So I added another mug to my already-overflowing-Mug Collection yesterday.
And by “yesterday” I mean BEFORE the crazy microburst storm that rolled through.

Art Fair “trades” are the BEST!!! This mug was made by Sam Mawicke Hostert.
Sam is one of the Monitors & Teachers at Lillstreet Art Center, She was my teaching assistnat for a few sessions. And has now moved on to teaching workshops at the Lillstreet Loft and firing the classroom soda kiln. Her mugs are detailed with precise carving and underglaze inlay. The soda firing atmosphere enhances, alters and “randomizes” the controlled decoration. Each mug is one-of-a-kind. Each one better than the next.

Okay, so here’s a crazy cool video that shows the microburst storm that rolled through yesterday. The video was filmed at Montrose Beach here in Chicago. You’ll notice that the majority of the storm is passing north of Chicago. Yep, “conveniently” right where we were in Evanston. Smack dab in the middle of the storm!!!

Click here to watch the YouTube video.

It was a crazy day at the Evanston Lakeshore Art Festival yesterday.
It was another beautiful day until a huge storm rolled through… here’s what it looked like AFTER it blew through and made it out over the Lake.

They announced shortly before 3:00pm that they needed to close the fair and evacuate the park of customers. They all left quickly, and the artists were left to fend for themselves. We were still in our tent as the torrential rains, gale force winds and quarter-sized hail pummeled the fair.

Luckily, we survived the storm with no damage. Just wet & dirty with a lot of pots on the ground… and a green stamped platter that somehow “showed up” in my neighbor’s tent?! Ironically, nothing broke during the storm, but the very first customer AFTER the storm knocked over a miniature vase!

Other artists didn’t fair so well with damaged tents and a couple of them leaving in ambulances. Hopefully the artist directly across from us is doing better after getting a huge gash on his leg from a big piece of broken glass. EMT’s tended to him on-site and he was taken to the hospital for medical attention. There were also tents that collapsed during the storm, like this one of a potter from Seagrove, North Carolina.

During my short drive home from Evanston, there were a lot of trees down.
Uprooted or smashed & broken. Obvious signs that a lot of crazy weather had passed through!

Special thanks to everyone who helped out during the aftermath…
and those who checked in to make sure we were all fine after that crazy storm!!!

After yesterday’s huge microburst storm, I am very relieved & thrilled that we didn’t really lose any pottery. The winds were SO gusty that there were things flying around everywhere. Pots sliding off shelves, sounds of things crashing around us, tents shaking & moving… yet we stayed safe. As I was holding down the tent, my parents were quickly putting pots on the ground and saving as many as they could. This large slab vase & flowers made it through unscathed… along with all of the others!

After my morning ride, I went out to the front porch to water the plants. When I turned to go back in, I was struck with the wonderful contrast & composition of the glittering glass spiral and the shadow it is casting upon a handmade birdhouse.

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Dark & dramatic over Belmont Harbor and the lakefront construction zone at Fullerton.

And a few minutes later…

Then as the sun came up the clouds moved in… and the dark drama gave way to a sparkling golden sky show!

We don’t “officially” open for another hour… but I’m all set-up and ready for business in Booth #32 at the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival. C’mon down and beat the rush!!!

Dark clouds… dark drama…

And then a small patch of red glowing in the clouds…

And finally the sun popped up and the dark clouds lit up…

Dark clouds make dark drama. Always great potential for something cool to happen.

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning… uh oh, does this sky mean anything?…

Finally the sun made an appearance and threw a splash of red onto the clouds.

And then the reflections began…

The sun went back behind the clouds. Reflection ended. Sky went blue. Clouds went white.

Luckily, the sun peeked through again for a bit of sunrise perfection!!!

And now back to the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival for Day Two!!!

A new predator has invaded the Chicago Lakefront.
An annual event where the lakefront gets infested with huge green dragonflies. Thousands of them!!! Everywhere you go along the Lake there are dragonflies. They seemed to “arrive” on the Lakefront just a couple days ago. If you look closely, you can see them in some of the sunrise photos!

So it was no surprise to find them all over the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival today. They’re pretty bold little buggers. Swooping. Swarming. Dive-bombing. But I’m more than willing to put up with them as they as also eating all of the mosquitoes and gnats. So much better to have some huge, cool-looking bugs than the little blood-sucking annoyance bugs!

And yet as soon as they appear they will also disappear.
Give them a couple days… and then they’re be gone for another year!

And one was even so bold as to land on my elbow. He hung on for quite awhile
eaving plenty of time for a little dragonfly selfie!