The kick-off of THE COZY COTTAGE POP-UP. A fun get-together with some of My Talented Friends… in Mary Foster’s cozy cottage! It will be a fun weekend pop-up and we hope you can swing by! And there “just might be” a fun little gift bag with art & yummies for the first twenty-four people!

Our latest collaborations are coming together nicely! Wonderful little gouache paintings by Mary Foster are being paired up with my textured picture frames! We have more than a dozen of them ready for this weekend’s COZY COTTAGE POP-UP!!! They’re one-of-a-kind original artworks… and very limited. When they’re gone, they’re gone! The POP-UP starts tomorrow night from 6:00-9:00pm, and then continues all day Saturday from 10:00am-5:00pm. We would love to have you stop by The Cozy Cottage!

Mary Foster’s House : 4144 North Kenneth Avenue, Chicago 60641

And it looks like it’s not just me doing a collaboration with the talented Mary Foster… as metalsmith Amy Taylor has been working on some colorful collaboration pieces with Mary as well. Like this beautiful lady bug brooch… or the morning glory one in the background. All of the one-of-a kind collaborations will be “revealed” Friday night at THE COZY COTTAGE POP-UP… which continues all day Saturday as well. We hope that you might be able to stop by to see some fun artwork by some of My Talented Friends!

4144 North Kenneth Avenue, Chicago 60641
Friday 6:00pm-9:00pm & Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

Looks like my painter-friend Mary Foster has finished her mini-paintings for our latest collaboration project. My ceramic frames should be out of the glaze kiln soon… and then we just need to pair them up! Then we’ll be all ready for the BIG REVEAL this Friday evening for the kick-off of THE COZY COTTAGE POP-UP. We’ll be there on Saturday too… but no guarantee that our collaborations will still be there?! There’s a limited quantity… so it’s gonna be first come, first served!

Here’s some more details…

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Next weekend is another POP-UP art fair… handmade pottery along with a couple of My Talented Friends! The “cozy cottage” is actually the home of my friend & painter Mary Foster. We’ll be joined by metalsmith Amy Taylor & Karen Wilson with her artisan candles & more! It will be a fun Friday night & all day Saturday next weekend… with fun surprise Gift Bags for the first twenty-four people!

While I know they’re not “real” mugs… we’re still celebrating another MUGSHOT MONDAY with these fun paintings by Robert Sedestrom currently hanging in the Lillstreet 2nd Floor Gallery Annex. Robert’s studio is kinda across from mine… but it’s great to see what he’s been working on in there when they’re displayed properly on the white gallery walls.

Tonight I swung by FALL INTO DAMEN AT NIGHT near the studio to see two of my beginning pottery students who were participating in the event! Robert makes these great candles with witty names, metal containers & great fragrance combinations! After smelling almost all of them… I ended up coming home with a “Spruce Wayne”. Can’t wait to light it up!

Check out Robert’s soy candles on Instagram : @rapwaxcandles
… or click here for the website!

Remember a few days ago when I posted about the cool cement carvings along the lakefront?… well, apparently this is “a thing” here in Chicago…. who knew?! Thanks to Matthew for letting me know about this history of carved cement art along the lakefront in Chicago.

For more details… click here for the article & photos!

My studio neighbor Karen Patinkin has been working on cleaning up her studio lately, and has gathered this wonderful collection of test tiles. I’m loving all of her slip trailings & glaze combinations on these porcelain shards… and I’m sensing perhaps a really cool mosaic piece in the making?!

Looks like my pal Mary Foster is back making some more mini-paintings… now if only there was “someone” who could make some creative picture frames to go with them?… maybe out of clay?… maybe another collaboration?… hmmm, just thinking out loud…