Thank you for understanding that crazy times call for crazy measures.
So we’re doing Pottery With Precautions this holiday season!!!

Click HERE for full details and to book an appointment.
There’s a LOT of information & changes, so please read carefully. Thank you.

Always great to see these four letters… one last kiln load fired & complete… fresh pots just in time for MY HOLIDAY HOME SHOW! It wasn’t quite cool enough to unload when I arrived, but hopefully it will be cooler after teaching class tonight!Don’t forget, you can still sign-up for a socially-distant & sanitized appointment time slots on my website.

Click here for full HOLIDAY HOME SHOW details & appointment times!

Plenty of stars to go around!!! These little textured stars are perfect as ornaments, gift-tags or just fun little tchotchkes to have hanging about. I’ll be adding strings to them before MY HOLIDAY HOME SHOW which starts next week!

Just a couple quick “teasers” of the treasures I found in my soda kiln while unloading last Monday night… the front stack, and the back stack. It’s been a busy week unloading, teaching, biking and setting up for MY HOLIDAY HOME SHOW. There’s a LOT of new pots here that need to be cleaned, prepped & priced before they can head off to new homes!

It’s been a crazy year 2020…
so why not expect a crazy HOLIDAY HOME SHOW too?!

It’s traditionally my biggest, best & favorite art fair of the year. But this year is going to have to be a LOT different. It’s time to start making your gift list & checking it twice… as I have a LOT of pottery with precautions! More details coming soon on how we’re all going to stay safe & stay healthy this year!!!

One of the highlights of ART IN THE GARDEN is that the artists get to play together & collaborate on some cool projects. One of collaborations this year was this batch of porcelain soda-fired jars that I made and other artists added their own “artist-styled” knobs to the tops

Well, a couple weeks have gone by since ART IN THE GARDEN, and I’ve been sitting here with a few of the collaboration jars waiting to be photographed & posted here online for sale. I’ve been playing hooky a bit too much lately while it’s been so nice outside… but the clouds have come over Chicago so I finally got my act together today! Here are a few “teaser” photos of the nine collaboration jars that will go up for sale only on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page at 6:00pm CST. It will be first come, first served when the “official” Photo Album is posted. So set an alarm reminder to check them out at 6:00pm tonight!

Click here to go to my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page!

A HUGE Thank You to everyone who made it out to ART IN THE GARDEN this past weekend. During these crazy times, it was wonderful to get outside to see some of my Talented Friends with their beautiful artworks… as well as all of the wonderful friends, family, Fans & Followers that stopped by! We appreciate the love, support & encouragement… and we hope you’re loving the new artworks you took home with you!

But in case you couldn’t make it… here’s a small glimpse of some of the colors, textures & artworks that you missed from My Talented Friends!

AMY TAYLOR : silver hinged jewelry

CORY McCRORY : whimsical paperclay ceramics

DONNA SAUERS : glass bead jewelry

JILL MILLER of HOOEY BATIKS

KEN STAGGS : wood turning

KRISTIN CONNEELY : mosaics

LYNDA WALLIS : beaded bracelets

After a nice sunrise bike ride… what could be better than some gourmet donuts?! They’ve kind of become an annual “tradition” for Day Two of ART IN THE GARDEN. I like to stop by JOE DONUTS in Glenview to pick-up these yummy treats for the artists before the show starts! I cut them all in half so you can try more than one kind without feeling too guilty about it. Not too unexpected… but I ate MORE than my share as the box ended up behind my booth when the art fair started!

So the art fair didn’t start until 10:00am this past weekend… so that gave me “plenty” of time to go for a bike ride beforehand, right?! I mean, when you kick-off your morning with this kind of amazing natural beauty… it’s gotta be a great day, right?!!! So I got up early, pedaled along the lakefront as usual… then rushed home, showered, changed, and drove out to Glenview for Day Two of ART IN THE GARDEN!

Not only was it AMAZING to see so many loyal customers, fans, followers & art fair patrons this past weekend… but I also had a few wonderful surprise visits as well.

Molly & Jacob stopped by with little Benjamin! Just three weeks old and only five pounds tiny!!! A bit of a preemie making huge gains and growing quickly. Also known as “Team Lavender” to many Lillstreeters… Molly & Jacob have been in several of my classes including two “seasons” of The Great Lillstreet Throwdown! You may remember… we helped them make all of the vases for the wedding reception during “Season One”. And then made surprise baby blocks for them during “Season Two!”

At one point I had another visitor to my booth who stopped by and quietly looed around… and then left. He looked familiar, but hard to identify with mask, sunglasses & bald head. When he stepped back in a minute later, he said “You didn’t recognize me, did you?” It was only when I heard his voice that I realized it was my older cousin David… who lives in Ohio!!! I had no idea he would be coming… he’s never been to one of my art fairs… and it was AMAZING and slightly confusing to see him there!!!

Later in the day, I was busy helping someone else… and then when I looked up I saw another familiar face!!! And there before my very eyes was my good friend Anna from high school… her husband, her sister with husband & daughter, and Anna’s Mom!!! Now keep in mind, I haven’t seen Anna since maybe a couple years after college graduation?! She now lives in St. Louis… so imagine my surprise now to have the entire family standing there in my art fair booth!!! CRAZY!!! Sadly, I was so shocked to see them all there in my booth… that I totally forgot to take any pictures!!! But Anna did bring me a little handmade souvenir… showing off her own crafty handiwork!

And then on Sunday, I was surprised by my friend Alison and her daughter Kasey. I haven’t seen Alison for a couple years… ever since they cancelled out Step Classes. Yes, we did Step Class together at the health club for YEARS!!! I love it… and still hope it will make a resurgence! Anyway, they popped into my booth and it was so good to see them. Especially after talking with Kasey who is now a news reporter up in Milwaukee. She had some amazing stories of what she’s had to cover in the field during these crazy times & the riots in Kenosha. Amazing… and more than a bit scary. Kudos for Kasey for stepping it up and reporting the news on camera to make sure the stories get told.

Towards the end of Sunday, I had another little visitor… adorable little Teagan who stopped bu with her Mom Nancy… one of my IRONMAN biking friends. Teagan was so cute walking around and being so thoughtful & cautious around all of the pottery.

Teagan seemed to really enjoy her first art fair… almost as much as she enjoys her morning oatmeal in her own little handmade & personalized cereal bowls!!!