We’ve been doing this Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge for six months now. It’s a little tough for the ceramic folks to show finished pieces in a timely basis. What with needing to glaze and fill a kiln and all. So we frequently just show the greenware versions of the ornaments and hope that people can “visualize” the finished outcome. Well, Roberta has been busy glazing & finishing some of her ornaments from previous months. No more “guessing”…. now you can see the real thing. And how incredible they all look!!!

To see more of Roberta’s ceramic work, click here for her website.

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Six months in. Six months to go!!!
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
And now we’re half way done! Hard to believe 2016 is already half way over???
When did THAT happen?

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
After last month’s fish ornaments, it’s not too surprising that Cory stayed aquatic… err, amphibian… close enough… and went with some adorable frogs for June! And as usual, Cory supplied us with a piece-by-piece, part-by-part photo story. Sorry, no tadpoles to start with, but…

Legs…

Body parts…

Assemble line…

Sightless frogs…

And here they are…. Cory’s adorable amphibians for June!!!
Can’t wait to see them in color after she glazes & fires them!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
According to Sarah… “The June ornament is covered with snowflakes that were etched into the brass. Very glad that there are no actual snowflakes in sight right now!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta is for the birds! This month she created these beautiful “two turtle doves.” The holes on the top will be filled with a wire ring for hanging.

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
For June, Amy went with a longer hanging ornament… complete with dangles, spangles and a faceted black onyx stone.

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my June ornaments, I went with textured squiggles. These will be destined for my next soda kiln… but I’ve got to add some color to them first. They’ll get a couple layers of different colored flashing slips before they start to dry.

So there they are… June ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

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These projects are pretty amazing. All done with layers & layers of colored paper. And to think that I did quilling when I was in 7th grade. Imagine what I might be doing now if I had just stuck with it?!

Click here to see Yulia Broskaya’s video.

One of the best parts of doing art fairs is making friends with your talented “neighbors.” Seeing what cool things they’re making and possibly doing a little shopping or “trading” along the way! In Schaumburg, I was again next to Claudia Winter of “Baubbly” who makes beautiful resin & metal jewelry. Whimsical, colorful & fun. Three of my favorite things!… even better when some of them are reversible!!!

This pendant is layers of clear resin with colored accents in between. With different lighting, or looking at it from an angle, you can see the colored dots “move” or “shift” around on the pendant.

And this pendant of colored resin sanded to a smooth matte surface. This little cutie is reversible – lime dots on one side, and perky orange on the other!

But here’s the best part of the story…
So we’re in the middle of Saturday when a cute high school girl comes into Claudia’s booth. They start talking and the girl is asking some great questions. Claudia is explaining her process very thoroughly. And clearly for the high schooler. After about 15 minutes of resin definitions, epoxy clarification, color placement and everything else you could ever want to know. That it’s resin. That it’s a two-part process. On and on. Very clear. Very concise. She couldn’t have been any clearer…

And then the girl asked… “So is it a stone?”

We both had a good laugh about it… No, it is NOT a stone… it’s RESIN!!!

Click here to see more whimsical fun by Claudia Winter.

 

 

One of my favorite booths today at the 57th Street Art Fair was that of Robin Kittleson. I met Robin a few years back when she was across the aisle from me at Art In The Barn in Barrington. Now generally I’m not a huge fan of fused glass. So frequently it’s very bright, kinda geometric and more than a little gaudy. And then there’s Robin’s amazing twist on fused glass. Her pieces are amazing!!! The colors. The designs. The intricacy. Amazing!!!

She may have just won me over… maybe fused glass CAN BE a lot cooler than I thought?

Click here to see a sneak peek into Robin’s process.
And then click here to see more of her work on her website – www.robinkittleson.com

After a fun weekend of hanging out with my friend & master metalsmith Sarah Chapman, I came home with a bunch of roses. I helped Sarah at the Spring One-Of-A-Kind Show in her booth. At the end, it’s the big tear-down and pack-up. Everything packs down pretty tightly. Everything in its place, and every place with it’s thing. The one thing that didn’t fit were her “booth flowers”… which I brought home and have been enjoying for a few days now. Beautiful roses that are still in surprisingly great shape?!!!

As always, we had a wonderful time at the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour.
I toured as usual with my friend & talented metalsmith Sarah Chapman. We both told ourselves we were going to “be good” this time. Good to our wallets. Good to out bank accounts. I would like to think that I did pretty well… maybe?… kinda?… sorta???

The first stop on our tour is Bob Briscoe’s place every year. It’s our favorite… great pots, wonderful artists and good friends. While there, that little itch in my wallet starts up… and I feel completely helpless and MUST add another Matt Metz piece to my collection. It was this sweet little flask that caught my attention. I picked it up right away… and when Sarah pointed out that I was caressing & fondling it… I knew it would be mine!!!

Our second stop was Connee Mayeron’s studio… AFTER a little detour around the construction road closure. Sarah has a slight “addiction/fascination” with the work of Shoko Teruyama. So another piece from her was on Sarah’s list. And let me just say… Sarah’s “fascination” is rubbing off on me too. We both got blue & white tumblers last year form Shoko. This year it was this sweet & colorful floral mug. Detailed carvings with colorful glazes.

At the tent next door… another “addiction” for Sarah… and me…  Jenny Mendes. So much detailed painting, line-work and imagery. Her color palette is always “slightly off”… but in such a cool way.

