Final score at the end of “Art In The Barn”…

Skulls: 9   -   Monsters: 1  -  Pumpkins: 0

Luckily, that’s all that was left! I think the Monsters were a big hit!!!
I’ll definitely need to make more of those… and maybe add another
character or two to the collection next year! Vampire? Zombie? Suggestions?

Plus, my “Skull Necklaces For The Kids” campaign worked well too.
I went with 63 skull necklaces… and ended up with just three left in the end.
It was so much fun to see the kids buying their own “piece of art” for a dollar!
And then seeing all the kids wearing them all over the art fair. Plus, there were
plenty of “over 10” adults who paid the full $10 for their own skull necklace!

This morning I got up early and went back to the studio to unload my kiln.
Okay, it was still a “bit” warmer than I would have liked it to be. Whatever – it was hot!
But I needed to unload it and get them ready for the weekend’s art fair. So I put on the gloves
and started unloading right into boxes to bring them home. Then they were added to the rest
of the boxes, packed into the van and they were headed off to the art fair set-up!!!

And I was quite pleased to see my kiln full of adorably cute monsters staring back at me!

We worked all afternoon, and into the evening, setting up my booth in the Lower Barn.
It’s always a lot of work getting it all put together – so we LOVE the Friday set-up. Although
it always feels odd to set up and leave… with it all there sitting wide open. luckily they have
security guards all night. And it is always SO nice to show up tomorrow morning and be
pretty much ready to go. And I’m hoping that my new little “monsters” are a big hit!!!

A quick “testimonial” e-mailI received from a customer… so nice to hear from
my customers, and to see their enjoyment for the objects I’m making!

Dear Gary,

I’m sure there are pieces you create that you love – it came out exactly or better than
you envisioned. It must tug a little to give them up and never see them again. Well,
I thought I’d let you know that I am really enjoying the mug I purchased at the Evanston
Lakeshore Art Fair. It is the perfect size for my morning coffee and the warm colors,
especially the Fall tones, are a welcome site. The texture makes it quite distinctive and
interesting. So, your mug is enjoying its adopted home.

Can’t make the show this weekend but I hope it is a good show for you.

Best Regards,
Maureen

Come out for a beautiful Fall weekend looking at beautiful art.
Stop by “Art In The Barn” this weekend out in Barrington – and be sure to stop by
the Lower Barn to see me, my latest work and my new little “monsters” in Booth E-4.
Consider it a kick-off of Fall… complete with corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins & mums!

With plenty of handmade pottery for everyone, choose from bowls, mugs, vases, oil lamps,
soap dispensers and more. All wheelthrown stoneware with handmade, stamped textures
& patterns making each piece one-of-a-kind. Plus, some decorative items such as birdhouses,
Jack O’Lanterns, ikebana vases, and tiled ClayQuilt wall hangings!

Saturday, November 25th & Sunday, November 26th
10:00am-6:00pm both days

On the grounds of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Illinois.
Just 40 miles northwest of Chicago – on Route 22, a mile or so west of Route 59.
The art fair is held directly east of the hospital in the original farm buildings which
were once part of the farm complex owned by Quaker Oats.

Art In The Barn is a fundraising event for the Hospital Auxiliary… and a portion of all sales
will be donated by each artist. So come out ot Barrington to support your favorite artist, get
some great art, a really great milkshake… knowing that a portion will be going to a good cause.

I will be located in the Lower Barn in Booth E-4… next to my usual booth space?!
And maybe a little cramped with a LOT of pottery crammed into one booth?!…
…sadly, no thanks to the new organizers of the Art In The Barn event.

After a day at the art fairs, I spent the night in the studio doing some more detailing!
Getting one step closer…. and still hoping to make my deadline… and get them done
in time for next weekend’s “Art In The Barn.” If all goes well, they’ll all be in the kiln
on Wednesday, cooled on Thursday, out on Friday – at the fair on Saturday & Sunday!!!

Today was a little rainy & cloudy… not the nicest day for an outdoor art fair!
Been there. Done that. I know how tough it is to stick it out in your tent when it’s pouring.
So I decided to go out to the suburbs to visit some of my “art-fair-friends” who were doing
some shows this weekend. Hopefully tomorrow’s weather will be better for them!

After driving out to the suburbs through the lightning & pouring rain, I was glad to see
that the storm seemed to have blown over by the time I got to the LaGrange Art Fair.
My friend Cory McCrory is a wonderful ceramic artist who makes these wonderfully
whimsical sculptures! We’ve known each other for years, and I have a quite the nice
collection of her work… some fish, cups, teapots, bottles and after today, a new chair!

Then I went off to the Naperville Riverwalk Art Fair to check in with more artist friends.
The weather had gotten better, but still not great… and the customers were finally showing up.
It was a fun show and a beautiful location. Great artists all over the park, including potter
Michael Schael, painter Cheryl Holz and jeweler Teresa DeVer. The Riverwalk is beautiful too.
And has a lot of great sculptures & gardens along the way. My favorite was this great
sculpture of “Dick Tracy.” Apparently, the artist who drew the comic strip for so many years
was from Naperville. Who knew?

