Welcome to Pigeon Road Pottery… and the beautiful view down Amy’s road.
A beautiful fall weekend full of beautiful fall colors. And lots of beautiful pots
just down Pigeon Road up in the Wisconsin Northwoods!!!

After my fun weekend up in the Wisconsin Northwoods… spending a lot of quality time
with my friend & wonderful potter Amy Higgason – I came home with some great
new pots to add to my collection! A beautiful carved bowl and a large platter. Each more
stunning than the next. The amount of time & effort she puts into each piece is amazing!

When someone asked how our ceramic works compares to each other…
one happy customer (thank you Pat) summed it up quite eloquently as
“Amy’s work is more feathery, Gary’s work is more footprinty.”
Oddly accurate if you really take time to think about it.

This weekend is the Northwoods Art Tour up in Wisconsin. Just in time for Fall colors too!
And my friend Amy Higgason is participating in the tour again this summer. She’s a great
potter who used to work at Lillstreet Art Center with the rest of us. But then she decided
to “fly the coop” and move up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Since then, the has made
a nice home for herself, as well as a beautiful studio! And she’ll be showing off her studio
this weekend… Amy Higgason at Pigeon Road Pottery.

It’s going to be three days of fun… and a lot of art to boot! Each day from 10:00am-5:00pm.
Friday, October 1st  -  Saturday, October 2nd  -  Sunday, October 3rd.

Amy will be Studio #14 on the big tour. Also joining Amy will be potter Katlyn Koester
as her guest artist. Both of them make beautiful pots, whimsical decorative pieces and
so much more! Too much talent for just one stop on the Art Tour!!!

I will be traveling up to the Northwoods to help Amy for the weekend – and would love
to see you stop by. Amy makes this incredible work that is quite detailed & intricate.
A lot of textures and patterns. Some of it has sprigs & carving, while others are more
slip & sgraffito illustrations! Incredible work. Come check it out.
For more details… www.northwoodsarttour.com

Special thanks to everyone who came out to the Barn this weekend to play in the chilly
weather! Perfect for another successful art fair. It was a beautiful Fall weekend – and
great to see so many friendly faces. Some familiar, some not.

Sales went well despite the cold breeze blowing through, the dark clouds overhead…and
the occasional sunshine breaking through. As always, the crowds seem to come in waves.
Slow at times, but packed at others. My favorite of course is when there are a couple people
literally waiting in line to check out. Such a great feeling. Thank you so much to everyone who
waited patiently for us to wrap things up and write a receipt. I’m sure the fundraisers for
the Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Auxiliary appreciate your patronage too… as they
received 20% of every artists’ sales!

Plus, it’s always a great show to see a lot of my fellow “art-fair-friends.” Over the years,
you develop these friendships with other artists who share the same art fair experiences.
Everyone is so supportive, sharing and ready to help. Some of the friends that I got to
“play with” this weekend…

Beautiful hinged, silver jewlery by Amy Taylor – www.amytaylorjewelry.com
Whimsical silver & leather jewelry by Molly Bitters – www.macabistudios.com
Organic oil paintings by Cheryl Holz – www.cherylholz.com
Incredible photography by Brad Pogatetz – www.bradpogatetz.com
Handbuilt ceramic forms by Dorothy Hughes – www.dorothyhughes.com
Realistic wildlife watercolor paintings my Anne Gilna – www.artbyannegilna.com

My biggest complaint, once again this year, is having an artist (and I use that term loosley),
in the booth right next door to me who I believe is not making her own artwork. If you ever
see spectacular artwork that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Sure, she had the
whole story down pat. But after hearing it over & over again all weekend, you start to realize
that the story doesn’t add up. Far too much detail work, for far too cheap. Plus, anytime
you see artwork, pressed perfectly flat, in perfect shrinkwrapped celophane wrapping,
coming out of  brown cardboard box, being sold at virtually wholesale prices… you start to
question the validity of the whole artist credibility. Don’t get me wrong… the work is beautiful,
but I doubt that she’s making it by hand. My vote is a computerized, embroidery machine!

Otherwise, another good weekend playing out in the Barn!?
And thanks again to everyone who ventured out to say hello and see a lot of great art!

Today was a little rainy & cloudy… not the nicest day for an outdoor art fair!
Been there. Done that. I know how tough it is to stick it out in your tent when it’s pouring.
So I decided to go out to the suburbs to visit some of my “art-fair-friends” who were doing
some shows this weekend. Hopefully tomorrow’s weather will be better for them!

