Just loaded my last bisque… had to call it “quits” on making things tonight,
for tomorrow I switch to glazing things!!! Four layers of greenware going into bisque firing. Not packed quite as tight as I would prefer, but it’s the final random pieces that just needed to be fired… including eight kinda freshly made wall vases! Fingers crossed…

Okay, so one last batch tonight… might be a little “damp”… err, okay WET going into the bisque kiln!!! This time it’s a batch of wall pocket vases “racing” and hoping to make it into Saturday’s soda kiln. Nothing like pushing the calendar a bit… “somehow” it will all get done, right?!

Added some colored flashing slip to the two batches of lidded jars yesterday after ONE OF A KIND. If all goes as planned, these will be bisqued, glazed and make it into my soda kiln this weekend. And then all of these slip accents should change colors during the soda firing and show the flame flashing effects we all love!

Had a great time yesterday hanging out with my talented metalsmith friend Sarah Chapman at the ONE OF A KIND SHOW. Her work is amazing… great designs, incredible craftsmanship, fun textures, beautiful stones… and great shadows too!!!

Quick sights at the Montrose “L” stop yesterday as I was headed downtown for the ONE OF A KIND SHOW. Love the geometry, the typography, the rusty metal and all things industrial.

And a little “leftovers” from yesterday’s snow fall…

Just a month ago… hey, but who’s counting?…
After a fun weekend of NCECA, gallery hopping with Sarah, fun on the farm and hanging with friends, it was finally time to head home. Luckily, it was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sky was blue, plenty of sun, some remnants of snow… and a LOT of songs to sing on my way home!

Okay, so maybe I got “distracted” along the way…
I had mentioned that I’m a BIG FAN of the Norske Nook for pie! And Delores said that she thinks that Main Street Cafe in Bloomer, Wisconsin is just as good or better. And who am I not to check it out???

Back on the road… back to nature’s beauty…. back to my own carpool karaoke!!!

But then again… distracted… you know it’s my favorite!!!
Sure, Delores said Main Street Cafe was just as good or better… and who am I NOT to try a side-by-side taste-test comparison??? So I just “had to” stop to pick-up yet another pie!!! Purely for research purposes.

Back on the road… and eager to get home.
If nothing else, just to find a fork and to let the “research” begin!!!

A beautiful end to a beautiful weekend. Another NCECA Weekend come and gone…

Save

Save

After touring the farm and chatting with friends, we decided to head out for dinner… to where else?... a Wisconsin Supper Club. Well, kind of a bar… kind of a restaurant... definitely in the middle of nowhere! But gorgeous!!!

As we’re siting at our table, it was tough to focus on the menu as the sunset just kept getting better & better. So glad we figured out how to get here with the GPS… I just hope we can figure out how to get back home to the farm  when it’s pitch black out there?!!!

Okay, one more thing… For some strange reason, the ceiling fo the restaurant was covered with dollar bills stapled cverywhere. No reason. No explanation. And I kinda liked that. Sure we could have asked… but it was kind of more fun to keep it a mystery!

After a couple days in Minneapolis surrounded by all that darn NCECA going on.. Ha!… it felt great to get away to continue my long weekend away from home. So I hopped in the car and followed some friends on the expressway as we crossed into the middle of nowhere Western Wisconsin. A beautiful drive as we had gorgeous blue skies once again. Shockingly great weather for the weekend as Minneapolis had just gotten snow & freezing weather just a few days prior!

Random side note… apparently a tornado had gone through this area awhile ago,
and that is why these trees are “shaved off” along the top!

We eventually got to the farm… after a pretty yummy lunch with an “award-winning” burger along the way! And yes, it was indeed yummy so I can totally understand where the AWARD would have come from!!!

It was great to tour the farm as she has been renovating much of it to become her new pottery studio. Her work space, kilns and retail showroom would be on the first floor. But it’s the second floor that takes your breath away!!! You walk up the stairs…. and the vaulted ceiling just opens up and shows off the amazing wooden ceiling craftsmanship! Her plan is to open this space up for other artists to stop by, stay for awhile and share their creative energies as a sort of “resort-creative-getaway kind of place”!     And I’m in!!!!

I also love all things “farm”… lots of old pieces with great history,
lots of rusty metal, lots of grounded reality!

But it’s not just the barn that’s so impressive… it’s also her cozy country farm house!
I always LOVE seeing where artists live, and how they decorate their spaces, what they collect, and how they show up as artists in every part of their place. Great fun seeing all of her collections & personal treasures… many of them with a touching family memories still attached.

Huge thanks to Delores for opening her home… and her farm... to me for the weekend! So much fun to spend time with good friends like Delores, Roberta & Yuki… discussing & solving all of the problems of the pottery world… just chatting… and maybe a little gossip. And a great way to cap-off my NCECA weekend!

Save

Working on a batch of lidded jars…
trying to move them along quickly so I can get them in next weekend’s soda kiln.

It’s April… mere days away from May… and then THIS happened today?!
What?… snow again?! I thought we were done with this stuff.

Looks like someone at Lillstreet jumped the gun with their flowers?!
But then again, who would ever expect now this late in April?!