Along our travels, we stopped it to see as many local artisans doing their craft. No need for “Made in China” for me!!! Much better to see creative hands at work & displaying their handiwork. So many talented artisans in Alaska!!!

It has also been fun after teaching my workshop in Fairbanks, Alaska… to see some of the glazed results of the local potters there. Like these beauties from Bianca of WILLOW STUDIOS in Ester, Alaska. Many of them with some nice stamping & one hybrid mug using one of my favorite textured rollers from MKM Pottery Tools. It was so much fun to share my techniques… but even more fun to see them carry on into finished pottery! Nicely done Bianca!!!

At the end of the workshop, AL and I did a little pottery trade!!! I came home with a great lidded bowl. Where the rim is hollow & perforated so it doesn’t get hot… and a lid that flips over to become a bowl. Again, with hollow & perforated knob so it too does not get hot!!! AL went home with two of my hybrid mugs… not so matchy-matchy… but clearly close enough that they just couldn’t be separated from each other!

After my tour of MKM POTTERY TOOLS… Rick invited me over to his pottery studio… Fired Earth Pottery. It’s a very nice group studio space for resident artists, as well as classes & renters. Lucky for me, ceramic artist AL Holden was going to be doing a workshop at Fired Earth Pottery last night… and Rick invited me to stay… so I did! It was great to meet AL and see her work. I just love watching people throw on the wheel regardless of their skill level… so it was even more fun to see someone at the college professor level “showing-off” and making cool pots! The evening was great with AL doing the show, but all of the participants were great fun too!!! Glad I went to Appleton yesterday…. turns out there was a lot to do!!!

And of course… there were PLENTY of MKM Pottery Tools on hand for AL to use!!!

Check her out… www.alholenceramics.com

Another “art fair trade”… this time with one of my booth neighbors! Sandy has been next to me for a couple years, and he makes wood turned kitchen utensils like pizza cutters, wine stoppers & ice cream scoops. But it was these sweet little wooden bowls that caught my eye… and came home with me when our “trade” went down at ART IN THE BARN.

The sun was hitting it just right!!! Sun shining, glass glowing, colors popping!!! This beautiful stained glass piece with an Amberina Depression Glass butter dish lid is now a new resident in my condo! After a successful ART IN THE GARDEN … I splurged on this beauty made by friend Retta. You should get one too… so follow her on Facebook … I Do Windows by Rettaglass

Speaking of collaborations… here’s another one at ART IN THE GARDEN. My friend Retta Hentschel made this amazing stained glass window using some of my textured clay nuggets! Such a nice piece… so happy to be part of it! Retta did an amazing job here… combining her glass & my clay into one stunning window pane!

Enough of the “teasers”… now that our collaborations have made their “Bug Reveal” at ART IN THE GARDEN today, Cory & I felt it was fine to show you all what each piece looks like straight on. Again, I made all of the textured tiles & my pal Cory McCrory made all of the sculptural bugs.

We had a great day today… and there are still
a few collaborations for those who come tomorrow!
We’re back in Glenview from 10:00am-5:00pm.

So it’s the night before… and one last chance for a quick “teaser” of my “buggy” collaboration with Cory McCrory! About a week ago I was wondering IF we would even have ANY bugs?! A little kiln explosion… but Cory is a Wizard!!! And she turned it all around & worked her magic. I’m so excited that we ended up with ten pieces as originally planned. Each one a singular masterpiece!

They’ll be making their “buggy debut” at ART IN THE GARDEN tomorrow morning! Hoping to spread the “infestation” to some new homes soon!!!

For those of you wondering how Cory McCrory makes such amazing bugs… here are some great “process” shots from her studio! She works with paper clay which helps with keeping the clay “workable” a bit longer. And then it’s a lot of parts & pieces… body parts, wings, antennae, legs & so much more!!! And a lot of scoring & slipping!!!

Be sure to come to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend to see these amazing bugs in person!!! Saturday, September 6th & Sunday, September 7th in Glenview, Illinois.