My Talented Friend Barb Duro was one of my “connections” to the cute little town of Sandwich, Illinois. Besides my other Talented Friends whimsical paper-clay artist Cory McCrory, and the now-moved-to-Missouri potter Steven Hill. Barb used to run a wonderful store on Main Street called “Moon & Star.” It is there that I first learned about the beauty of beads and so many other things. I’ve now known Barb for several years, always a dear friend & caring soul. She has since moved to Arizona and has just launched her jewelry website. It’s full of beautiful, handcrafted beaded necklaces, earrings & bracelets. Each with their own personality & story.

Click here to go to her new website!
Even the names of her product lines are wonderful & thoughtful…
Spiritus In Materia : Soulful offerings for an inspired life.

Conscious Treasures :
Unique creations re-purposed & re-imagined from past items & artifacts.

Invitation to Intention : Personal prayer and meditation tools.

Here are some more of her handcrafted beauties.
Each made with a wonderful collection of materials, colors and textures.
Each one-of-a-kind… handmade with loving attention & top-quality materials.

One of her more touching product lines…
Essentia : Memorable, personal art respectfully holding loved one’s cremains.
Fused glass pendants that are lovingly handcrafted to honor & remember.

Click here to go to Barb’s new jewelry website.
Click here to go to Barb’s ETSY shop.

One quick story first…
which will tell you a LOT about Barb and her personality...

During one of my holiday visits to “Moon & Stone” as a featured guest artist, Barb had made me a Christmas Gift. A couple necklaces that hosted a small, hollow African glass bead that she inserted a piece of muslin into. The idea is you add some scented essential oil to the muslin before you wear it. And then the heat of your body warms it up and releases the scent. Great idea, right? Well, anyway, she told me I should choose my favorite scent from her huge assortment of oils she was selling in the store. So throughout the course of the day, I continued to sniff scents and narrow down my choices in between customers during her Holiday Open House. There were a lot of bottles to smell. And it get’s to be a little nasal overload after awhile. So I did it in small groups. Eventually narrowing it down to 10… then five… then three… and finally the one!!! Keep in mind that Barb was busy running her store & chatting with customers… unaware of my sniffing & choosing. But when I had that final one chosen, as I turned around to approach the counter, she told me what scent I had chosen. What?! Yes, without even seeing the bottle, smelling the scent, or in any other way cheating, Barb told me that I had chosen Bergamot. And she was right!!! Little freaky. Especially since I had never even heard of Bergamot?!!! She said she had guessed that I would choose that one even before I got there. And then she pulled out a “personality traits by scents” book and had me read the description of Bergamot… and it was ME!!! The personality description seemed to fit me perfectly. Even parts of me that I keep inside and don’t share much. Fears, dreams, desires. All there. On paper. In the book. Who knew that my scent would be Bergamot?… well, Barb Duro apparently!!!

And it’s with that kind of love, caring & compassion that she lives her life.
And each piece of jewelry she makes has a piece of her in it.

Mark your calendars… all of the pottery fun begins one month from today!!!
It’s your best chance to meet over 50 talented potters at seven different studio locations…
all within easy driving distance of each other! Three full days filled with wonderful pottery for every taste. Whether you’re more functional, more decorative, or more illustrative… there’s plenty of pots for everyone! Although you’ll need to fight me for the good stuff… as I will be there shopping bright & early Friday morning!!!

St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour
Friday, Saturday & Sunday : May 8th, 9th & 10th, 2015.

Click here for their website with more details, artist profiles, maps & directions.
www.minnesotapotters.com

Such a fun weekend decorating eggs with my cousins this weekend.
We dipped, we dyed, we decorated. Some were masterpieces…
while others were great memory makers!

So what was in the boxes?… you may be wondering???
Although I’m pretty sure you have figured it out by now…

Well, I met Steven Hill a few years ago and began doing some freelance graphic design for him. We worked together on several projects while he was here in Illinois starting up Center Street Clay. Our plan was always that we would “trade” services… my graphic design for some of his incredible pottery. A couple years have passed… Steven has moved back to Missouri. He’s still making beautiful pots and very busy with his workshop schedule. And I had pretty much written off any chance of getting my pottery “payment.” What I did get was a good friend to chat with… to mock, mimic & give a hard time to about his missing “dinnerware fulfillment” every time I see him. Okay, I must admit that it’s been fun to continually drop “hints” about my dinnerware over the past few years in person and on Facebook!!!

Well… much to my surprise…
the two large boxes contained my Steven Hill Pottery “payment.”
A wonderful surprise. Incredible pottery. Thoughtful & very generous of Steven Hill.
I had pretty much written it off… he is apparently good on his word. Slow, but good.

Thank you Steven!!!

Ta-da!!!… another beautiful Steven Hill pitcher. Fresh on the wheel during a workshop.
You can almost see the onlookers gasping…

Enough about Steven and his workshops…
Sure, he’s a great potter. Sure, he does groovy slip decorations.
Sure, he has beautiful glazes. Sure, he puts on a fantastic workshop.
Sure, his work is coveted by so many all over the place. Sure, he’s “famous.”
Sure, he’s the face or Skutt Wheels in all of the ceramics magazines. Sure… I get it.

But back to me…
Here’s a little glimpse of my new Steven Hill dinnerware set… it’s wonderful!!!

A huge Thank You to Steven.
His work is beautiful… and my Care Packages were filled with his incredible pottery!!!
Such a wonderful gift to unexpectedly receive in the mail.

Steven, I can’t wait to see you at the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour
in May to thank you in person!!! You rocked it!!!

