So while I’m out of town… my SURFACE DECORATION class tonight is still going on! I secured them a great sub teacher with a great demo! And I might have done a little “pre-prep” work so they have pieces to work on tonight. Thank you Catherine Tweedie for covering my class… and for sharing all of you Water Etching secrets with them. I can’t wait to see their results when I get back!!!

I love a good roadtrip!
And I “might” occasionally try to snap a photo out the window?!
Allegedly.

Sometimes you get the photo you want…
and sometimes other things get in the way?!

And sometimes… that might even make the picture better?!

Last Sunday during the pottery tour, I also got this beautiful mug from my friend Delores Fortuna. Always fun to chat with her while admiring her work. If you need a mug too… Delores will also be part of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR… just a month away!!! Mark your calendars… I’ll be part of the Tour as well.

June 7th & 8th from 10:00am-5:00pm.
More information at www.northernilpotterytour.com

Mental note to self… during an early-morning trimming session, don’t leave a stamped pot “unattended “ on the wheel. Because you might accidentally step on the pedal while you’re sitting down. And then bad things might happen.

Oh well, it’s just clay!

Last week in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled carving & sgraffito. The colored slip on my platter was just a little too wet to sgraffito carve the full demo. So I brought it back to my studio… and continued later when the slip had stiffened up more. A fun carving session… especially with a great sgraffito tool from DiamondCore Tools.

Who knew there would be “zoo” right next the gas station? Is this a Wisconsin thing??? We stopped for gas last Sunday during our pottery tour roadtrip. And you’ve got to know that I’ll stop in heartbeat on a roadtrip to see something fun or unusual. So the sign said “zoo”… and I’m all in! Really, it turned out to be mostly farm animals that looked a little rough after a long winter. But at least the peacock was beautiful!!! And we got gas…

We also found farm fresh eggs on the side of the road… payment on the honor system!!! And with the way eggs have been so crazy lately… I gladly left my money in the box and grabbed a dozen eggs!!!

One of the side benefits of a Wisconsin roadtrip last Sunday…
finding some cool rusty metal along the way!!! You know it’s my favorite!

While on THE CLAY COLLECTIVE Pottery Tour last Sunday… I had a chance to chat with my pottery-buddy Kenyon Hansen… always fun, always informative. One of the Guest Artists at the Cambridge Pottery stop. And I just “may have” come home with a new set of plates!!! Allegedly…

Last Sunday, we had perfect weather for a little roadtrip… and a day full of fantastic pottery shopping with my friend Kristen. We drove up to the THE CLAY COLLECTIVE Pottery Tour in southeastern Wisconsin. As with any pottery tour, it’s always so much fun to see a ton of beautiful pots, meet the artists, chat it up, buy some pots & see the different studio & kiln locations. These pictures are from Mark Skudlarek’s studio… with one of the largest kilns I’ve ever seen!!! Three chambers for wood firing. The first chamber is for straight wood fired work, the middle chamber is for glazed pieces & the third chamber for a salt/soda firing. All connected, all firing at the same time!!! Crazy cool. And that was just one of several fun pottery stops!!!