After driving out to the suburbs through the lightning & pouring rain, I was glad to see
that the storm seemed to have blown over by the time I got to the LaGrange Art Fair.
My friend Cory McCrory is a wonderful ceramic artist who makes these wonderfully
whimsical sculptures! We’ve known each other for years, and I have a quite the nice
collection of her work… some fish, cups, teapots, bottles and after today, a new chair!

Then I went off to the Naperville Riverwalk Art Fair to check in with more artist friends.
The weather had gotten better, but still not great… and the customers were finally showing up.
It was a fun show and a beautiful location. Great artists all over the park, including potter
Michael Schael, painter Cheryl Holz and jeweler Teresa DeVer. The Riverwalk is beautiful too.
And has a lot of great sculptures & gardens along the way. My favorite was this great
sculpture of “Dick Tracy.” Apparently, the artist who drew the comic strip for so many years
was from Naperville. Who knew?

Another “addition” to my collection of cool rusty things!
You should know by now that I’m addicted to all things rusty… it’s the colors,
the textures, the patina, the aged-ness… all of it is very cool to me! So when I did
the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival a few weekends ago… I scored big!!!

It was actually part of the Silent Auction. I noticed it when I was dropping off my vase
for the auction and was instantly smitten. And then I found out that the artist’s booth
was just a couple spaces down from mine. So I looked at all of her other really cool
rusty things – but was still in love with the piece that was part of the Silent Auction…
so I had my work cut out for me! Just to clarify… it’s a rusty shovel head that has been
cut with a beautiful pattern using a plasma torch. Still not sure where it’s going to hang,
but I am sure it will have a place of honor!!!

So here’s the story. I found out that one of the top bidders was my friend Amy Taylor.
One of the nicest metalsmiths out there who does this cool “hinged” jewelry. Love it.
Anyways, she was bidding throughout the day as her booth was right across the walkway.
Mine was all the way across the art fair. So I decided to “swoop in” at the very last moment
and try to “win” the auction. All was going well… 3 minutes… 2 minutes… 1 minute…
30 seconds… and I was going to be the last & top bidder. But then…

Up walks Amy’s fianceé Tom to do her final bidding. And I had to take him down!
I literally had to hold him in a headlock while I wrote my bid down “slowly” as to be
the final bid. I also found out that Amy had a “cap” on her bidding… but I was more than
ready to go higher. I was ready to buy one for full price at the artists booth, but it was the
design and the “broken off” section that I was drawn to. So I had to get this one… and I
was willing to pay for it. Amy’s “cap” was lower than mine… so Tom finally acquiesced
and the auction closed! And now I’m the proud owner of another piece of rust!!!

Check out Denice Bizot and her wonderful rusty artwork at… www.denicebizot.com

As another week of Summer Camp comes to an end, we finish off with our
focus on Art History & Master Artists. I saw this video and loved it – and
found it oddly appropriate to finish off the great week of art. Check it out…

Classic Women In Art

Next weekend is the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival.
It’s a beautiful show along the shore of Lake Michigan in the town of Evanston.
Just a few minutes north of Chicago along Sheridan Road at Church Street.
In Dawes Park, I will once again be in Booth #43 right next to my friend
& metalsmith Sarah C. Chapman. We both hope to see you… by the way,
we’re down at the south end of the pond, next to the lake!

38th Annual Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival
Saturday, August 7th – 11:00am-6:00pm
Sunday, August 8th – 11:00am-6:00pm

Yesterday I decided to take a little road trip and get out of the city.
And what better place than Sheboygan, Wisconsin – joust a couple hours north
of Chicago right along the lakeshore. And even better, this weekend is also the
Kohler Festival of the Arts. A nice art fair sponsored by and surrounding the
Kohler Art Museum. My friend Sarah Chapman was one of the artists, so I decided
to drive up and surprise her with a visit and a little assistance as she was doing
the weekend show all by herself! Of course, I brought Twizzlers!

Other “art fair friends” also showing at the Kohler Art Fair…
Molly Bitters : jeweler combining leather & metal
The Pottery Boys : glazed & crystal-glazed functional pottery
Glynnis Lessing : sgraffito-carved porcelain ceramics
Michael Schael : wood-fired functional pottery
And a new favorite… Susan Richter-O’Connell : metalsmith with river rocks!
…of which I know own one of her boxed-stone necklaces!

