Another platter… another round of stamping!
Once again creating a decorative rim with just ONE handmade stamp
pressed in one by one… by one… by one…

So here’s the update… and my NEW BIKE!!!

Turns out my red bike “Scarlett Don’t Care-Ah” had more wrong with it than I thought. As they were cleaning it & doing a full overhaul, they saw a “chink in the armor” where there was a chip of paint off the frame between the pedals & the back wheel on the side with the gears. When they investigated & did a “tap test” you could hear the sound difference in one area near the chip. Kinda like checking pottery for a crack & you can hear the difference… clear ping vs. dull thud. Same here. So they determined that there was a literal crack through the carbon-fiber!!! Damaged at some point over the past couple years & thousands of miles… probably from falling over onto something bad. And now it could break at any time… sending me flying off my bike as the rear wheel could detach if that were to happen. So my choices were to buy a new frame & have them “retro-fit” all of my old components onto the new frame… or buy a new bike. One choice was a week’s wait & jerry-rigging… the other was instant & new. So I went for the NEW BIKE!!! Same model as my previous one as I am always TREK loyal… just the newer model. And a new color… it was either a dark-almost-black-green color, or this ombre’ version. So now I just need to figure out a good name for my new trusted steed. Thoughts???

After a week without a bike, it felt great to get back in the saddle again this morning!
Cool temps, gentle breeze & colorful clouds. Oh, how I’ve missed you sunrise!!!

So I took my bike into the shop for a quick annual cleaning last Friday… knowing that I had a weekend art fair & poor air quality from the Canadian wildfires. Perfect time to bring it in, right?! Well, it took longer than expected… and it’s never good when you see your bike still in the stand when you get there to pick it up… uh oh…

A huge CONGRATULATIONS… and a Flashback Friday… to My Talented Friend, master baker & potter Martin Sorge!!! I just got my copies of his first cookbook “GREAT BAKES” through pre-order… open sales begin August 4th! So exciting… so beautiful, great photography, great styling, and I’m confident the recipes will be AMAZING as well!!!

We first met Martin when he signed-up for one of my pottery classes. He mentioned that he makes handmade OREOs… done! Then he mentioned that he had filmed “The Great American Baking Show” which was going to air during our class session. Of course we watched.. and I decided we needed to “gamble” on it… each student randomly choosing a baker-player. And then when their player was voted out, they had to bring snacks to our pottery class based on their losing recipe!!! Reality TV, gambling AND snacks???… I’m in!!!

SPOILER ALERT…

So as the show played out with judges Dame Prue & Paul Hollywood under the same “Great British Bake-Off” tent in England… we kept seeing this cast of American bakers strutting their stuff challenge after challenge. And Martin kept making it through & becoming the Star Baker a couple times even while baking with corn several times. By the end of the show… Martin was in the Finale… and eventually WON THE SHOW!!! Huge congrats Martin!!!

So then we decided we had to throw a big surprise party for Martin for our last class potluck. I invited the two other Chicago bakers from the show to join us – as they had all three become close friends. So Sarah & Nirali surprised Martin, partied with us… and even threw their first pots on the wheel. So much fun!!!

But after winning the show… what do you do next???

Well… Martin has taken his culinary skills to the next level… and written a full-on cookbook!!! Full of amazing recipes & photos. It’s already getting some big buzz… including from Bon Appetit !!! Listing his book as one of “The Best New Cookbooks of Summer 2026.” Be sure to go out and get one of Martin’s cookbooks… pre-order now… or buy it after August 4th!!!

Congrats Martin… we’re all so proud of you & excited for your new adventure!!! Your book is a huge achievement, a ton of work & it all looks AMAZING!!! And any time you need more taste-testers… we’re in!!!

Another week of Summer Camp done! Ending with a lot of flowerpots with flowers…
and perhaps a stray side-eyed penguin in the mix!!!

Another great day at Summer Camp… today was handbuilding with my 8-10 year old campers. The project was flowerpots with dimensional flowers on the sides… seemed obvious to me! We all had a great time making flowers & leaves to grace our textured flowerpots! Well done kiddos!!!! And tomorrow they add colors…

I just love when my early-arriving campers ask “What can I do?”…
and then “volunteer” to scrape & wash all of our camp wareboards!!!
Cleanest in the building!!!

After such an incredibly hot & sweaty weekend at the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR… I’m kinda surprised that my booth flowers are still looking so fresh?! So I re-cut the ends, gave ‘em some clean water & an oval vase to hang out in… and they’re still looking very happy! And so am I…

Cuteness… looks like my summer campers decided “The Graveyard” of dead & squished practice pots needed some lovin’ today… before re-cycling, re-wedging & re-using the clay again & again!