Here’s a few examples of the wonderful glaze effects that Steven Hill is creating on his pottery. His glazes are sprayed onto the piece in layers. Several layers of different colored glazes that blend, run, crystallize and do other magical things to create these incredible results!!! Sure, the forms are great too, not to mention the textural slip decoration.

Here’s a beautiful video created by a wonderful potter Ayumi Horie.
She talks about her thoughts on clay. The beauty of clay. The meditative quality of all the repetitive work we do as potters. A lot of similar philosophies to my own. And you’ve got to love watching her add some textures & patterns into freshly thrown clay!!!

Click here for Ayumi Horie’s video on YouTube.
For more about Ayumi Horie and her pottery, click here for her website.

We made it up to the Fifth Floor of the Bridgeport Art Center last night during their “Third Fridays” Open Studio Night. It was great to see all of the beautiful works up there of our friend Jay Strommen lining the hallways. He’s one of those “crazy” masterminds who creates incredible pieces… nothing that you would EVER expect. These wonderful wall pieces started as a “deconstruction” of the ceramic process using conventional materials in unconventional ways. They are wood fired with recycled glass accents.

This triptych is literally three kiln shelves layered with ceramic materials and then fired. You’ve got to love the layers, textures & details that literally “suck you in” to piece. The closer you look, the cooler it gets!

Another wood-fired tablet that looks kinda like a slab of Jasper stone.

A smaller, square tablet with layers of “clay” materials and a wonderfully shallow puddle of recycled glass… and a couple of drips along the way!

Each one more precious than the next… layers, textures, colors, glass…

And then there’s THIS masterpiece!!!
A large grouping of pieces lining the hallway. Each one spectacular. And the whole lot of them FANTASTIC!!! With carved circles, layered ceramic materials and incredible pools of turquoise glass. The cracking & fracturing of the glass is incredible as the light bounces around “inside” the piece.

So there’s a quick overview of Jay’s amazing work. For more information
about Jay’s work, he’s represented by Perimeter Gallery in Chicago.

While we were there, we also got a quick tour of his living space. The Bridgeport Art Center was recently rezoned as a “live/work” facility. So he & Gina are renovating a space in the Bridgeport Art Center as their living quarters. Complete with illuminated “floating” floor areas and a beautiful view of the Chicago River.

Jay then took us on a quick tour of the Fifth Floor space that is going to become the new Bridgeport Clay Center. It’s a beautiful lofted space with with a lot of history. Jay walked us through and showed us where the walls, the wheels, the wedging tables and everything else will be. The kiln room is just off to the side… under construction with two kilns already inside!!! It’s going to be a wonderful adventure & opportunity as another Clay Center comes to fruition under the watchful eyes of clay-genius Jay Strommen!

Last night I went to the Bridgeport Art Center with my friend Kristin for their “Third Fridays” Open Studio Night. I’ve only been down there once before with the “glitter gig.” This was my first Open Studio Night so we were both excited to see some great art & visit with artists.

Their Gallery space was very nice. Quite a few beautiful pieces around the room – along with live music!!! Here’s one of the pieces that caught my eye… a diptych of color stripes. All made from tiny slices of colored paper.

I was also enamored by this “curtain” of prisms, mirrors and sparkle! It was a nice installation in the middle of the room… and I especially appreciated the way the light bounced off of it… and the shadowed patterns it created on the floor!

On the Fourth Floor, a little off to the side of the Gallery, is the glass studio of my friend Dobrila Pintar. She was there greeting people and showing off her beautiful pieces. Dobrila took my Beginning Wheel class “centuries” ago, and now teaches glass bead classes at Lillstreet. It was great to see her in own environment!!!

As we were touring the Fourth Floor studios, we followed the “maze” around the building. We turned a corner and suddenly it opened up to a large workroom filled with wonderfully precious artworks. Project Onward is housed in the Bridgeport Art Center… lots of glitter, tons of color, and a wonderful spirit.

According to their website…
Project Onward supports the professional development of artists with exceptional talents and challenges, ranging from autism to mental illness, and provides these artists with workspace, materials, professional guidance, exhibition opportunities and access to markets to sell their work and advance their careers.

Here’s one of my favorites by an artist named Sheila Smith. Such wonderful use of color & dots to create patterns & movement.

After our time in the Project Onward workroom, we were ready to leave the Fourth Floor and head up one more level to see our friend & ceramic mastermind Jay Strommen!!!

Here’s to hoping everyone is having a great Valentine’s Day today.
Spending time with the important people in your life… friends, family & loved ones.
Or at least doing whatever you love doing.

Special thanks to My Talented Friend Cory McCrory for letting me borrow this fantastic Valentine image… one of her whimsically textured hearts with the perfect LOVE message… stupid.

Tonight when I got into the studio, I was greeted by a little brown care package.
And who doesn’t love a good care package?!!! So I opened it up carefully…

Inside I found three adorable little bowls… each a treasure! And a wonderful Thank You note from a “fan” who stopped by my studio over a year ago! Stephanie from South Carolina stopped by my studio in November 2013. I love showing off my studio, sharing ideas and giving people a tour of Lillstreet. Stephanie and her husband got the full tour… and she left with a souvenir mug. Little did I know that Stephanie would appreciate their visit SO much,, that over a year later she’s still thinking about it and felt the need to send me a gift. A wonderful surprise… albeit unnecessary!

Thank You Stephanie… I love your little bowls.
Cute little shapes with wonderful colors… especially the green… oh, and the RED!!!