Clear skies & splashing waves… a perfect way to start my Sunday morning.

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My friend Claire works with a great group at a local Montessori School. Her students decided to build a totem pole for their auction project. Claire saw one of the totem poles my Summer Camp kids made a few years back… so she’s been using my blog as a reference for her totem pole project. I can’t wait to see the final results by the students at the Montessori School of Lake Forest, Adolescent Program. Their slab-built sections look great so far… even better when they’re glazed, fired and stacked!!!

Slab-built terra cotta sections… rolled into a hollow cylinder with a slab base. Each section will eventually be stacked into the finished totem pole.

To see more about my own totem pole adventures, click on the “totem pole” category in the column to the right.

We’re just three short weeks from the start of my Summer Art Fair Schedule… three weeks & several kiln firings before my art fair flag gets unfurled!!! Amazing how fast this has come around again this year, and how many pots I still want to make before then!!! Mark your calendars… giddy-up!!!

Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, May 27th, 2016 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, May 28th, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center
201 Schaumburg Court in Schaumburg, Illinois

Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival
Saturday, June 10th, 2016 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, June 11th, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Burlington Park on Chicago Avenue between Washington & Garfield Streets
in Hinsdale, Illinois

Evanston Lakeshore Fine Arts Festival
CANCELLED by the Village of Evanston… with no explanation?!!!
So if you were a loyal Evanston customer, you might need to step out
and come to another art fair somewhere else?! Like maybe Glenview?… next…

Art In The Garden : A Grassroots Art Fair
Saturday, August 19th, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, August 20th, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, IL 60025
One block west of Waukegan Road, between Lake Street and Glenview Road.
It’s a special weekend to play with some of My Talented Friends!!!
We’re at the home of metalsmith Amy Taylor, with our other artist friends…
including wonderful & whimsical paperclay artistry of Cory McCrory, paintings by Deb Anderson, turned-wood pieces by Ken Staggs, stained glass by Retta Hentschel, enamel jewelry by Nancy Sickbert-Wheeler, paintings by Jillian Hentschel and ice-dyed scarves by Jill Wallace.

Art In The Barn
Saturday, September 23rd, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, September 24th, 2016 – 10:00am-5:00pm
Located on the grounds (and in the barns) of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital
on Route 22 in Barrington, Illinois – Lower Barn E4 & E6

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show
Saturday, November 18th, 2016 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, November 19th, 2016 – 10:00am-6:00pm
Contact me for invitations & more information…

“Mud & Metal” : A Collaborative Holiday Home Show
A second Holiday Home Show for those who need some last-minute gifts!
The second or third Saturday of December???  – More details to come…

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My work is also available year-round at…

Lillstreet Studios – my pottery studio is 205 West
on the second floor Lillstreet Art Center. This is where the “magic” happens!
With six other artists in Studio 205 West, our open studio hours are determined
by when one of is there working – or by appointment.
4401 North Ravenswood at Montrose, Chicago, Illinois
For more information – lillstreetstudios.com

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Another batch of cylinders are trimmed and ready to become mugs! Yep, the “quadrant-ed” ones!!! So I start by cutting small blocks of clay, and then begin my slamming them down and rotating until I get this compressed “carrot” shape. One for each mug…. and usually one extra “just in case” something happens along the way!

Then I pull my handles the traditional way. Holding the “carrot” in my left hand and pulling it long with a bit of water and friction. Eventually you’ll get a strap of clay – a portion of which will become the handle. I like to flip mine over into a loop so they can set-up close to the shape they will become.

After a good amount of scoring & slipping, handles are attached and we now have MUGS!!!
I like to keep my mugs covered with plastic overnight so the moisture levels between cylinder & handle can balance out a bit. No need to rush them to drying after all of the work you’ve put into them already… what’s one more night if it helps keep your handles from cracking off?

So now they’re all “assembled”… and waiting for some colored flashing slip accents!

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And counting the days until the big Minnesota pottery tour. It’s the 25th anniversary so I can’t wait to see everyone, covet all the pots and “quite possibly” add a piece or “two” to the already-overflowing collection!

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While not as poignant as Ishiguro’s novel, a bit of leftover meatloaf might fill your stomach, but not your soul. Whereas the stamped green platter might do better. Thanks Kelly for sharing a photo from dinner… and the remains.

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Another batch of mugs… this time they’re “quadrant-ed” and stamped accordingly.
A little bit of new!

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Beautifully scented lilacs in a handmade, hand-stamped & soda-fired vase.
The Spring flowers are so short-lived, enjoy them while you can!

There’s a new “inhabitant” looming along the lakefront. A large bronze sculpture by Thomas Houseago between Foster & Bryn Mawr. A little eerie this early in the morning…

And that’s quite some “vertebrae” of rebar armature on the backside!

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Morning sun spotlighting some of nature’s beauty. A bush full of white spring flowers and wonderful “camouflage” bark textures peeling on a sycamore tree.