A little more stamping & soda-firing to “bowl” you over… little glimpses of some of the bowls that will be available during the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR. It’s this weekend on Friday, Saturday & Sunday… with twenty-one potters, free demos on ZOOM & even some free pottery giveaways!!!

Check out www.northernilpotterytour.com for more details… and be sure to follow The Tour on Instagram @northernilpotterytour

So I finally got around to starting to post pieces on my new ETSY page… or so I thought?! For some reason the whole site is pretty user-friendly… until you get one of these big red error boxes!!! Nothing to click. Nothing to edit. No drop-down menus??? I couldn’t get past this!!! Ugh. It’s never easy.

I even asked some of the other potters on the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR for advice… lots of suggestions, and nothing worked. I called my friend Nancy and she tackled it for over an hour… even trying it on her computer… but to no avail. I even texted both of the organizers of the pottery tour… more for updates & moral support.

Jon called me right back to walk me through it if he could… and lo & behold… it seems to now be miraculously working. He didn’t even have to do anything… it just showed up… and it was working?! I’ve got options. I’ve got shipping profiles. I’ve got my first six pieces “posted” in draft mode… and all seems to be going well.

Although it’s kinda tough to type the info in while my fingers are still crossed.

Just pulling together & photographing a lot of pieces for the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR… and noticing a smidge of textures & stamps here & there?! Go figure… a little visual “teaser” of the pieces that will be available on my new ETSY SHOP starting Friday, June 18th at 8:00am!

Check out the website for more Pottery Tour information & free demo schedule! www.northernilpotterytour.com

Were in the final countdown… THE NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR kicks-off this coming Friday at 8:00am! Just five days until the inaugural event with twenty-one artists working together to share a lot of pottery, demos & discussions! Check the website for more details & demo schedules… www.northernilpotterytour.com

Another beautiful day for another beautiful bike ride. Loved this great old barn & weathered barn wood. Great textures, weathered wood & peeling paint chips!

Sure, we did ninety miles in 90-degree heat through rural farmland… but who doesn’t like to sweat a bit?! We had a great ride… longest one so far this season!!! Now I just need to buy some new bike shoes… cuz’ my feet were NOT happy with the “new” shoes I bought a few months ago!

Looks like someone’s succulent garden got a little upgrade… a stamped & soda-fired wall pocket vase purchased during the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival. I’m sure they will love their new home & be thriving in no time!!!

Well, I think I’ve finally pulled together my pottery inventory for the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR. And now the photography session has finally begun… this is gonna take awhile!

Maybe I should have been more “focused” with my camera than being “focused” on my handlebars while pedaling my bike so much lately?!!! But it’s been gorgeous outside, right?… so sue me!

Apparently mulberries come in WHITE also?!
Not what we’re used to here in Chicago… but yummy I’m sure!
Thanks for sharing them in your stamped & soda-fired berry bowl @wirehanded … all the way out in Brooklyn, New York.

And a view from the other side… the City skyline as seen from the south side down by Promontory Point. It was a very warm & steamy biking morning… you can literally see the humidity hanging out & hovering low downtown! By the time I got home I was DRIPPING!!!

Along with the beautiful sunrise this morning, there were moments where it look like it had SNOWED along the bike trail?!!! Apparently we’re in cottonwood season with fluffy “snow” falling from the trees all around us… and collecting in little “snow drifts” along the way!!!