Last night was the “Benefit For Eric” at Lillstreet Art Center.
One of our own Lillstreet Community who is battling brain cancer and incurring a ton of hospital bills. The prognosis isn’t very good, but it was quite uplifting to see so many people pull together for this special cause. It was a nice event in the Lillstreet Gallery with food, drink, raffles and Silent Auction with all proceeds going towards Eric’s mounting medical expenses.

Luckily, I came home from the event with this beautiful woodfired bowl by Simon Levin. One last bid in the Silent Auction at “just the right time” and I was the proud winner of this stunning bowl. Thank you Simon for donating this bowl to the Silent Auction… so that I could add yet another one of your pieces to my collection! And help a good cause at the same time.

So wee more of Simon Levin’s beautiful wood-fired pottery, click here for his website.

So what would happen if two of my favorite things came together???
Pottery AND Reality TV.

Well, it looks like it’s about to happen over “on the other side of the pond.”
Seems like there’s a new Reality TV show brewing with potters as contestants.
Not sure of the details, or if we can see i there in the States, but… I’m in !!!

Click here for the preview commercial on YouTube!

Look what showed up on my shelving at ART IN THE GARDEN today?!
No one has claimed responsibility for the placard… but it’s OBVIOUSLY someone who knows me very well.

I narrowed it down… I know it showed up sometime on Saturday.
I thought it might be our host & metalsmith Amy Taylor’s doing as she has seen me at MANY an art fair always barefoot. She claimed no knowledge. Next up?… Cory McCrory. She too claimed no responsibility, but did fess up that she saw who did it. So I’m not positive… but I do think I’ve narrowed it down to one of my good “groupies”. Let me just say her name starts with a J… and rhymes with Trudy. I’m just sayin’…

And I’m saying THANK YOU!!!
It was a rough weekend personally and this little slice of whimsy brought a smile to my face. It reminded me that even though we’re currently dealing with some family health issues, there are so many good people out there to bring a smile & share a hug. This little warm fuzzy came at just the right time.

Okay, so I mentioned other ART IN THE GARDEN artist collaborations…
here’s another little glimpse to whet your whistle…

It’s tomorrow!!!
Seven artists. Seven talented friends. All hanging out in a beautiful backyard.
No pressure. No crowds. Just a great chance to hang out, chat with some artists and see some beautiful work. Jewelry, pottery, knitwear, stained glass, sculpture, paintings, glass beads, and more!!!

Plus… a few Limited Edition Collaborations!!!
You’ve seen some “teasers” of the ones I’m doing with Cory McCrory.
But word on the street is that other artists are doing some other collaborations as well.
You’ve got to stop by to see them all.

Here’s a couple cuties from Cory McCrory. C’mon, could they be any cuter?!
Can’t wait to see them all come together!!!

And yes… you guessed it… some of them do indeed go together!!!
That was tough to put together, right???

From my metalsmith friend Amy Taylor,
and host of this weekend’s ART IN THE GARDEN… it’s HER garden…
a little hope & guidance. A prayer for the collaborative process!!!

As the Irish would say:
May the cooling kiln caress you.
May her crack-free glazes bless you.
May the luck of the glue gun enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Collaboration behold you.

Each bag I pull out of the box is better than the one before!
It’s like a Cory McCrory Christmas in the ceramic collaboration world. So much fun!!!

I’ve got a severe case of the Cory’s!!!
No really… I’ve got a full case of Cory McCrory’s tiles for our ART IN THE GARDEN collaboration project. Can’t wait to dig in and see what we sort of brilliant genius we have here!!!

Now I’ve got to start putting it all together. The “Big Reveal” will be this
weekend at ART IN THE GARDEN in Glenview. Gotta love a good collaboration!

My glaze kiln is finished, cooled & unpacked… LOTS of tiles!!!
693 to be exact… I dropped one!

Now I just need to start assembling my pieces with Cory McCrory’s wonderfully whimsical works to create our special collaboration pieces for this weekend’s ART IN THE GARDEN in Glenview!!!