Just one more Halloween pumpkin. This one from the talented hands of Mike Skiercsh . It’s the first in a new annual Limited Edition series of Jack-O-Lantern tiles. A very cute addition to my Halloween decor… and I can’t wait to add to the collection every year!!! This one is #13 of 50. I hope to collect “lucky number 13” every year!!!

For more on Mike and his beautiful handmade tiles & installations,
click here for the Skiersch Studio website.

Just a few of the pumpkins I carved this year. These were part of a special Halloween project I did with the “glitter gig.” Always fun to have the opportunity to decorate someone else’s house with some over-the-top decor… including collections of fun pumpkins!

Plus a special one to celebrate the Chicago Cubs and their winning season!

And possibly my favorite one… the shy little guy stuck in the corner…

My latest batch of wheelthrown ornments now have caps & rings. Next up tomorrow… some colored slip accents before bisque firing. Then some “holiday magic” with flashing effects in my upcoming soda kiln. Getting them ready for my Holiday Home Show the weekend before Thanksgiving!

A little Halloween Eve fun in the studio tonight. Working on my ornaments while resisting (slightly) the urge to break out into The Time Warp. And I’m not too proud to say it… I know all the words and I’m not afraid to sing along!!! So I did.

Again, it’s all in how you look at it.

Another dark morning.
Another beautiful sunrise right at the very end of my ride.
For the past couple weeks, I’ve actually been sitting & waiting
for it just a few blocks from home having already ridden to Navy Pier & back.

Just sitting.
Just waiting.

Luckily, the time change is this weekend. so next week the sunrise will be an hour earlier
and I’ll be able to enjoy the sunrise… and still ride some in sunlight!!!
That’s me looking forward to the time change!!!

At the “glitter gig” today we had a bunch of floral come back from yesterday’s events. Sadly, most of the flowers were destined for the dumpster. Except for the ones that I “saved”… and brought to the studio to share with my studio neighbors! A great surprise for three of my neighbors… and a great way to make a vase’s true destiny come to fruition!

In my studio, I now have some structural orange Asiatic lilies… hanging out in a stamped & soda-fired oval vase. Surprise huh?… you know orange is my favorite color. So of course I kept these ones for myself.

And a second group with some red roses in another stamped oval. I love the layered “organization” of a rose as it opens. Some structural repetition… sound familiar?

Over in Lisa Harris‘ studio, I used one of her rectangular footed box vases for an autumnal collection of roses, mums and kale. For more about Lisa’s work, click here.

In the corner, Karen Patinkin got a collection of vibrant red roses. Perfect for one of her porcelain vases with intricate glazing & decoration. For more about Karen’s work, click here.

And Cathi Schwalbe now has a medley of Fall flowers in one of her handmade tumblers. Mums, roses, flowering kale and some seeded eucalyptus. For more about Cathi’s work, click here.

So much fun to see a great splash of color in my neighbor’s studios. Knowing that the flowers should have been in the dumpster by now, but instead now get a “new life” in some beautiful handmade vases!

With the blustery winds blowing all of the leaves off the trees, why not add some more trees just to add some more color?! Makes perfect sense to me… ha!

I’m sure it will make more sense next year when we have more trees in the park?!

Windy. Blustery. Cold.
With some great calico clouds sweeping across the sky.

Did I mention COLD?… did I mention WINDY???!!!

Today I tackled my holiday ornaments. They were all thrown on the wheel and were ready to be trimmed. So I took of some of the “bulk” with a fettling knife before actually trimming.

I LOVE MY GIFFIN GRIP!!!
I don’t know how I would do these without it?!
I think every potter should have one!!! You’ll wonder how you ever got by without one!

Anyways, I “float” the ornaments on the posts of the Giffin Grip. It closes in and holds the ornaments pretty firmly for trimming. For a quick trimming video, click here to go to my Facebook page.

A lot of ornaments… a lot of trimming…

After awhile thyey were all trimmed. Next up, I need to add some handbuilt caps & rings to the tops. But that’s for another day. So for now they’re back under wraps.