Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Clara…
winner of the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN Season Four!!!

For the BIG BUILD project of the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN, I challenged my students to make a creamer & sugar set based on the work of a famous artist… assigned by Tracy! Including creamer with handle, sugar with lid, tray and a spoon! They all did an amazing job… most of them getting all of their pieces “done” for class. We did have a few kiln issues, so not all of the pieces were at the same place… some were bisqued, some glazed, some stuck waiting on a cart, and some missing? I felt sorry for Helen who was struggling to find her pieces on the bisque carts! Regardless, they did an amazing job embracing their inner Mondrian, Dali, Lichtenstein & Koons.

Claire : PIET MONDRIAN

Clara : SALVADOR DALI

Melanie : ROY LICHTENSTEIN

Tracy : JEFF KOONS

After the Shamrock Shuffle, Tracy and I wandered around Millennium Park taking in the beautiful day. Too many people all around Cloudgate… so I was more enchanted by these floating nuggets of blown glass by Christine Tarkowksi. A perfect way to enjoy today’s blue skies… with a little art along the way!!!

Fanciful butterflies flitting around on this large sculpture at the St. Louis Library. Pretty impressive as the late afternoon sun was still illuminating a few of the butterflies… err, mariposas!

Some times you’re just driving down a sidestreet… minding your own business…. you run across an EXPLOSION OF CREATIVITY! I just love this collection of handmade & handpainted birdhouses all over this tree! Just a normal house… with some AMAZING little houses hanging in their tree!!! So cool… so creative! What a great collection & fun for the whole neighborhood!

Also part of the sculpture show in Evanston this weekend, was another one of My Talented Friends Darlys Ewoldt… who makes these crazy cool metal sculptures!!! Swirling dimensional sculptures with great patina colors that are simply amazing. I have no idea how she makes them!!! Crazy, right?!

So much fun hanging with my friend & master metalsmith Sarah Chapman this afternoon… after her pop-up gallery show in Evanston this weekend. She makes such cool stuff… so talented, so creative. You should definitely check out her work… and then come see her this spring at the One-Of-A-Kind Show in Chicago!!! www.chapmanmetals.com

Always a great day when THIS arrives in my mailbox!!!

After two years of pandemic virtual tours, it’s so exciting to see that the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour will once again be going live & in-person this Spring. So much fun to see so much beautiful pottery over the course of a weekend… driving from studio location to studio location… chatting with over 60 talented potters… picking up a few pieces for my own collection along the way… and forever daydreaming that I might one day be invited to be part of the “Pottery Tour” instead of just a patron! Dare to dream, right…

Looking at the latest batch of fresh postcards from THE POSTCARD CLUB. Featuring Seattle-based photographer Connor Surdi. Always fun to figure out who’s going to get a little fun from me in the mail next?!

Words to live by… WASH THE PLATE!
Especially when one of those plates is that handmade stamped green platter hidden in the far back corner!!!

Handpainted signage by my friend Merryn… a young design student & daughter of my college friends! Feel free to follow her artistic adventures on Instagram – @merryncreates