One step closer to a new soda kiln… torn down. cleaned up and a new fresh floor! Ready for some bricks to be stacked, packed & arched. Coming together this weekend thanks to several able-bodied kiln builders!

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It was so much fun to see one of my current pottery students showing off a bit! Tonight was the Opening Reception at iD Chicago in Bucktown for new ceramic pieces by Shannon Steele-Knuckles. It was great to see the pieces she’s been working on – all thrown on the wheel and then altered, glazed and altered again. Using layers of glazes, underglazes & some sandblasting to get her beautiful finishes. She was so passionate & inspiring when she talked about her work it was contagious. Beautifully done Shannon!

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Okay, so if shopping for pottery, chatting with artists, and hanging out with some creative folks is not enough to convince you to come out this weekend to the Prairie View Arts Invitational…. maybe this will???

Drippin’ & drainin’ for berries.
Just in time for this weekend’s art fair… and some yummy Spring Berries coming soon!

So it’s not Monday, but it’s ALWAYS time for another MUGSHOT!!!
Lots of mugs being cleaned, priced & packed for tomorrow & Saturday’s
Prairie View Arts Invitational in Naperville!

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If you’re anywhere near the Bucktown neighborhood tonight, be sure to swing by iD Chicago on Damen for tonight’s Opening Reception. It’s a ceramics show for one of my current pottery students – Shannon Steele! She’s been making these amazing forms by altering her wheelthrown vessels. Great shapes & amazing glazed surfaces.

And if that weren’t enough… the shop owners are my former pottery students as well.
Be sure to say HELLO to Stephen & Tony when you’re there!!!

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Don’t forget this weekend’s fun in Naperville!
The Prairie View Arts Invitational on Friday & Saturday!
Stop by Friday night for champagne, tacos & live music!
Or hang out Saturday with homemade soups, baked goods and raffle prizes!
Either way, there will be plenty of art & artists to make it worth the trip… including me!

Spent the night in my storage room prepping, pricing & packing lots of new pots for this weekend’s art fair in Naperville. Including lots of pots with holes… just in time with new flower pots for Spring plants!!!

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Oh, when you don’t know quite what to do with those broken pottery pieces…
you dress ’em up!

While she may be gone, she’ll never be forgotten
as we celebrate what would have been her 90th birthday today.
Simple words to inspire your life. Words to live by. Truer words were never spoken.

Thanks to www.goalcast.com for this inspiring list of Maya Angelou quotes…
which I’ve added to and edited a bit along the way.
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Starting of course with my favorite!!!

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.

I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes
it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.

We need much less than we think we need.

If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?

Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency.
We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.

A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take
but by the moments that take your breath away.

Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.

There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands;
you need to be able to throw something back.

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

We are only as blind as we want to be.

I got my own back.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody.
And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.

Determine to live life with flair and laughter.

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life.
And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.

Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it,
you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.

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