Come join us this weekend in Barrington as we fill the original farm buildings of Quaker Oats for my biggest art fair of the year!!! ART IN THE BARN is a great kick-off to the Fall season… and I’m celebrating once again with a double booth space!!! Twice as much space with twice as much pottery. Lower Barn E4 & E6. This art fair is also a fundraiser for the hospital, so a portion of all sales gets donated. This way you can support your favorite artist and the hospital at the same time!!!

Click here for more information on the ART IN THE BARN website.
Including a list of all the artists, activities and fun for the family.

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Here’s a sad example of what can happen when you’re rushing work & sleep-deprived at the same time. Keep in mind there’s always a chance you may “forget” to dip the bottom half in the glaze bucket before putting it in the kiln. And here I thought it was so easy wiping the glaze off the bottom foot ring… now I know why. Dang. Would’ve been nice, right???

Anyone else have a good “sleep-deprived” pottery story to share?!

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Just unloaded my “last minute” cone six glaze firing. Very excited about my new blue glaze that will be making its big debut at ART IN THE BARN this weekend!!! Limited quantities though… since this was the first time I’ve used this glaze! There will definitely be more…

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Early morning peek into the soda kiln. Looks good so far. Took out the top rows of brick to help with cooling. Unloading this evening… with everything heading to ART IN THE BARN this weekend in Barrington.

So what do you get when a group of artistic friends get together in a garden?!
You get a wonderful grassroots affair… ART IN THE GARDEN.

For the third year, we had a wonderful time in the backyard garden of my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor. Seven talented friends all banded together to throw a little art soiree’. A more intimate art fair where you really get a chance to visit and chat with the artists. The weekend started out with a little bit of misty rain on Saturday… but by noon it had cleared up and the rest of the weekend was PERFECT!!!

We had a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone who stopped by The Garden. We loved seeing everyone. Taking time to chat with everyone. And making some new friends & customers. It was a merry band of artists hanging out and playing together for the weekend. Thanks to Amy, and her husband Tom, for inviting us and hosting everyone in her backyard. And not only did she host everyone.. she also created some wonderful award ribbons fro everyone… ‘cuz everyone was a winner!

So in case you missed it… here’s a quick recap of some of the artists and their works!!!

Cory McCrory : Whimsical ceramic pieces made with paper clay. Cory has a wonderful sense of humor, an upbeat color palette and a wonderful appreciation for textures & patterns.

Deb Anderson : Beautiful impressionist paintings of nature, flowers, trees and more. Wonderful images that look so realistic from a distance, but then “break-up” into individual brish strokes when you get closer. Just wonderful.

Jill Wallace : Spunky colors… so close to tie-dye that you know I just loved them!!! She actually does a special ice-dyeing technique to create these special colors & patterns on her silk scarves & wraps.

Martin Chadwick : Incredible surrealistic montage paintings that feature a LOT of imagery information to tell a story. Intricate details and spot-on visual references. Not only are his paintings incredible… his sculptural ceramic work is pretty impressive as well.

Donna Sauers : Beautiful handmade glass bead jewelry with sterling silver accents & chains.  Baubles & bangles with collections of beads.

Retta Hentschel : Stained glass windows, lamps and lawn ornaments with collections of vintage glass interspersed with traditional glass. The textures & faceting of the vintage glass make for very special windows.

And our “garden” host Amy Taylor : Whose work speaks for itself! Wonderful designs and impeccable craftsmanship… each with a nifty hinge. Yep, everything swivels, bends, closes ot somehow pivots on a hinge!!! A lot of semi-precious stones, gems, glass and other inclusions make Amy’s work quite special. I already have quite the collection of Amy’s amazing pieces!

Also, the collaboration pieces that Amy and I did together had their “Big Reveal”!!! These innovative necklaces incorporate textured ceramic disks that I made. And then the sterling silver “cafe” pendants that Amy made to hold them. They have a great hinge & clasp combinatin so you can open & close the pendant to trade out the discs. Each necklace comes with a collection of discs in different colors & textures.

And who’s coming home with the round one in the center… little old ME!!!

I also received my ribbon award form Amy… not surprising it had OREO’s, huh?!!!

And a special award for Amy’s husband Tom… who got the garden all ready for our invasion. Tom was always there to help each of us in the garden. Setting up, tearing down, figuring out where everything goes and so much more!

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So I opened my mailbox today… and found the latest issue of Ceramics Monthly.
I knew it was coming, I’ve already received my “sneak preview” issues, but it’s still fun to see the actual magazine arriving in my mail. And knowing that the same issue is arriving in mailboxes all around the world!!! That my little “Tips And Tools” segment is being read by potters everywhere!!! So exciting.

And while I would highly recommend that everyone subscribe to this fine magazine… you can still read my article even if you don’t. It’s the “Tips and Tools” segment on page 100. They contacted me and asked if I would be interested in writing about my power-drilled berry bowls. And of course I said “YES”!!!

Originally published in October 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly, page 100.
http://www.ceramicsmonthly.org . Copyright, The American Ceramic Society.
Reprinted with permission.

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All of my soda mixture has been put into the kiln… and Cone 10 is almost down. So much fun playing with fire. Watching the warm glow & shooting flames as you pull the peeps to peek inside. A long day of firing coming to an end soon. Hoping for beautiful treasures inside.

Well, ART IN THE BARN is just one week from today.
So I guess today might be as good a time as any to start making more pumpkins and maybe a new “ghoul” to add to the collection.

Who me?… procrastinate much?!!!

For me, kiln firing days are always filled with studio cleaning & projects… or in my case today, glazing another whole kiln full for a cone six firing tomorrow! Pots are waxed & drying… let the glaze dipping commence!

Green wax you may ask?… nope. Not really. It comes as a clear wax which is always a little tough to see when you wax your pots. But add a few drops of food coloring and it will be a LOT easier to see!!!