Another stamped platter. Fresh out of the kiln tonight…
and ready for next weekend’s Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival.

Saturday, June 13th & Sunday, June 14th.
Burlington Park in beautiful downtown Hinsdale, Illinois

I always enjoy hearing from my happy & satisfied customers…
and I just LOVE seeing my pots in their new homes!!!
Keep sending me your photos & stories!!!

Dear Gary,
I attached a photo of the flower pot that my husband bought for me last weekend in Schaumburg.  I love it. Your design and artistic talent are remarkable. This pot is beautiful and functional right down to the swirl in the tray which is a nice detail and allows for better drainage! Your work is appreciated and I wish you much success.

Best Regards,
Nancy

About three weeks ago, I went up for the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour.
It’s the biggest & best pottery tour of the entire year. So many great potters all assembled in one place. With a magnificent number of amazing pots to admire, caress, fondle and potentially purchase!!! Large white tents all over filled with pottery!!! What’s not to like?! Seven different studio locations hosting over fifty talented ceramic artists. Again this year, I did the tour with my friend & favorite metalsmith Sarah C. Chapman. She’s a pottery-lover too… so we tackled the Tour with reckless abandon!!!

So the question out there was….

Which three plates did I come home with?
I showed you fourteen different plate options and the challenge was to pick which three came home with me. Okay, so I said three… I guess I “forgot” to tell you it was TWO of each!!! My bad… oops!

And here are the Winners…

Beautifully slip-patterned & glazed plates by Ryan Greenheck.

And then we found these amazing plates during the stop at Will Swanson’s studio.
They are not only beautiful & stunning… but also incredibly crafted by the twosome of Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson. The weight of the plates is amazing, the geometry, the simplicity, the texture, the feel, the color, the everything!!!

And I couldn’t stop at one set… because these ones were calling my name as well. Another amazing set of porcelain plates by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson.

So there are the winners in my little Plate Challenge.
Greenheck…     Teraki-Bisson…    and Teraki-Bisson.

Sure I should have stopped there. No need to get greedy… but c’mon…
With so much incredible pottery all over the place, how could I be expected to stop?!
So I also “had” to have these beauties as well…

Another set of bowl-plates by Bob Briscoe. I already have three sets of these and I use them almost every single day. I love them… I have three different colors & patterns, so what’s one more?

Plus, I “needed” to add another piece to my already-too-large” collection of Matt Metz pieces. He’s been working with a slightly new style with some new colors… including this buttery yellow.

I also got a set of tumblers by Shoko Teruyama… destined to be a beautiful new addition to my Mug Collection. Sure, they’re not mugs, but c’mon… they’re beautiful.

And who could resist a one-eyed panda?! Not me apparently!

The little add-on, unexpected purchase was this mask by Jenny Mendes. I was kind of hoping to get a mug for the “collection”… but Jenny doesn’t make mugs apparently?! Plus this rabbit-eared face was so much cooler, and so typically Jenny.

Another annual stop during the Minnesota Pottery Tour is a visit with The Rogue Potters. A fun group of wood-firing potters who aren’t really part of the “official” tour… but with a little grassroots marketing & signage, they’ve created a fun “addition” to the Tour. While there, I picked up this mug by Randal Anderson.

So there’s the recap. Another wonderful Pottery Tour up in the St. Croix area of Minnesota. So many potters. So many pots. So much fun. And so inspiring & rejuvenating… I need to make some more pots!!!

Thank you to everyone who came out to Schaumburg this weekend.
It was great fun to play with everyone in the park. So much fun to see my pottery going off to “live” in new homes. Saturday was beautiful & amazing. Sunday was spotty… and ended with a bit of rain.

All in all, another great art fair in Schaumburg…
and as a side benefit, my tent got “washed clean” at the same time?!!!
And now drying down in the basement before packing away for Hinsdale…

It was a beautiful day in the park today.
Sun shining, cool breeze, great customers and lots of pottery to share!!!
What’s not to like? Especially when the park we’re in has beautiful views like this!!!

And we do it again tomorrow from 10:00am-5:00pm. C”mon by…
Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival.

So I’ve been thinking about this for awhile now.
Wondering what my work would look like if I took away the soda firing effects flashing colors. Always looking for a different angle to try… I finally decided to go for it. And not only take away the soda firing, but let’s take away ALL of the color as well. So I’ve made a new collection of work… same shapes, same techniques, same stamps… only difference is it’s Quite White!!! All porcelain. All white.

The Quite White Collection.
I’ll be having a limited assortment of “Quite White” pots at both the Schaumburg & Hinsdale art fairs. No guarantee that there will be more… so if you want to some of The Quite White Collection, you might want to come early!!!

Nothing like playing with some last-minute adhesives the night before the art fair.
Enjoying the fumes… and hoping they all dry before tomorrow!!!

A quick glimpse of my new ceramic spoons. Fresh from the kiln!
A few minor improvement sin mind for the next batch, but all in all pretty pleased with my first “attempt” at making ceramic spoons! They’re headed off to the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival for their “Big Reveal” this weekend. Stop by Saturday or Sunday to grab a spoon or two for yourself!!!

Saturday, May 23rd & Sunday, May 24th from 10:00am-5:00pm – Booth #51.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that they rattle too?… Fun, huh?!

Lots of mugs lined up and ready for pricing… some soda-fired, some glazed and some from the new “Quite White Collection.” Headed to Schaumburg this weekend for my first art fair of the season!

It’s Pottery Pricing & Packing Day!
Lots of new berry bowls headed to the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival this weekend.