For those who might not make it to the ART DETOUR… here are the artists…

AMY HIGGASON – Not only was Amy our host for the weekend, she’s also a wonderful
potter who does a lot of carving & illustrative work. Originally from the Chicagoland area,
Amy moved from Lillstreet Art Center up to the Northwoods about eight years ago!

KATLYN KOESTER – Katlyn is a recent college graduate who is now starting out on her
ceramic career. She’s been mentored by Amy for several years and is now well on her way
to becoming a self-supporting artist on her own!

SARAH CHAPMAN -Some of the coolest jewelry ever!!! Made by one of the coolest
metalsmiths ever. Sarah has been in Chicago forever, but just recently moved to Minneapolis.
She’s still making cool jewelry… but we do miss her in Chicago!!!

WENDY POWALISZ – Another artist from the Northwoods, Wendy paints some
wonderful watercolor paintings with a wonderful color palette. She’s also living the true
Northwoods life… in a wonderfully rustic log cabin made by her husband Lance.

And of course, me… GARY JACKSON… functional, textural, whimsical, etc…
I’m assuming that if you’re already here ready my blog, you probably already know
what my work looks like. Just in case… here’s a few more images…

After a dark drive up to the cabin, it was nice to see the beauty of the Northwoods
this morning… and to be greeted by a stunning sunrise over Moccasin Lake.

After the beautiful sunrise, Sarah, Julie & I drove back to Lake Tomahawk for the start
of ART DETOUR! Our tents were up, but we still needed to put out all of our products.
So there was a flurry of activity as we got ready for the start of Day One!

My booth full of fun pots… and some fun textures on the slab vases!

Little did we know then… but this was the position we would find ourselves in MANY times
over the course of the weekend. Wrapped up & huddled by the fire!

And yes, Julie was “supposed to be” doing her grad school homework. Glad we could be
a fun diversion for her! Bring on the marshmallows!!!

Mental note to self… take off the gloves BEFORE you get a gooey s’more in your hands!

While others were a bit more serious with their s’mores… not to mention any names…
Katlyn Koester & Kathy Furda!

In between selling pots, it was always fun to walk around and enjoy the Fall scenery.
And thanks to Amy’s cousin Rob’s wife Kirsten, we were also treated to some wonderful
homemade treats. Sure we were making s’mores…but not just regular s’mores. Oh no.
We were making gourmet s’mores! Kirsten made us homemade marshmallows, chocolate
mocha marshmallows & peppermint chocolate marshmallows… plus, homemade plain &
chocolate graham crackers!!! And we had a wide range of chocolate options to boot!!!

Sometimes all we could do is stand there and shiver… luckily, the campfire was always
going! A central warming place for the four of us stuck outside. Put another log on the
fire… pull up a chair…make a gourmet s’more… and try to stay warm!!!

After a full day outside in the cold… you can always count on another warm s’more. Cheers!

Loved the shadows as they danced across the sides of my tent as I was setting up!
Like a white movie screen with rear projection… sometimes you just gotta play!

Welcome to Pigeon Road!!!
This what Amy’s street looked like this morning when I got up to start setting up
my tent. The colors were perfect. A little chill in the air, but bound to warm up, right?!

And then the games began… with a FULL car of fun to unpack and set-up!!!

But when the Fall colors are at their peak, it’s really tough to stay focused.
So my tent and shelf set-up took a little longer than normal… as I kept getting distracted
by the beautiful colors all around! Especially as the sun & shadows kept changing!

But finally… my tent was up, my shelves were built and all of my pottery crates & supplies
were safe inside my tent. Packed away for the night…

So after Katlyn & Wendy showed up and assembled their tents, Amy, Wendy & I went
shopping for some ART DETOUR supplies. Imagine my excitement when I found the jumbo,
oversized marshmallows!!! Okay, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t need all SIX bags of them.
But extras are good, right? I know I alone could easily polish off a bag for dinner!!!

So my car was all packed up… jam packed. And I was headed north.
It’s always such a relief to finally be driving. The rush, the hassle, the panic of
prepping, packing & loading done. At that point, it is what it is. Now it’s just time
for an enjoyable road trip. And I love road trips. Beautiful scenery, good snacks
and great music to sing along with the entire way! And let me just say…
I sound pitch-perfect incredible when I’m singing in the car by myself.

