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.

Here we go…. the third month… March.
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.
We’re three months in… a quarter of the way!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory embraces Spring this month with brightly colored ornaments of flowers, petals and textures. So while we’re tap dancing on the front edge of Spring, the past few gloomy days have been brightened a bit my Cory’s cheery ornaments.

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
For March, Sarah “returns to her roots” and mimics her jewelry style with a beautiful brass & beaded ornament. According to Sarah, it’s “definitely inspired by my penchant for reversible jewelry and now ornaments!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta continued her “galactic” ornaments! Last month they were porcelain “moon and stars”… this month see’s focused more on the “transportation” aspect of the galaxy! Methinks the Millennium Falcons will be a BIG hit!!!

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy takes another spin on her already popular ADORBS jewelry collection…
this time celebrating Spring showers with that one ADORB-able Spring Green eye!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my March ornaments, I’ve been making small flocks of birds. Trying to keep them simple & stylized. I can’t decide if I like them better with textured bodies or textured wings?! So I’ve decided to make some of each.

And since I’m not really sure how I’m going to glaze finish these avian delights… I decided I should make another flock of birds for the soda kiln. These birds are made with soda clay… and still need some eyes!!! And maybe a some accents of colored flashing slips?!

So there they are… March 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!

And oh, but wait there’s more!!!
Remember, the ceramic folks have a little tougher time actually finishing their ornaments due to kiln firing schedules. So we’re frequently posting the dried greenware versions monthly. And then, once they get glazed & fired, I’ll post the “finished” results here too.

Like this one… a few finished February beauties from Cory McCrory!!!

 

Last night we had our final pottery class of the Winter session. Always a bittersweet night. Fun to see what my students have made and how they’ve grown over the 10-week class. Sad to see some of them leaving… some of them moving on… one of them just plain moving! Luckily, I believe many of them will be coming back again next session to play some more in my class!

As part of our last class, I always challenge them to a trading-exchange White Elephant sort of game. They have the 10-week class to make a specified item, and then we do a big trading game on the final night. This session it was plates. 12″ or smaller for my new beginners, 12″ or larger for my returning beginners! Let me just say we didn’t quite pull out the ruler, but most of them gave it a great effort. So much fun with so many great students.

And then you see this kind of a post on Facebook the next day…

Direct from Katie’s post on Facebook…
“Latest pottery… plate from Patty via our end-of-term exchange and bowl by me! As always, massive thanks to and adoration of Gary Jackson!”

Aw shucks… warm fuzzies all around. And some pretty sweet pots too!!!

This movie looks pretty incredible. The style, the process, the visuals.
Apparently it’s the first time ever using this film-making process. Think of it as a stop-action, clay-mation type movie… but using individual oil paintings instead of clay?!!! Amazing… and slightly crazy, right? I’ll definitely be “Van Gogh-ing” to see this one! Would be great at the Drive-In under some beautiful Starry, Starry Night.

Click here to see the trailer video of “Loving Vincent” on INSIDER’s videos.

Celebrating Pi Day with a slice of homemade pie around my neck!
It’s so much fun to have talented friends who know you so well…
and know of your love of homemade pie! We’ve often joked that the main reason I bike so much is so that I can eat more pie!!! And my bike has been known to stop at many a homemade pie place!

So this wonderful little adornment was a gift from my friend & talented metalsmith Amy Taylor. Such a “sweet” and thoughtful gift from one pie lover to another! Click here to see more of Amy’s wonderful metalsmith masterpieces!

The latest addition to my already overflowing Mug Collection!
This beauty was made by my friend & potter Catherine Tweedie.
The beautiful soda-fired surface accentuates her “numerical obsession” quite nicely.
Perfect for Mugshot Monday!

Click here to follow Catherine Tweedie on INSTAGRAM.

Amazing craftsmanship does it once again! So amazing to watch these fine craftsmen create these amazing printing blocks. From simple plank of wood carved with intricate repetitive patterns. All by hand. No machines. Just some simple tools and a plank of wood. Makes my hand-carved ceramic stamps look like child’s play!!

According to Alchemiya.com….
“Turning a plank of wood into an intricately carved printing block. A highly skilled practice filmed by the V&A Museum as part of their Fabric of India Exhibition.”

Click here for the amazing video to go from plank to printing block.

Continuing the “Show Me Your PMI Selfie Challenge”… Susan Cordner from Pasadena, California checked in yesterday with her contribution. Not only did she send the Selfie as requested… but she’s been busy in her pottery studio as well.

Sharon took her Selfie, and then went one step further…and started making her own textured wall pillows! Good to know that my little tutorial made sense. That someone could actually read my instructions, follow-along and make something this cool. Glad I did my “job” for POTTERY MAKING ILLUSTRATED. I love the textured pattern she put on them. It looks so much like vintage tooled leather. Style, pattern and surface all look very leathery. Love it.

Here’s my e-mail message from Sharon…
“LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your work … and all those beautiful sunrises:). Here’s a … choke/gag … Selfie LOL!  And, my attempt at a wall pillow … that isn’t. I made the basic idea, all slab, handbuilt, textured. These will be decorated with oxide and shino then ^5 ox firing. Thanks so much for sharing your processes!!”

For more about Sharon, her pottery and her new textured wall pillows, check out her Facebook page by clicking here. And thanks again Sharon for sharing your Selfie and your pottery!

Anyone else up for the Selfie Challenge??? Just e-mail me a Selfie of you with your copy of POTTERY MAKING ILLUSTRATED!!! Send to gary@firewhenreadypottery.com