After a dark drive up to the cabin, it was nice to see the beauty of the Northwoods
this morning… and to be greeted by a stunning sunrise over Moccasin Lake.

After the beautiful sunrise, Sarah, Julie & I drove back to Lake Tomahawk for the start
of ART DETOUR! Our tents were up, but we still needed to put out all of our products.
So there was a flurry of activity as we got ready for the start of Day One!

My booth full of fun pots… and some fun textures on the slab vases!

Little did we know then… but this was the position we would find ourselves in MANY times
over the course of the weekend. Wrapped up & huddled by the fire!

And yes, Julie was “supposed to be” doing her grad school homework. Glad we could be
a fun diversion for her! Bring on the marshmallows!!!

Mental note to self… take off the gloves BEFORE you get a gooey s’more in your hands!

While others were a bit more serious with their s’mores… not to mention any names…
Katlyn Koester & Kathy Furda!

In between selling pots, it was always fun to walk around and enjoy the Fall scenery.
And thanks to Amy’s cousin Rob’s wife Kirsten, we were also treated to some wonderful
homemade treats. Sure we were making s’mores…but not just regular s’mores. Oh no.
We were making gourmet s’mores! Kirsten made us homemade marshmallows, chocolate
mocha marshmallows & peppermint chocolate marshmallows… plus, homemade plain &
chocolate graham crackers!!! And we had a wide range of chocolate options to boot!!!

Sometimes all we could do is stand there and shiver… luckily, the campfire was always
going! A central warming place for the four of us stuck outside. Put another log on the
fire… pull up a chair…make a gourmet s’more… and try to stay warm!!!

After a full day outside in the cold… you can always count on another warm s’more. Cheers!

If you’re looking for something artsy to do today, I’ll be working
in my studio all day as part of the Ravenswood Artwalk 2012.
Many artist studios & galleries all along Ravenswood Avenue are open today
& tomorrow. Start your tour by stopping in my studio on the second floor of
Lillstreet Art Center – then follow the maps & signs for a full day of art fun!
I won’t be there tomorrow… ‘cuz it’s the Apple Cider Century!!!

Click here for more information – Ravenswood Artwalk 2012.

I’m counting the days until ART DETOUR.
I will be heading up to the Wisconsin Northwoods a couple days early
to set-up and soak in the incredible Fall colors. Maybe even a hike or two?!
Sadly, no bike as my car will be full of pottery… and s’more supplies!!!

C’mon up to the Wisconsin Northwoods next weekend!
The colors will be gorgeous in all of their Fall splendor… and s’mores too!!!
Plus, there’s a huge art tour going on with a lot of open studios & galleries
where you can see some great art and meet the artists. My friend Amy Higgason
lives up there and will once again be hosting a few of her talented friends!
She’s not longer part of the “official” art tour. That’s why we’re the DETOUR!!!

Five Artists. Five Friends. Just off the map!!!
I will be joining Amy at her place, along with metalsmith Sarah Chapman,
watercolor painter Wendy Powalisz, and potter Katlyn Koester.

So mark your calendar to come up for the long Columbus Day Weekend.
And stop by to see us in the yard of Pigeon Road Pottery.

Pigeon Road Pottery
7744 Pigeon Road, Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin – (715) 277-5099

And be sure to follow ART DETOUR on Facebook for more details!

In the booth across, and a little kitty-corner, from my booth was Robin Kittleson.
She’s a glass artist from Geneva, Illinois… who coincidentally also teaches at
Lillstreet Art Center. Robin makes these incredible fused glass platters, bowls and more!
I was especially taken by this square platter as the sun hit it at just the right time…
illuminating it so I could see it shining all the way from my booth!
Stunning colors, layers & patterns. Beautiful work.

For more about Robin Kittleson’s work, click on her website – http://www.robinkittleson.com

Mark your calendars now, and plan on a beautiful Fall getaway weekend
to the Wisconsin Northwoods! On the first weekend of October, there is a full tour
of Northwoods artists who open their studios. Well, we’re not quite on the tour,
we’re the ART DETOUR!!! Same weekend, so you can come up just to see us…
or you can do the full art tour as well. After spending some time playing with us
and making some gourmet s’mores!