As I was leaving Chicago, it was dark, gray and rainy! I had kind of hunkered down
and mentally prepared myself for a long gloomy drive. But when I got up to the Madison
area, the gloom ended and blue skies began. And the rest of my drive was beautiful!!!

The Fall colors were stunning as I was driving past them. You know I had to snap a picture!
Who needs to stop?… or slow down?… these were taken through the car window at 70mph.

And you know you’re in Wisconsin when you pull up behind this at a stop light…

As my drive continued and started to feel a little too long, I was treated to a beautiful sunset.
I had hope to get to Amy’s while the sun was still up… looks like that’s not going to happen.

By the time I finally got to the Rhinelander exit, the sun had gone down – and was casting
a beautiful glow across the sky. So moody with reflections across the lakes.

When I got to Pigeon Road, Amy had just gotten home from work and had bought take-out
Chinese food for dinner. My favorite part was the fortune in my fortune cookie.
One of the funniest I’ve ever gotten!!! Gotta save this one…

When I woke up this morning it was raining.
Which means no morning sunrise bike ride. Yes, I’m a fair weather rider.
With so many beautiful mornings to ride, there’s no need to suffer through
the bad ones if you don’t have to. So I didn’t ride today…

Which I guess was a good thing. Because I REALLY need to focus.
I need to get my act together this morning to get ready for ART DETOUR!
I need to do laundry, pack and all of that busy-work. As well as load up my car
with my tent, shelves & pottery. I’ve got a lot of work to do… and not much time.
I’d like to be on the road by noon. And oh yeah, did I mention that it’s raining?!
That should make the car loading even more fun, huh?!

Remember – ART DETOUR is this weekend on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
So if you want to hop in the car a make a quick road-trip up North, we’d love to
see you! Lake Tomahawk isn’t all that far away from Chicago!

ART DETOUR 2012 – this weekend at Pigeon Road Pottery
7744 Pigeon Road, Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin – (715) 277-5099

And be sure to follow ART DETOUR on Facebook for more details!

If you’re looking for something artsy to do today, I’ll be working
in my studio all day as part of the Ravenswood Artwalk 2012.
Many artist studios & galleries all along Ravenswood Avenue are open today
& tomorrow. Start your tour by stopping in my studio on the second floor of
Lillstreet Art Center – then follow the maps & signs for a full day of art fun!
I won’t be there tomorrow… ‘cuz it’s the Apple Cider Century!!!

Click here for more information – Ravenswood Artwalk 2012.

New this year, all five artists will be creating a special, one-of-a-kind piece in
their traditional methods to debut at ART DETOUR. But here’s the catch…
they have to have a bird on them! Quite the challenge for those of us who are
not illustrators?! And I’m REALLY excited to see what Sarah comes up with
in her metalsmithing work?! The items will be available for bid by silent auction.
A portion of the proceeds benefit the Northwoods Wildlife Center which
provides humane wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release services.

Why a bird?!… well, it’s kind of a long story… and kind of an inside joke.
I will be more than willing to fill you in on the joke when I see you up North.
But until then, there’s a short YouTube video might tell the story even better!

“Put A Bird On It” Video on YouTube… thank you “Portlandia.”

I’m counting the days until ART DETOUR.
I will be heading up to the Wisconsin Northwoods a couple days early
to set-up and soak in the incredible Fall colors. Maybe even a hike or two?!
Sadly, no bike as my car will be full of pottery… and s’more supplies!!!

C’mon up to the Wisconsin Northwoods next weekend!
The colors will be gorgeous in all of their Fall splendor… and s’mores too!!!
Plus, there’s a huge art tour going on with a lot of open studios & galleries
where you can see some great art and meet the artists. My friend Amy Higgason
lives up there and will once again be hosting a few of her talented friends!
She’s not longer part of the “official” art tour. That’s why we’re the DETOUR!!!

Five Artists. Five Friends. Just off the map!!!
I will be joining Amy at her place, along with metalsmith Sarah Chapman,
watercolor painter Wendy Powalisz, and potter Katlyn Koester.

So mark your calendar to come up for the long Columbus Day Weekend.
And stop by to see us in the yard of Pigeon Road Pottery.

Pigeon Road Pottery
7744 Pigeon Road, Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin – (715) 277-5099

And be sure to follow ART DETOUR on Facebook for more details!