Luckily, by the time I finished throwing all of these flower pots, the first few were already stiffening up enough to do some stamping! So with some careful timing & a delicate touch, I slowly went through and stamped all of the pots. Thrown & stamped in one day!!! Sweet…. not a bad day in the studio!!!

Just trying to squeeze in one last batch of work. Terra cotta flower pots that I “hope” will be done in time for the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival next weekend. Plenty of time… ha!!!

I had sort of ” forgotten” how dirty, gooey & gloppy throwing with terra cotta can be!

During the frenzy of glazing all day, it was great to have a visit from Gerry & Rosene… my very first art fair friends ever!!! We met several years ago when I was just starting out. It was a small holiday show in Sandwich, Illinois. And they were right across the aisle fomr me. Seasoned veterans of the craft fair circuit… and me just starting out. My very first show!!!

Needless to say, I made all the right mistakes. And they were right there to watch, help and advise. As I quickly overspread my booth space, fumbled all over the floor trying to set up my booth, and getting ready for the show. They were so supportive and encouraging… and we’ve been great friends ever since!

So although I was busy glazing & wadding all day, it was a great diversion to have them stop by. Sure, I was BUSY!!!… sure I was OVERWHELMED at the amount of work I still needed to do. But it was so good to see them stop by my studio for the first time! They were in town celebrating Gerry’s birthday with a studio visit and tickets to “Hamilton.” So we chatted, did a full Lillstreet tour with them, daughter Kristy, hubby Matt and Matt’s mom. I think they all enjoyed their tour of the studio… as they asked a LOT of great questions.

All too soon they were off to dinner so I could get back to work.
Glazing. Glazing more. Wadding. Cleaning. Glazing. Wadding and eventually loading the kiln!!!
I’d rather be eating dinner with them.

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The kick-off of my art fair season is SO quickly approaching…
and of course I’m “racing” to get my show postcards in the mail. I’ve been sending out small batches out over the past few days… and I REALLY Need to get the rest mailed out soon!!!

And for those of you who might not be on the active mail list…

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Tonight at the Cadillac Palace Theater… a wonderful night in Agrabah!!!

Sure, it was a magical night… and the Cadillac Palace Theater is a great venue!
The architectural details and amazing craftsmanship. The moldings. The ceilings. The chandeliers. They don’t make theaters like they used to!!!

After gawking at the theater’s architecture… it was finally time for the show!

And apparently, there is more than one Magic Lamp…
or maybe just a great display board of Aladdin holiday ornaments at the souvenir stand!!!

The show itself is AMAZING!!!
They did a wonderful job of adapting the Disney animated classic to a live theater show. The colors, the settings, the dancing  the singing. ALl amazing!!! Sure, there are a few changes along the way. A few new characters, a few missing. Some new songs, some favorite classics. All in all, a WONDERFUL noght of musical theater!!!

And then there’s the Magic Carpet ride… Jasmine & Price Ali flying out over the Agrabah sky!

I swear I have no idea how this darn carpet flies!!! I watched intently when they took off and flew out of Jasmine’s bedroom window. I tried my best to figure out how it was happening. No visible cables. No signs of a crane. I tried… and I “assumed’ they were doing a great job of hiding them with the nighttime sky & star-filled setting. But when the carpet showed up again during Curtain Call in full lighting… I strained my eyes to see the trick. And STILL… no idea how this happens!!! They do a wonderful job here.

So when I got home, I had to do a little research… and everywhere online, any article I could find says that it’s just “Disney Magic.” And that all of the cast members are sworn to secrecy. So much for figuring it out… but isn’t this part of the fun?!!!

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A cloudy start to a very warm morning. It was great to finally shed
all of the “Winter” layers and go with just bike shorts & sleeveless jersey!!!
WHOO-HOO… Summer is coming soon!!!

So I’m rushing towards my next soda kiln. Lots of new pots in the studio. Some of them not quite dry yet… but I’ve got to get them bisqued tonight or they won’t make it into the soda kiln!!! So it may not be my best & tightest kiln loading ever… but luckily my soda students had some greenware that helped fill my kiln. So we shared some kiln space… and loaded carefully so as not to stack or nest any pots that were still damp. No explosions here!!!

Layer #1 – flower pots, mugs and some student mugs & cylinders.

Layer #2 – bowls, mugs, flower pot water dishes… and some student plates.

Layer #3 – stamped vases, bowls, mugs… and more student work!

Layer #4 – half a layer with a couple more bowls, and just a “few” stacked & tumbled to fit.

Finishing up some flower pots for some quick-drying & bisque firing. Stoneware with ochre and some colored flashing slips for my soda firing next weekend… and drip trays to boot.

Hoping to have them all ready for the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival in two weeks!

Riding a little higher today after shlepping almost 1,000 pounds of clay home from Minneapolis in my car! Boxes of new clay from Continental Clay, and a friend’s bags of dried reclaim that I need to do a little work on to get it back to where it started.