Just a quick glimpse at some of the new stamped mugs added to my online store today. You know they’re my favorite thing to make… so there’s plenty for everyone!!!

Click here… http://firewhenreadypottery.com/my-online-pottery-store/ .
Remember, you need to “order” your mug through the link on the blog, and not just a comment to this post. Sorry… just trying to keep it all organized in one place!

To celebrate, I’ve added a few more mugs, mini vases & ovals to my online store! Feel free to check it out to find the perfect gift for that perfect someone… even if that “someone” is yourself!!!

Click here… http://firewhenreadypottery.com/my-online-pottery-store/

Sometimes a bigger sunrise requires a bigger panoramic photo
to capture the morning sky show!

Kickin’ off my Labor Day Holiday with another sunrise bike ride… shocker, right?! It was a serene & pastoral start to the ride, but ended with a dramatic clouded sky show! Happy Labor Day everyone!!!… even if it is the “official” end of Summer. 🙁

Back at the start of the Covid Pandemic, my very first art fair friends Gerry & Rosene had a little “incident” in their back yard. A storm blew through Central Illinois and took out one of their largest trees. As if that weren’t bad enough… it also smashed my ceramic totem pole that was residing their yard! We had installed it in their back terraced garden about a decade ago. a beautiful addition to their incredible garden treasure. But that big tree coming down did a LOT of damage to their garden… and what with a pandemic just starting to take-over! Bad timing!

Luckily, we had cemented the totem pole into the ground… so their insurance claim covered as it was a “permanent” piece of their landscaping. With funds coming from the inurance company, Gerry & Rosene had me start making a replacement totem for them I threw the pieces, stamped them and started decorating them.

Once they were soda-fired, I packed them up in crates and stored them in my basement until Gerry & Rosene were ready to install into their yard. Turns out yesterday was the day!!! I I packed up my car with all of the stamped & soda-fired sections… grabbed my cousin Kim… and drove down to Peoria for the day yesterday!!!

After a tour of the garden… a lot of chatting & catching up in our masks… and some food, it was time to get started with the totem pole! So we set out all of the pieces in the beautiful sunshine and got the project started!

I started by digging the hole for the pole to be planted into. I used a great auger tool to make the hole, and a sledge hammer to pound in the pole. We then added a bag of cement around the pole to fill the hole and secure the pole.

Rosene & my cousin Kim worked to organize and sequence the pieces in the right order… not that there is a right & wrong… just a preference. They looked at colors, textures, patterns & shapes and tried to randomize them as much as possible to it all stacked together nicely. Not quite as easy of a project as it sounds!

As they continued to organize the pieces, Gerry & I started to stack the pole from the bottom up. Piece by piece, section by section. I finally made it to the top to put on the every last piece. The topper to the totem pole!!!

And then we were done… and ready for our “photo shoot.” It was so nice to give them back the totem pole they lost in the storm. I do think that this “version” is much nicer than the original. The pieces have a bit more stamping &detailing on them. The colors are a bit more vibrant… and they chose a fitting spot for it right in their front yard! They were SO excited… and SO CUTE!!!

So there it is… their NEW replacement totem pole. Bigger & better than the firs tone… thanks to State Farm and their homeowner’s insurance!

However, they also still had a few pieces left from the original one that had “survived” the tree crash! So I planned ahead and made a new base & a new topper for them “just in case” we could re-stack the survivors and make a smaller totem in the back yard. It worked great… as it is very close to the original location of the first totem. In fact, in the next photo, you can practically see the “dead space” where the tree fell!!!

So no they have TWO new totems in their amazing garden!!! It was a wonderful day playing in the garden, chatting, eating all the while trying to keep our safe distance with our masks on. Okay sure, we may have gotten a little close a couple times… but we tried... we really tried!!!

But in the end… THEY HAVE A NEW TOTEM POLE… or two!!!

So my cousin Kim & I hopped in the car early yesterday morning… and decided to drive down to Bartonville to visit my friends Gerry & Rosene. They’re my very first at fair friends EVER!!! From the very first day, from my very first show oh so many years ago in Sandwich, Illinois!!!

So we had a wonderful drive down to Central Illinois covering many subjects and “solving all the problems of the world”. We made it to Goodfield – and it’s always tough to go past Goodfield without stopping at BUSY CORNER for homemade pie!!!

We decided to get a slice to go… a snack for the road for the next 20 minutes… but I couldn’t decided… so I got two! I went with a classic rhubarb pie, and slice of chocolate turtle marshmallow cheesecake!

When we got Gerry & Rosene’s home, you’ve always go so much beautiful garden colors, flowers & rustic art everywhere to see. So here’s a visual tour… just a small glimpse of their garden!

And then at the end of our evening, we were sitting around on the deck having dinner, and more pie… AND brownies with ice cream & hot fudge!!! And then we saw a spider building an amazing web directly above my chair. Tough to photograph… but I kinda got this nice shot… a bit blurry… but still pretty cool.

And with that… our road-trippin’ day to Peoria had come to an end…
and it as time to head home!!!

Yesterday’s ride had another dark start… as I needed to get home earlier than normal. The clouds were hanging low on the horizon, and I began to wonder if we would ever see the sun. It took awhile… but it was well worth the wait!!!

One of my Facebook Followers said she got a message from “me” through Facebook Messenger… BUT IT WAS NOT ME!!! If you get a request from someone named Andrea Wilson DO NOT accept, engage or respond to anything!!!

It is NOT ME… and I’m pretty sure Andrea does not make pottery, ride a bike or love sunrises!!! BEWARE!!!

A dark & chilly start to the day… felt like Fall with long sleeves added to my morning! Lots of crashing waves to kick it off… with fun “illuminated” waves once the sun made it over the horizon!

Unfortunately, there was another “surprise” on the bike trail too…
scroll to the end to see what it was!!!

Well, THIS is not the best place to park a car… nor is it supposed to be upside-down!!! And while I’m at it… maybe it would have been better if it had stayed on Lake Shore Drive which is just behind the car past the grassy knoll.

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who made it out to ART IN THE GARDEN this past weekend. During these crazy times, it was wonderful to get outside to see some of my Talented Friends with their beautiful artworks… as well as all of the wonderful friends, family, Fans & Followers that stopped by! We appreciate the love, support & encouragement… and we hope you’re loving the new artworks you took home with you!

But in case you couldn’t make it… here’s a small glimpse of some of the colors, textures & artworks that you missed from My Talented Friends!

AMY TAYLOR : silver hinged jewelry

CORY McCRORY : whimsical paperclay ceramics

DONNA SAUERS : glass bead jewelry

JILL MILLER of HOOEY BATIKS

KEN STAGGS : wood turning

KRISTIN CONNEELY : mosaics

LYNDA WALLIS : beaded bracelets