lot of photos here… trust me, I narrowed it down as far as I could.
But it’s tough when each one is SPECTACULAR!!! Enjoy.

Beautiful. All the way to the very last splash of color.
Thank you for indulging my little biking sunrise addiction. Thanks for playing!

Last night in my Beginning Wheelthrowing class we worked on bowls.
Basic bowls thrown the right way and on purpose… NOT a cylinder gone bad.
So we did a demo of the basic bowl with a nice round interior using my green plastic rib.

Bowl #1 – Plain

After this first bowl, my students went back to their wheels to keep working. As they were making pots, I continued to throw more bowls. After I had made 15 more bowls, we reconvened by my demo wheel. I then showed them some quick ways to “decorate” their basic bowls to make them “not so basic” anymore!!! We talked about playing with your clay, taking a chance, committing to your alterations and making the bowl “yours.” Just because the wheel makes round pots doesn’t mean that they need to stay that way!!!

Bowl #2 – Two Twisted Flutes.

Bowl #3 – Eight Twisted Flutes.

Bowl #4 – Thin Flange bent outwards.

Bowl #5– Wide Flange bent outwards.

Bowl #6 – Flange and Twisted Fluting.

Bowl #7 – Split Rim with Pinches.

Bowl #8 – Split Rim and Fluted In & Out

Bowl #9 – Split Rim in a Lotus Flower Style

Bowl #10 – Plain with a Flower Pressed in the bottom with a simple dragonscale tool.

Then we started working more with colored slip. For the demo I used thick white slip and thin blue mazzerine. Now looking at the photos, I probably should have used a darker slip to show more contrast to the lightness of the B-Clay. Oh well… next time!!

Bowl #11 – White Slip Spiral using the rounded end of my wooden knife.

Bowl #12 – White Slip Squiggles with my finger tip.

Bowl #13 – White Slip Banding & Squiggles

Bowl #14 – Blended Gradation Ombre with Chattering Texture

Bowl #15 – Wide Flange with some Mazzerine Squiggles.

Bowl #16 – Mazzerine Slip with a couple Newspaper Letter Stencils.

So now they are all in my studio under wraps. Covered with plastic so they can dry a bit slowly. I’m hoping that maybe tomorrow night they will be ready for some stamping, detailing & accenting. If so… most like more photos will follow!

I found the latest addition to the Nabisco Oreo family. THINS.
I think Nabisco is trying to position them as “adult” Oreo’s… or maybe “healthy” Oreo’s. I must admit they taste pretty good… exactly like their bigger counterparts. Same proportions. Same flavor. But since they’re so thin, I just want to eat MORE of them to amke up for the difference!!!

And then when I came down to the classroom, I found out that I wasn’t the only one with Oreo’s on the brain. Two of my students had each brought in two different kinds of Oreo’s. What?!!! Seven, yes count them… SEVEN BAGS of Oreo’s!!! This snack addiction may be getting a little out of control?!

Putting it all together… making a plan for how my collection of textured wall pillows will become a complete “constellation” for the upcoming “Variations In Soda Fired Work” Show.