We then went to Guillermo’s. And then off to Will Swanson’s. It was there that Karin Kraemer’s colorful work brought a smile to my face again. I first saw her work there last year… but the carrots were NEW!!! Such a wonderful color palette. So fun, so cheery. And in Karin’s words “She really stands out against all of the brown pots.” I love her illustration style… and the little surprise she hid in the bottom of the mug!

I did really good in resisting the temptation on Friday…
but not so good when I came back to the Tour on Saturday flying solo. I didn’t have Sarah’s “voice of reason” and just couldn’t resist. I just HAD to have some of those carrots!!! Last year I got a rooster.

At the same location, I found another beautiful mug by Ryan Greenheck that “just had to go home” with me. So much for being on my best behavior?! My wallet never even had a chance… too many great pots. Far too much temptation.

So there they are… the newest pots in my pottery collection. I think I did pretty well adding some beautiful mugs to my Mug Collection. And another Matt Met to my Matt Metz Colleciton… a bit redundant, but you get it.

Until next year…

 

 

Yesterday was a long day of seeing a LOT of incredible pottery. But today it was time for more!!! I returned to a couple of the studio stops on the St. Croix Pottery Tour… but I always look forward to seeing some signs on the side of the road. It started a few years back, but now The Rogue Potters have become and wonderful “unofficial” stop on MY tour!!!

They’ve done a wonderful job of creating a buzz. Handmade signs along the main thoroughfares. Bermashave-style signs to draw you in. More pottery to see???… I’m in!!!

It was such a beautiful day. So great to see that Randal and the Rogues had moved their show outside to enjoy the weather!

While there, it’s always fun to see their kiln shed and the traditional wood-fired brick kiln inside. Such a great place… that I’m sure has dozens of great stories to go along with it.

Here it is again… Mother’s Day Weekend… and the Best Pottery Tour EVER!!!
The St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour is an annual event  a bit north of Minneapolis. There are seven host potters on the tour that invite even more talented artists to their place for the weekend. This year there were fifty guest artists! Truth be told… some day I would love to be one of those invited guest potters. Dare to dream! Maybe we need to start a write-in campaign???

So here’s the deal. The pottery tour is always Friday, Saturday & Sunday. There are large tents set-up at each location FILLED with wonderful pots!!! The artists are all there and ready to chat. What’s not to like? It’s a great opportunity to see some amazing work, network and make some more “pottery friends.” We always do the full tour on Friday when the shelves are overflowing… and selling fast!

Here’s a quick peek at some of the fun! And some of the pottery!

Yes, you are correct…. it all can be a little visually overwhelming. But in a good way. With so many talented potters involved, it’s nearly impossible to see everything. So let me share a few of the pieces that caught my attention.

Large Pitcher by Steven Hill.

Dinnerware by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson

Platter by Shoko Teruyama

Pottery display full of work by Kyle Carpenter.

Colorful carrot plate by Karin Kraemer.

Striped & sectioned platter by Suze Lindsay.

Glazed bowl by Ellen Shankin & carved porcelain mini vessels by Sandra Byers.

Forget-Me-Not Platter by Karin Kraemer.

Dotted Leaf Plate by Kyle Carpenter.

Pottery display full of work by Matthew Metz.

Some foliage beauty on Kyle Carpenter pots.

Textured plates by Mary Barringer.

Textured flower brick vases by Bill Gossman.

 

Textured vase by RIchard Vincent and some “glaze magic” by Steven Hill.

More painted accents on Kyle Carpenter pots.

Perky petals by Karin Kraemer and textured slip tray by Suze Lindsay.

Dinnerware by Kent McLaughlin in a cool dish rack.

Sgraffito flower by Matthew Metz and a textured plate by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson.

Large glazed bowl and pottery display by Steven Hill.

Small vase by Suze Lindsay and teapot by Kyle Carpenter.

Incredible dinnerware by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson.

Textured platter by Richard Vincent and a textured plate ^ vase by Mary Barringer.

Planter by Suze Lindsay.

Textured jar by George Lowe.

Glazed platter by Steven Hill and sgraffito flower by Matthew Metz.

Textured sphere vase by Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish.

Of course there were SO MANY MORE pots to see. I feel based that I missed getting photos of a lot of them! Maybe because I was too swept up in the moment. Too busy admiring pots. Too busy enjoying the eye candy. Too busy shopping!

Sometimes timing is everything. It was great to capture the “courting ritual” moment of two bugs on a Karin Kraemer pot. Too funny.

And speaking of funny… here’s a quick pic of my friend Steven Hill posting on his phone. We had just had the discussion a few moments earlier that he needs to post something about the Pottery Tour. Apparently he took my advice… but was a little frightened of what I was going to post about him!!! All good Steven… good photo, nice booth shot and look, you’re posting online!!! Well played my friend.

 

Here’s a pretty amazing technique to decorate the inside of a bowl. Always an awkward place to get into without altering the pattern or the bowl. Well, here’s a way to alter BOTH that looks so perfect you’d have no idea of what it went through to get to this point. My students know I’m not a big fan of the heat gun… but for this technique it might just be worth it?! File this one under “Things I Definitely Need To Try.”

Click here for Forrest Middleton’s video clip courtesy of Ceramic Arts Daily.