And while I’m at it… I’ve decided to make some quick skulls for the kids!
I’m hoping to crank out some Halloween pendants for the kids to “buy” at
Art In The Barn… I’m thinking a dollar for kids under 8, and ten bucks for
everyone over eight?!!! How does that sound? Little kids need art too…

I wonder at what point will my “snail-mail” postcard mailing list become obsolete?…
and I can switch everything over to e-mail, blog & Facebook?! Will that day ever come?
Or do some people still look forward to tradtional postcards of art fair listings?

I know my gut tells me that I should continue designing, printing & mailing postcards.
I think that they are important. I think customers like them. I think people keep them.
I know my Mom keeps cards from her favorite artists on her refrigerator all summer!

But then as I’m updating mail lists, sticking on labels, buying postage stamps, etc…
I keep wondering if it’s all necessary?! E-mails are free. Facebook is the current
“favorite” in social networking. This blog is my personal favorite. So… what to do?
Not everyone is on Facebook. Not everyone is willing to give you their e-mail. And I
have a LOT of names & addresses in my old-fashioned mailing list. It’s a tough decision –
and I’m not sure there’s ever going to be a clear-cut answer. So until then, I guess I’ll
keep doing all of them?! So back to the computer & more mail list updates…

Another “addition” to my collection of cool rusty things!
You should know by now that I’m addicted to all things rusty… it’s the colors,
the textures, the patina, the aged-ness… all of it is very cool to me! So when I did
the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival a few weekends ago… I scored big!!!

It was actually part of the Silent Auction. I noticed it when I was dropping off my vase
for the auction and was instantly smitten. And then I found out that the artist’s booth
was just a couple spaces down from mine. So I looked at all of her other really cool
rusty things – but was still in love with the piece that was part of the Silent Auction…
so I had my work cut out for me! Just to clarify… it’s a rusty shovel head that has been
cut with a beautiful pattern using a plasma torch. Still not sure where it’s going to hang,
but I am sure it will have a place of honor!!!

So here’s the story. I found out that one of the top bidders was my friend Amy Taylor.
One of the nicest metalsmiths out there who does this cool “hinged” jewelry. Love it.
Anyways, she was bidding throughout the day as her booth was right across the walkway.
Mine was all the way across the art fair. So I decided to “swoop in” at the very last moment
and try to “win” the auction. All was going well… 3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…
30 seconds… and I was going to be the last & top bidder. But then…

Up walks Amy’s fianceé Tom to do her final bidding. And I had to take him down!
I literally had to hold him in a headlock while I wrote my bid down “slowly” as to be
the final bid. I also found out that Amy had a “cap” on her bidding… but I was more than
ready to go higher. I was ready to buy one for full price at the artists booth, but it was the
design and the “broken off” section that I was drawn to. So I had to get this one… and I
was willing to pay for it. Amy’s “cap” was lower than mine… so Tom finally acquiesced
and the auction closed! And now I’m the proud owner of another piece of rust!!!

Check out Denice Bizot and her wonderful rusty artwork at… www.denicebizot.com

Yesterday was a beautiful day… would it have been too much to have two days in a row?!
Apparently yes. Instead, we started the morning with a couple hours of drizzle followed
by a couple hours of strong, gusty winds. Now don’t get me wrong… I don’t like either
one of those conditions. But if I had to choose… I’d much rather have rain than wind.
With rain you might get wet, but you will dry… as will my pots! However with wind…
a strong gust can shake your nerves, shake your tent and shake your pots! Luckily,
we didn’t have any “wind related casualties” but it was a bit un-nerving for a large portion
of the day. Eventually, the sun came out, the wind died down and the swarms of dragonflies
all came back to the lake’s edge. But by the end of the day… the flowers were wilted,
the shelves were covered with a thick layer of dust and my booth neighbor’s husband Scott
was wilted as well… and tried to sneak in a quick nap before the tear-down process began.
Looks like it was a long day for all of us!

At the end of the long day, it’s another art fair done for the season. And another successful
art show in Evanston. It was a lot of fun to see so many of my friends, students and loyal
customers at the fair this weekend.  And it wasn’t quite the perfect weather weekend we
all hope for… but it wasn’t terrible either. Looking back – it could have been a LOT worse!

Next up?… Art In The Barn on September 25th & 26th in Barrington!

Oh yeah…
did I mention the best, most chocolate-iest milk shakes ever?!!! Over the course
of the two day art fair – I had three of them!!! From some small little white trailer called
“The Malt Shoppe” with the nicest “ice cream barristas” ever… they make a great shake.
Of course I had to help “train” them… chocolate milk shake with chocolate ice cream,
chocolate sauce, hot fudge, and if you think you couldn’t possibly add more chocolate – do.
There’s no such thing as too much chocolate in my shake. In fact, if they would just give me
a cup of hit fudge and a straw – I would be a happy kid. I have the palate of a 4-year old.
And even better – they also come out to Barrington in September. Something extra special
and extra chocolatey to look forward to!