On my way home from the studio, I passed this condo building just two blocks away with these STUNNING pink dogwoods flanking the doorway! The color is incredible, the profusion of blooms beyond imagination and I love how well they play with the architectural details of the building. And yes, I pulled over, stopped the car, and got out crossing the street just to take some photos! They’re THAT stunning!!!

Well, not quite as much fun as teaching face-to-face, but it did feel good to “teach” again as I just finished teaching my first “official” ceramics workshop on ZOOM for Lillstreet Art Center! It was a one-hour workshop on making clay stamps… from my studio. A little jittery at times as I tilted by laptop screen up & down for demos… but I’m sure these ZOOM classes will get smoother if we need to keep doing them for much longer!

Getting ready to teach my first online workshop for Lillstreet Art Center… CLAY STAMP MAKING! Okay, so I may be showing my age here… but I just can’t get THIS out of my head! And you can thank me now… for I’m sure it will be stuck in your head now too for your next ZOOM Meeting online!

And… you’re welcome!!!

Low-flying clouds for the sun to play with this morning. Peeking through & hiding behind. Either way, another beautiful morning… and another beautiful bike ride!

By now I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out that I’m more of a sunrise guy than a sunset guy! But since it was raining this morning, I didn’t get out for the sunrise ride! But I did score a nice little sunset to share!!! I think that evens-the-score!

One of my all-time favorite Spring blooms is the “ever-elusive” Yellow Magnolia tree!… yes, YELLOW!!! I happened to find one of them today as I was biking… and it definitely brought a smile!

Another beautiful bike ride up to Openlands Lakeshore Preserve.
I remember when I started heading north after they closed down the Chicago Lakefront path. I was so excited to find this wonderful new destination for my bike rides… but it felt today a little like the novelty might be wearing off. I may need to find another new destination soon?!

So this weekend was supposed to be “ART-A-WHIRL” up in Minneapolis… a big studio tour & art sale in the Twin Cities. And I was planning on being the Guest Artist of my friend & amazing metalsmith Sarah Chapman before this corona-craziness shut us all down!

Want to see more of Sarah’s work… click here!

Needless to say, I’m NOT in Minneapolis, and Sarah’s studio is not open for the tour. But she is hosting a “virtual” tour on her website! So if you’re looking for some amazingly cool jewelry to spruce up your “quarantine look” – check-out the link below for more info! Her work is incredible… I just wish I were there in person this weekend to play with Sarah… while we both would be showing off our wares! Maybe next year?!

Click here to shop Sarah’s website of beautiful things!!!

With all of the art fairs cancelling for this summer…
I know many of you will miss supporting the artists, seeing their artwork, shopping, chatting & catching up… but I know the majority of you will miss seeing my Dad!!! Yes, he’s apparently the “star of the show”… not me, not my pots!

Well, he’s doing fine with his “shelter-in-place”… staying safe & bored like the rest of us. Plus, he has actually started growing out a fantastic quarantine beard! I’ve NEVER seen him with a beard ever!!! And he’s vowing to keep it going until the “shelter-in-place” order is lifted!!! I keep telling him I want weekly beard updates!!!

What have we learned in quarantine?…
Eating right from the container with dribbles on the scarf.
Eating from a sweet little ceramic bowl… NO DRIBBLES!!!

I think we all now know that the bowl made all the difference!
If you need to stop YOUR dribbles, just let me know!
Or you can always click HERE to go straight to my online shop!

Thanks Kristy for the photos…
and thanks Matt for being such a good-sport!