So last night my longtime friend & pottery student Kristen had a little “First Dibs” party before launching her pottery website today! As a former metalsmith, it’s been fun watching her work in clay instead of metal. And seeing her skills & designs grow & evolve so quickly. You can tell she’s been listening to my lessons… especially my “More Is More” mantra! Congrats Kristen… so proud of you!!!

I came home with this little brown cup. Which was actually a class demo… that I offered for someone else to finish. Kristen was the first to claim it… and look what she did to my “plain” demo cylinder!!!

You know we potters make mugs… but we also LOVE mugs! And I would say that “most” potters have a mug collection of their own… collecting mugs of friends, teachers & fellow potters from around the world! So it was great to see one of MY mugs “out in the wild”… playing in Marsha’s studio while she’s making mug handles. Kinda Meta… my mug in the studio while she’s making mugs in the studio on Mugshot Monday in Marsha’s studio!

Follow Marsha on Instagram – @marshasclayart

I love having talented friends… and trading art with those “Talented Friends”!!! During ART IN THE BARN last weekend, I struck a great trade with Sandy James! She makes wonderful pieces “Of Nature” by electroforming copper on actual leaves, branches, seed pods, etc. Such an amazing way to capture nature & preserve it forever. I was lucky enough to grab this one… so enamored by the “skeleton” of the decaying leaf being captured in copper… forever!

And who knows… there has even been some discussion of some future collaborations down the road… you know how I LOVE a good collaboration project!!!

For more about Sandy’s beautiful pieces “Of Nature”… click here… https://ofnature.com/

And huge congratulations to my friend Cheryl Holz who won “Best Of Show” at this weekend’s ART IN THE BARN!!! I’ve always loved Cheryl and her amazing multi-media artwork… but this time she really blew it out of the water with this new piece using an old letterpress type drawer! Such an amazing piece… such an amazing talent. You’re the best Cheryl!! Well deserved.

Another huge THANK YOU to all of our loyal customers who came out to our grassroots ART IN THE GARDEN last weekend. Especially those who got there and snatched up some of our one-of-a-kind collaboration projects! Like these black & white sgraffito platters… where I made the porcelain pieces & metalsmith Amy Taylor did the sgraffito doodles. I think they turned out great.. and they all disappeared very quickly!!! So thanks again for supporting your favorite artists!

So this weekend is the RAVENSWOOD ART WALK. A great chance to wander up & down Ravenswood (on both sides of the train tracks) to see a lot of the studios & art spaces along the way. I will be working in my studio all day Saturday… and most likely Sunday as well. Those darn Ghouls aren’t going to make themselves!!! So please feel free to stop by, say Hello & maybe grab a new mug for yourself?! Yep, I’ll be stocking my studio shelves with plenty of handmade mugs for sale! So get outside, enjoy the day… and enjoy the art!!!

Lillstreet Art Center… Studio 205 West… halfway down the second floor hallway on the right hand side!

Always fun when friends & fellow potters stop by your art fair booth… especially when it’s Marsha and her kids! And to think that I first met Mikayla in 2013 when she snatched up one of my Mummy Ghouls at ART IN THE BARN… and in my head she’s still that cute little girl! Hard to believe it’s been ten years already!!!

From Marsha’s post on Facebook…
“What a beautiful day with my girls @mikayla_noelle_ and @alyssa_grace_101 at the Grassroots Art Fair in Glenview. Of course we couldn’t leave without @firewhenreadypottery Gary’s beautiful pottery!!! It’s been too long!!!”

A sincere THANK YOU to everyone who came out to ART IN THE GARDEN last weekend. It was our ninth year of doing that grassroots art fair… and our ninth year of doing collaboration projects with the other artists. But this year, I think my pal Cory Mccrory really blew it out of the water with these amazing birdhouses. I made the textured terra cotta houses… and then Cory collaborated & added her usual sense of whimsy & color on top of them! We only made TEN… and they went fast! Quite the collector’s item for those ten lucky customers!

And now we need to start thinking about how we’re going to top ourselves next year for the Tenth Anniversary of collaborations with Cory! Any suggestions???

This colorful collaboration came home with me from ART IN THE GARDEN. A perky flower made by Cory Mccrory surrounded by beautiful mosaics by Kristin Dann Conneely. I especially loved how the beauty of the day was reflected in the broken mirrors… blue skies, green leaves… beautiful day!!!

Celebrating another Mugshot Monday with this “all-seeing” mug… which came with me from ART IN THE GARDEN. Thanks to my pal Cory McCrory for making this cutie!!! They eyes have it!!! Ha!!!