It’s always fun during an art fair to make new artist friends…
especially when you like their work. And even more so when you trade!

Yep, this weekend at the Evanston Art Fair, I met a talented photographer and
his girlfriend as they stopped by my booth a couple times. Apparently, they’re
pottery fans. Lucky me. So when I finally had a chance to get out of my booth to
scan the tents, I ran across the booth of Josh Merrill… and his girlfriend “assistant.”
His photography is beautiful – much like the photos I’d like to take. So I was excited
when he offered up the “trade” opportunity… and I was in!!! Here are the three
photos I came home with… and I’m loving them!!!

So not only are his photographs beautiful, but I also like the fact that there’s a story
to go with every one of them! He can tell you exactly where & when he took the picture.
He’s passionate about his travels and capturing these beautiful images! He captures
nature in such a special way with incredible colors & composition. While his work focuses
mostly on beautiful nature shots, I was drawn to the urban decay of Gary, Indiana.

I totally trust that he has taken every image – unlike a lot of other art fair
photographers! C’mon… you know you’ve seen them… pictures from all over the
world, capturing images from every exotic destination, much like the images
you can easily & readily purchase online! And no “stories” to back them up.

Click here to check out more images from Josh Merrill Photography.

With my favorite metalsmith moving to Minneapolis, I found myself going to the
Evanston Lakeshore knowing that my favorite booth neighbor” wouldn’t be there.
Instead, Sarah Chapman would be showing her work at the Uptown Art Fair in
Minneapolis. So that also meant that I would be getting a new art fair neighbor!

Luckily, I had a very nice new neighbor who made some really incredible photos!
JD Dennision has this great technique of shooting much of his work at night with
a flash, and then inverting the image to give it a glowing, ethereal, unreal effect.
Many of them look similar to traditional Chinese calligraphy brush paintings!
Like the photo below… where the blue “flowers” are actually the green leaves, and the
yellow “sky” is actually the dark evening sky inverted. Crazy… but very cool.

It was a fun weekend. And having JD in the booth next to me was a pleasure.
He’s kinda “new” to the art fair circuit… and eager to pick my brain for stories, suggestions
and encouragement. This is his first summer doing art fairs, and he still has one more year
of college. I can’t wait to see how his career and photography grow & evolve in the years
to come. And I hope that he comes back to Evanston again next year so I know that I’ve
got a good booth neighbor!

Sarah Chapman’s Home Show was a HUGE success.
Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate their impending move to Minnesota…
and found a few lovely trinkets along the way! I myself found these two beauties
that are now part of my own “ever-growing” Chapman Collection!

Inventory replenished & ready for Day Two of Sarah Chapman’s
“Open-House-Moving-to-Minneapolis-Home-Show-and-Sale.”
Stop by to chat, admire and pick up some beauties all at 25% off!!!

Plus, incredibly dramatic black & white photography by Julie Wight…
also with the 25% “moving sale” discount. Beautiful shots from a keen perspective.

My favorite metalsmith, and fellow ART DETOUR artist, Sarah Chapman
is moving to Minneapolis! And this weekend she’s celebrating with an
Open House Home Show & Sale. If you’re looking for some beautiful jewelry
for men & women, c’mon by… I’ll be there helping both days!

Did I mention that she’s offering everything at 25% off?? Beautiful AND a bargain!

SARAH CHAPMAN : OPEN HOUSE & MOVING SALE
5141 West Drummond Place, Chicago 60659
FRIDAY 6/29 – 5:00pm-10:00pm – and – SATURDAY 6/30 -10:00am-5:00pm

GRABAAWR – Eagle River to Land O’Lakes to Rhinelander

After a fun night with friends, and a yummy dinner, I was more then ready to get started
riding today. And with the sun shining bright, Chris and I were more than excited to tackle
the Century option. Sure, we could ride the easier 48-mile route, but why would you want to?!
It’s gorgeous up here in the Northwoods… and we’re here to ride, right?!
After a good breakfast in Eagle River, we set off for a wonderful 100-mile bike ride!

When you’re pedaling through the Northwoods, it is so breathtaking With a beautiful hint
of evergreen scent permeating the air. Road after road of beautiful trees and rolling hills.
Along the way, there are always plenty of things to see & stop to look at. Like this little stop
along the road that told us we would see where the Wisconsin River originates from. And
since our entire week’s bike ride was going to follow the river, we felt we needed to see it.

The hike back was pretty short, but beautiful. The Northwoods were beautiful & lush.
I was actually a little surprised when we finally saw where the river begins…

So apparently, the Wisconsin River starts here… with a small, somewhat anti-climactic
trickle of water coming off Lac Vieux Desert through a very industrial-looking dam.
The dam may not be much, but the lake is pretty beautiful.

While in Land O’Lakes, the sky opened up and looked like something right out of Montana?!
A lot of “big sky” moments up there. An incredibly beautiful day for riding a hundred miles!

The route took us down the center of town, past two of my favorite Land O’Lakes businesses.
The Dari-Maid which sadly was still closed that early in the morning. As well as the Artistree
Gallery where some of my fellow Art Detour artists work and show their artwork. Sadly,
Artistree was also closed… so I didn’t get to stop in and chat with Wendy who runs the place!

And when you’re “that” far north, you might as well pedal across the border into Michigan!
It was just a half-block off the route, so don’t be too impressed…

When we finally made it to Rhinelander, I was a little more sunburned than I would like.
I had put on sunscreen earlier in the day, but then again, after a hundred miles of riding
& sweating, it’s tough to keep protected. Plus, my pastey white skin has not had much time to
be exposed to the sun this summer yet, so today’s Century ride was kind of a shock to my system!
Luckily, we had another evening of fun planned with Amy and another Northwoods friend.
This time we stayed nearby in Rhinelander and went to another Art Detour artist‘s house.
This time we met up with glass artist Kathy Furda and her husband Joel who took us for a very
relaxing boat ride around the lake they live on.