Five friends, five artists… one studio location! One stop shopping!!!
Stop by the pottery studio of my friend Amy Higgason of Pigeon Road Pottery
for some great art, good fun & guaranteed giggles! Yep… guaranteed!!!

As this week quickly came to an end, my campers were working hard on their masterpieces!
Our terra cotta picture frames came out of the kiln and we still needed to paint them gold.
You know that every masterpiece needs the perfect frame. So we went out into the back
alley behind Lillstreet to spray paint them all metallic gold.

As the kids finished their paintings, we started setting up their Gallery Show. So we put
together their paintings with the piece of the still life that were working from. For their
Mondrian-inspired piece, we talked about how they needed to use the color palette from
their flower and express it with proper proportions & color theories.

Once the frames were dry, we started inserting their paintings into the picture frames.
Like these paintings done by the kids in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Plus their paintings in the style of 70’s pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.

Or a still life painting in the style of Vincent Van Gogh…

We finished the day by creating a Gallery Show of their masterpieces. We invited their
parents, friends and other summer campers to come through to see their exhibit.

Each of the kids were encouraged to take their turn as docent to give their guests a tour
of the show. While showing people around, they explained the inspirations and how they
made each piece. Explaining how the style of a Master Artist had influenced their paintings,
and how they worked that influence into their own works. They also found it great fun to
quiz the adults with the same 25 Master Artists that they had learned throughout the week!
I’m sure they weren’t too surprised to find out that very few people knew as many artists
as they did!!! Always fun to see kids excited about Art History!

And with that… my Summer Camp “tour of duty” for this year is over.
It was such a pleasure to end the summer on such a high note… seeing that the kids have
indeed had a great time and learned a little something along the way. And had fun too!!!

Part of this week at summer camp is a lesson in art history for my campers.
I like to approach it in a way that they don’t really know what’s happening until it’s too late.
Throughout the week, they will hopefully learn to identify 25 famous artists based on some
flash cards I’ve created for them. During the week, they will also work on creating their own
projects “in the style” of the Masters they’ve just learned about.

So here’s the “Masters Quiz” for you… How many of these artists can YOU identify?!
And to make it even one step harder… my campers know their first names too!!!

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

4. ______________________________

5. ______________________________

6. ______________________________

7. ______________________________

8. ______________________________

9. ______________________________

10. ______________________________

11. ______________________________

12. ______________________________

13. ______________________________

14. ______________________________

15. ______________________________

16. ______________________________

17. ______________________________

18. ______________________________

19. ______________________________

20. ______________________________

21. ______________________________

22. ______________________________

23. ______________________________

24. ______________________________

25. ______________________________

So how did YOU do?! Been a long time since you did any Art History, huh?!
Not to make you fell bad, but my campers can now name all of these artists!

Another favorite spot in the Art Institute are the stunning stained glass windows
by Marc Chagall. With deep indigo blues and splashes of colors throughout, these
windows cast a beautiful glow across the room… and the kids love ’em too!

It’s always fun to watch the kids interact and appreciate the art. More than just walking
through, they actually take time to examine & discuss some of the pieces. Of course…
I’m right there to facilitate and get the discussion started if I need to be…

This week’s summer camp theme is “Learning From The Masters.”
My main intention with this camp is to introduce the kids to several famous artists,
have them learn a little art history and do their art projects in the style of these artists.
So we take them on a field trip to Chicago’s Art Institute for some great inspiration.
There’s a LOT to see… so it’s a lot of walking, talking & discussing art all day long!

With so many masterpieces on display, the Art Institute is a wealth of inspiration
no matter what genre or style you’re interested in. From impressionists to cubists.

Throughout the day, my campers frequently made stops to sketch some quick images,
or to capture them on their smartphones for future reference. It was so exciting to see
the kids really taking an interest in art. A good sign of things to come…