I started out early this morning… knowing that I needed to “squeeze in” my morning bike ride BEFORE I head back out to Schaumburg for Day Two of the Prairie Arts Festival.

Another beautiful morning along the lakefront. The ride south was quiet along the bike trail.

But coming back, I hopped on Lake Shore Drive for a quick, impromptu mini-version of “Bike The Drive.” Convenient as LSD was already shut down for the real Bike The Drive event today!

Today was a great day in Schaumburg… and here’s a few more pictures of my booth & pieces. This was early on in the day, so a lot of them have already found good homes!

 

The sun is shining and we’re officially open for business at the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival. Complete with my ceramic Garden Shoppe just outside my tent. C’mon over… it’s going to be a beautiful weekend!

This weekend is the kick-off of my 2014 Art Fair season… and the weather forecast is looking pretty sweet too! So it should be a fun weekend in the park with some great customers & talented art fair friends. I’ll be in the same booth space #51 as usual… so stop by to say “Hi” if you have some time Saturday or Sunday!!!

Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival
Saturday, May 24th & Sunday, May 25th – 10:00am-5:00pm
101 Schaumburg Court at the Robert O. Atcher Municipal Center, Schaumburg, Illinois

Click here for more information about the Schaumburg Praire Arts Festival.

And for those of you who might not be on the postcard mailing list…
here’s your postcard with my Summer Art Fair details!!!

With only one week until my first art fair, I guess today might be a good day to get my postcards in the mail, huh?! Better late than never…

There were so many different styles & techniques displayed on the Minnesota Pottery Tour. So much eye-candy & visual inspiration. Taken out of context though, how many of these ceramic artists can you name based on a snapshot of their decorative technique!?

Artists names will be revealed some time next week!!!
Answers are now posted in RED as of 5/29/14.

#1 : Shoko Teruyama

#2 : Steven Hill

#3 : Andy Balmer

#4 : Bill Gossman

#5 : Dan Finnegan

#6 : Delores Fortuna

#7 : Ellen Shankin

#8 : Richard Vincent

#9 : George Lowe

#10 : Jeff Oestreich

#11 : Jo Severson

#12 : Jenny Mendes

#13 : Suze Lindsay

#14 : Steven Young Lee

#15 : Silvie Granatelli

#16 : Sandra Byers

#17 : Kent McLaughlin

#18 : Karin Kraemer

#19 : Robert Briscoe

#20 : Mark Shapiro

#21 : Mary Roettger

#22 : Richard Hensley

#23 : Simon Levin

#24 : Matthew Metz

#25 : Craig Edwards

#26 : Sarah Jaeger

#27 : Steven Hill

#28 : Sam Taylor

#29 : Steven Young Lee

#30 : Donna Polseno

#31 : Robert Briscoe

#32 : Karin Kraemer

#33 : Ani Kasten

#34 : George Lowe

#35 : Mary Barringer

#36 : Matthew Metz

#37 : Ernest Miller

#38 : Steven Hill

#39 : Naomi Dalglish

#40 : Steven Young Lee

#41 : Mary Barringer

#42 : Winthrop Byers

So many pots… so little time… and now far less cash in my wallet!!!
So much fun touring and seeing all of those great pots. Great to chat with all of the artists… and to add a “few” pieces to my already too huge pottery collection!

Starting with a new mug by Matthew Metz. And a slightly new style with a dark clay body dipped in a light slip and then carved with his signature sgraffito style. I especially loved the “finger prints” on the bottom of the cup where he held it to dip into the slip.

I also added a Bob Briscoe mug to my “mug collection”… and a new Bob Briscoe lidded jar… for M&M’s or Hershey’s Kisses?!!!

At our second stop, we met up with Steven Young Lee… a former teacher of mine. Of course I had to add another mug of his to my collection. I have quite a few “vintage” Steve Lee pieces. And now I have some of his new blue & white style. Unfortunately, I couldn’t decide… so I had to get a couple!!!

Blue & white… and a stark contrast with a carved monochromatic tea bowl.

On Day Two, we started from the beginning and did the Tour all over again! We started at Bob Briscoe’s again… and he had unloaded another kiln overnight. So he was restocked with a few pieces. Including these two bowls that “had” to come home with me… to join the other four bowls already in my kitchen cabinet.

 

I also picked up a mug by George Lowe… I loved the texture and the rusty, crusty finish!

One of our last stops on Saturday was The Rogue Potters. I picked up a couple pieces, including a mug by Randal Anderson and a plate by Mark Johnson.

Part of our Day Two excursion took us to The Rogue Potters.
You’ve got to love a group of fun-loving potters who are tacking onto the “official” Pottery Tour. With a few signs on the side of the road, they’re pulling a few pottery-loving shoppers into their stop… including me!!!

So glad we did the entire tour yesterday.
We did the Pottery Tour again today… but many of the shelves were already empty?!!!
Like these shelves of Ellen Shankin at Will Swanson’s studio stop.

While at Bob Briscoe’s studio, there were shelves that were empty and totally gone!!!