It took awhile, but I finished loading the soda kiln last night. Lots of pots made it in… and quite a few pumpkins!!! Firing today & unloading Monday night… just in time for ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend! Fresh new soda-fired pots coming soon!!!

As usual, I added some masking tape “seat belts” to my studio rolling cart… so that all of my glazed & waded pots would make it safely down to the kiln room via the rickety freight elevator… with none of them jumpin’ off along the way!

Last night started with an empty soda kiln… full of possibilities! Not quite sure why the bottom floor shelves are standing vertically?… but it’s an easy fix before loading!

Another beautiful sunrise with clear skies, warmer weather & smooth water perfect for some rippled reflections. A quiet & serene ride to start my day… and now it’s off to the studio to fire the soda kiln!!! At least I got to play outside a little today!

After applying a layer of tenmoku glaze into the stamped impressions. I wipe off the top surface with a damp sponge. This cleans the surface layer, but keeps the darker glaze in the stamps.

Doing a little glaze inlay into the stamped impressions. I like to fill the stampings with a dark tenmoku glaze so the pattern stands out a bit more after the soda-firing!

So this is what I’ve been looking at a lot the past couple days… bisque that needs to be glazed! I’ve been trying to stay focused & tackle it bit by bit. Seems like I’m right on schedule… but everyone knows that glazing is my least favorite part of the entire process!!!

After seeing some of the progress that Kristin Conneely was making on our collaboration projects… I threw her a last-minute curve ball… and gave her a third frame to fill with her beautiful mosaics! You know how we all work better with a deadline!!! Can’t wait to see what she does with THIS one!!!

ART IN THE GARDEN : September 9th & 10th in Glenview

It’s that time of the year… the pollinators are busy getting everything they can!
Pretty flowers now… spreading pollen & making yummy honey later!

Gone, but not forgotten. So the viral sensation of the FRIDAY MORNING SWIM CLUB may have come to a skidding halt… as it has taken a bad turn in the press & legalities are in process. But it’s hard to stop a popular sensation like this. So while there was no “official” swim this morning, I was still intrigued & wanted to see how many people would show up for the swim. As I pedaled over to Montrose Harbor, you were instantly “greeted” with police cars, news trucks & the police boat patrolling the water. While the crowd was wildly diminished from the usual “thousands” of people… there were still a lot of die-hards who were not going to let the weekly swim die so easily. Even with the choppy waters… there were still a lot of Swim Clubbers in the water!