I couldn’t stop…
Becky Lloyd is like my “pottery kryptonite”!

I mean… look at the sgraffito detail on the crazy tiny pot!!! I just couldn’t resist!!! And that’s the last of my haul from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR. A wonderful weekend up north in Minnesota… and some amazing new pieces to add to my pottery collection!!!

Amazing craftsmanship!!! The smallest & most detailed sgraffito carvings I have ever seen! And another addition to my pottery collection… from sgraffito genius Becky Lloyd. White porcelain pottery covered with a black terra sigilatta… and then carved through to reveal some miniature masterpieces! Quite possibly my favorite “treasure” from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR.

Fresh from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR… this beautiful mishima porcelain bowl by Steven Young Lee that came home with me. Not only is it a stunning bowl with crazy-cool colors streaming out of that hand-carved criss-cross pattern… but it was also made by my own favorite pottery teacher!

Yes… Steve Lee was one of my early pottery teachers back at the old Lillstreet location. It was a more advanced wheelthrowing class… and Steve was very clear with his expectations right from the start. A great teacher… with great pots… and always good to see him again on the Minnesota Pottery Tour.

Another mug for my collection… from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR… by the amazing Bianka Groves. Such a simple idea… just a lot of dots?! Not so easy. But the precision & refinement of this sweet porcelain mug was too much for me to pass up!!!

Also from the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR… this great mug from Ryan Myers. I’ve seen his work several times before… and finally one of his peeps came home with me!!! Another addition to my collection.

Back to the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR…
and some of the beautiful pots that came home with me!!!

Like this sgraffito cup by Matthew Metz. I especially love the addition of the textured walls under the slip color & under the sgraffito carving. And yes, this is black clay with a colored slip dip… and the carved through to reveal the black line illustrations! Just amazing as always… and another beauty to add to my Matt Metz collection!

It was quite a weekend at the ST. CROIX VALLEY POTTERY TOUR. Such beautiful weather to be outside enjoying the Tour, driving from pottery studio to studio. Chatting with the potters, admiring their work & making the tough choices of which pieces might come home with you as souvenirs!!! It was great to run into a few friends & Followers along the way… including catching up with my favorite pottery teacher at Lillstreet so many years ago!!! Not to be a name-dropper… but it was Steve Lee!!!

If you’ve never gone to this pottery tour, you really must add it to your bucket list. It’s hard to fathom how huge this is… with so many tents, so many talented potters… and an endless array of fantastic pottery!!! These photos just show a tiny bit of it… but hopefully you get the idea!

For more information – www.minnesotapotters.com

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

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!!!