We then went to a wonderful restaurant, where I had grilled ELK for the first time!
Another great evening with good friends, great conversation, laughs & yummy food.
But the best part was that the restaurant was part of a local resort that reminded me
far too much of the resort in “Dirty Dancing.”

And no trip to Rhinelander is complete without a quick drive past the “official” town Hodag!
Yes, the city’s mascot is a huge Hodag! A what?… yeah, no one seems to know, really…

Luckily, Amy survived the Hodag Attack. And we made it home for a quiet night in our tents.
Getting ready for another day of riding tomorrow!

Thanks for playing… and for guessing the names of some of the potters
who share their talents during the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour!
In case you were wondering…

Here are the 20 potters who I thought had really cool patterns & textures!
And if you noticed, they’ve been in alphabetical order just to make it easier for you.

Potter #1 -  Mary Barringer, Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts

Potter #2 -  Bob Briscoe, Harris, Minnesota

Potter #3 -  Linda Christiansonm Lindstrom, Minnesota

Potter #4 -  Delores Fortuna, Galena, illinois

Potter #5 -  Steven Hill, Independence, Missouri

Potter #6 -  Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish, Bakersville, North Carolina

Potter #7 -  Karin Kraemer, Superior, Wisconsin

Potter #8 -  Simon Levin, Gresham, Wisconsin

Potter #9 -  Suze Lindsay, Bakersville, North Carolina

Potter #10 – George Lowe, Decorah, Iowa

Potter #11 -  Kent McLaughlin, Bakersville, North Carolina

Potter #12 -  Jenny Mendes, Chesterland, Ohio

Potter #13 -  Matthew Metz, Alfred Station, New York

Potter #14 -  Donna Polseno, Floyd, Virginia

Potter #15 – Ellen Shankin, Floyd, Virginia

Potter #16 -  Mark Shapiro, Worthington, Massachusetts

Potter #17 – Sam Taylor, Westhampton, Massachusetts

Potter #18 -  Shoko Teruyama, Marshall, North Carolina

Potter #19 – Tom Turner, Mars Hill, North Carolina

Potter #20 -  Richard Vincent, North Branch, Minnesota

So mark your calendar for next year’s tour… it’s always on Mother’s Day Weekend.
You’ll be glad you did. And you’ll see a LOT more incredible work by more than just
the twenty potters I featured here in my little game!

By now you know that I love a lot of patterns & textures!
And since I’ve already told stories of how incredible the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour
is in previous posts, I decided this year to show off the “Potters of the Minnesota Tour”
by their patterns & textures! There are forty-nine potters on the Tour, but I’ve narrowed
it down to just twenty. All of them would just be overwhelming… as is the Tour!
So here’s the game…

How many of these twenty potters can you name just based on their work?!
So here’s the deal… I’ll show you the close-up, you tell me the potter who made it!

Potter #1 -  ____________________

Potter #2 -  ____________________

Potter #3 –   ____________________

Potter #4 –   ____________________

Potter #5 -  ____________________

Potter #6 –   ____________________

Potter #7 –   ____________________

Potter #8 –   ____________________

Potter #9 –   ____________________

Potter #10 –   ____________________

Potter #11 –   ____________________

Potter #12 –   ____________________

Potter #13 –   ____________________

Potter #14 –   ____________________

Potter #15 –   ____________________

Potter #16 –   ____________________

Potter #17 –   ____________________

Potter #18 –   ____________________

Potter #19 –   ____________________

Potter #20 –   ____________________

You know… after looking at twenty of the fantastic potters showing up north
in the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour, it seems like something’s missing?!
There’s a lot of glazing… a lot of carving… a lot of atmospheric firing… but…

Don’t you think they need some obsessively stamped pots up there?! I’m just sayin’…

I had a wonderful time up in Minnesota this weekend surrounded by thousands
of incredible pots… and the talented artists who made them! So much fun touring
the St. Croix River Valley area with old friends & making new ones…
and buying a few beautiful pots along the way!!!

Always excited to start my day off with waffles & peanut butter… again!
Plus a nice discussion with potter George Lowe, his wife, and then some potter
friends from Lillstreet. After a lot of “pottery-talk”, it was time to get going.
First up… back to Bob Briscoe’s studio.

Sundays are always slower, quieter and more relaxed on the Tour. Most of the
“real” shoppers & collectors come early on Friday. By the time Sunday rolls around,
there are a LOT fewer pots, and the artists are slowing down. It’s been a long weekend
for them too. Lucky for us, we had plenty of time to talk with Matt Metz, Suze Lindsay,
Kent McLaughlin and Bob Briscoe. After a couple hours, it was time to say our goodbyes
and move on to our last stop.

Back at Guillermo’s location, we stopped by to chat with Delores Fortuna & Roberta
Polfus. It was a lot quieter there too… so they had some time to sit and talk with us.
While we were sitting chatting, Clary Illian stopped by to join our conversation.
Nice to talk to a ceramic “legend”… but all too soon it was time to get back on the road
for the long drive home.

All in all, another successful Pottery Tour. So much fun to be surrounded by so much
fine ceramic work. And have access to so many talented potters so you can chat and
get to know them. It’s also encouraging to see so many people coming out for the Tour
to encourage & support the arts. And to buy some pots!!!

So, mark your calendars for next year’s St. Croix RIver Valley Pottery Tour.
It’s always the Friday, Saturday & Sunday of Mother’s Day Weekend.
Luckily, my Mom understands and we celebrate a week early so I can go to the Tour!