And while the pumpkins are “quick-drying”… I decided I had time for a few more pieces of kiln filler. Just a quick batch of textured stars to become Christmas ornaments after soda firing this weekend! Never too soon, right?!

As I was pondering my bisque kiln load for tonight, I kinda figured I might have some extra space. So I quickly threw some new pieces before camp & turned them into pumpkins after camp! Not too shabby for a one day project, huh?! Trying to dry them quickly… at least enough so they don’t blow-up in the kiln!!!

Just a couple more of my “hybrid mugs”… combined wheelthrown & handbuilt mugs… ready to go into the bisque kiln tonight. Loving the textures… and their “oversized-ness” as requested by a customer who bought a HUGE hybrid mug at the Hinsdale art fair and now wants another one!!! Perfect for another Mugshot Monday!!!

Beautiful blue skies & puffy white clouds at Buckingham Fountain after the triathlon… and after the storm! One of the most beautiful landmarks in Chicago. It’s hard to take a bad picture of it… and even harder to choose which ones to post?!

Fun with friends along the lakefront… swimming, biking & running! We all ran our own race while dealing with the heat, humidity & freak rainstorm! It was the first time that Tracy & I got to run together as we signed up for the “Clydesdale & Athena” division for we “larger” normal-sized people!

Fun to have Chris, Nancy & Don racing with us. Seeing Nancy in our favorite “Rapid Reboots” after the race… and Chris winning second place in her age group!

Despite the challenging weather today, we all had a great time playing down along the lakefront for the 2021 CHICAGO TRIATHLON.

Today was sunny, hot & steamy… with a side of gusty winds & stormy clouds with a quick deluge of a raining downpour!!! Not quite ideal… but another fun day at the 2021 CHICAGO TRIATHLON!!! Sure my finish time might not have been my best, but we had a great time swimming, biking & running with friends!!! It felt so good to get back to a little slice of “normal” during these crazy times! Luckily, we were all outside with plenty of fresh… err, make that thick & humid air!!!

Just finishing up another batch of stamped oval vases quickly before the Chi Tri tomorrow. Hoping these dry while I’m outside sweating tomorrow so they can make it into my bisque kiln Monday, and my next soda kiln on Friday!!!

With this being the hottest weekend of the summer, I’m tagged & ready for another Chicago Triathlon tomorrow! It’s going to be a sweaty race… as I’m currently in the studio sweating & racing to finish a new batch of oval vases. We’ve had no air conditioning on the second floor of Lillstreet for over a week now!!! Not good during the heat wave hitting Chicago this week! Just trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…

Sometimes it’s all about the spout. I wasn’t so sure about them. But now that they’re all in place I’m kinda diggin’ them. Sure, they still need some clean-up & smoothing, but I like how these are coming together for ART IN THE GARDEN!

Looks like Cory McCrory has started adding a splash of color to her pieces in her studio! Can’t wait to see how these get finished… and how they’ll work together with my parts of this collaboration project. One of the best parts of ART IN THE GARDEN is the collaborations between a bunch of talented friends! A fun grassroots art fair in Glenview, Illinois… coming soon on September 11th & 12th.

For more info in ART IN THE GARDEN… https://www.grassrootsartfair.com/