So I just got a wonderful phone call from an old high school friend that I haven’t talked too for years! Funny how a crisis like this can affect people in different ways… and can inspire people to get in touch with others! She said she’s been thinking about me a lot lately… so she called! We talked for well over an hour, got all caught up on life & family… and it felt as though no time has passed at all. Amazing how good friendships can do that. All caught up. Made me smile. Felt the love. Thanks Anna for making my day! You’re an amazing friend!

So here’s my challenge for all of you sequestered out there…
CALL AN OLD FRIEND TODAY!

Even if it’s been years… her phone call made MY day,
so now you should go out and make someone else’s day.
Pay it forward… or in this case, CALL IT FORWARD.

If you’re looking for a little clay inspiration tomorrow while you’re still social distancing… I think you might want to watch these two Instagram Live videos. The first one will be at 2:00pm CST with my former teacher Steven Lee who is now the head-honcho at The Archie Bray!

The second one will be my pal Mikey Stumbras starting at 4:00pm CST. I know we’re all looking for good things to fill our days & spark our creative spirits. Here are two good ones! I know I’ll be watching both of them too!

It’s so WEIRD walking through the first floor classrooms when there is absolutely no one there! Just a quiet reminder of the fun we’ve had there… and the hope that we can get back to it soon enough. I miss my students!!!

Playing with a bit of porcelain while working in my ever-so-quiet & isolated studio. Not a single person to chat with… which I guess is good as we need to stay safe. But I also need some human face time… even if it is from a safe distance! But still… no one!!!

So then THIS happened today! We all got an alert to our phones… the Chicago Lakefront has officially been locked-down! Thanks to all of those people who flooded the lakefront & the large groups who were not follow the social distancing guidelines yesterday… now we all get punished. Great. Thanks.

While all of us are hunkered down self-isolating…
I’m sure many of you have seen some of the press conferences going on with the Mayor, the Governor and Dr. Arwardy.

While I know it doesn’t help all that much… but it always makes me feel a little better knowing that Dr. Arwardy is working FOR US… in our best interests!

But little did you know… Dr. Arwady is actually one of my pottery students as well. She’s been taking my Tuesday night class for a few sessions now… but this last session she missed a LOT of classes, and we knew “something bad” was brewing. So she may be the official voice of Chicago Coronavirus right now… but she’ll always be just Allison to me… or maybe “Allison who LOVES the bubble glaze!!!”

Click here for a link to read a more about Allison’s story!

So yesterday while it was so BEAUTIFUL outside… and far too many idiots were flooding the lakefront without any social distance… I decided to go for a run in the other direction! Literally.

I went for a run out to the West Ridge Nature Preserve… a little unknown nugget of nature… with a couple beautiful mosaic pieces to welcome you in. Isolated enough to be totally safe for those of us still social distancing while we get out for some exercise on a beautiful day!

Another solitary bike ride along the lakefront. Started with some beautiful colors, but eventually the clouds won-out and it looks like we’re going to be gray for the rest of the day! And sadly, there were a few more “danger signs” along the way… some of which I paid attention to, some not so much!

Sadly, as I was coming home from my ride… at the northern-most entrance to the lakefront trail at Ardmore… the police were there blocking the path with a large wood-slat winter fencing?! Uh oh… I’m guessing that after yesterday when the weather was gorgeous and the lakefront was flooded with far too many people… and far too many of then NOT social distancing… I’m guessing the lakefront is now CLOSED! So now I fear that we might all be punished by a few idiots that ruined it for the rest of us! I hope the lakefront is not closed for the foreseeable future. I think I need my bike & my sunrises for my own sanity!

It’s supposed to be a beautiful day today… and it’s off to a great start. A little bit foggy & frosty this morning as I head out for my sunrise bike ride. If you look closely, there’s a lighthouse or two in there somewhere… and a downtown skyline in there too… and a lot of sunrise beauty to start my day!

I’ve kinda lost track of what day it is… but I “think” that it’s another TEXTURE TUESDAY! So here’s a stamped & soda-fired surface… actually just one side of the square vases I’m making these days. Kinda fun as I make sure that each side is a different textured pattern… get tired of one side, just turn the vase around!