As the art fair is held at the Kohler Art Museum – of course you have to see that too.
Especially the bathrooms!!! Voted the “Best Bathrooms in America in 2004″… and
quite the spectacle they are. Keep in mind it’s Kohler… maker of fine faucets & sinks
known worldwide!!! But you’ll never find THESE sinks at Home Depot!

Even the toilets and urinals were all decked out. It actually felt a little strange
to “use” the piece of art?! Talk about “target practice”…

As the day was quite hot yesterday, and the beach was so close… I had to skip out from
the art fair and go play on the beach. Sorry Sarah… it had to be done! I was surprised
how close the beach was, and even more, how empty the beach was?! If that lakefront
beach area were in Chicago it would have been jam-packed with people!!!

It felt great to kick off the shoes, stroll on the beach, dip my toes in the cold water…
and actually take a nap on the beach! What a great way to spend a lazy Saturday…
art fair, friends AND beach time!!!

I was intrigued at the beach by all of the seashells that have been pulverized into a
wild mixture of shells, half-shells and powder. All crashing together and separating
as they retreat back into the lake on each wave. There were sections where there were
so many, that you could actually hear the tinkling sounds of the shells hitting each other.

Once the art fair concluded, I “convinced” Sarah to pack up and come join me on the beach.
Let’s just say, it didn’t take a lot of prodding. So she came down to the beach and did some
wadding in the waves to refresh her aching art fair feet. Then we went for pizza at a nice
wood-fired pizza place. Then she went back to crash at her hotel as I headed home.
Quite satisfied with my day at the Sheboygan beach… and the Kohler art fair!
Thanks for playing Sarah!!!

So the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour is over and I finally made it home…
and unpacked my purchases… already loving them, touching them, feeling them…
already finding them a new place to live! But first… here’s their blog debut!

We’ll start with my favorite purchase… another beautiful lidded jar by Matthew Metz.
Already sitting on my fireplace mantle right next to my other Metz square jar!!!

And if that weren’t enough… another Metz teabowl and a tumbler by Suze Lindsay!

Followed by a Simon Levin bottle… to finish out my Simon Levin Bottle Trifecta taking
residence on the “other end” of my huge fireplace mantle!

And two beautiful Simon Levin bowls… just waiting for ice cream & LOTS of hot fudge!
No matter how beautiful the bowl, they still need LOTS of fudge!!!

Plus, two more for my mug collection – one by Silvie Granatelli, one by Ellen Grenadier.
Silvie’s with a wonderful carved texture. Ellen’s with a beautiful fern impression.

And then two fun pieces from the “rogue potters” we found by signs along the road
off the “official” tour route, hawking their wares in a wonderful dilapidated house…
with the best food spread of the entire tour! An oval vase with a great “tunnel” bottom
by Randal Anderson, and a textured “pod” by Jennifer Brandel.

All in all, a wonderful weekend filled with a LOT of wonderful pottery!
I’m already looking forward to next year… a shopping for even more cool pots!

Unless… we all get together and start a grass-roots campaign to get me invited
to be one of the potters invited to participate in next year’s pottery tour. So… here’s
my plan, if you know any of the “famous potters” on the tour, please-please-please
make them aware of my blog and of my work! Keep on them… force them, beg them,
plead… do whatever you need to do – to get them to invite me to be part of the list
of “potters-good-enough-to-be-invited-to-play-with-the-cool-kids” next year!

The weather was indeed much better today. Still a little chilly, still a bit cloudy, but no rain!!!
So we “returned to the scene of the crime” to revisit the wonderful potters today. My parents
returned to the first two stops, and then went off on their own to discover Stillwater & Hudson;
two local towns on the St. Croix River. So I hooked up with my friend Amy Higgason, and her
friend Katlyn. I’ve known Amy for years through our time together at Lillstreet Art Center.
She has since moved up to the Wisconsin Northwoods, but continues to make incredible
pottery way up north! Katlyn is a college student preparing to graduate in a week. She’s
worked with Amy over the years, with Amy acting as her mentor & teacher. It was great fun
to play with them both today – chatting, shopping, discussing, critiquing, and laughing
our way through the tour. We saw old friends, shared stories, talked with potters and made
new friends & contacts along the way. Some good-old-fashioned networking never hurts.

Today we spent a little more time actually “looking” at the work, since the frantic pace
and the race of shopping had subsided yesterday. It was fun to look at the work again with
fellow potters to discuss our likes, dislikes, preferences and “clay crushes” all day long.

One of Amy’s favorites is Sylvie Granatelli… okay, I bought one of her mugs yesterday too!
We all were impressed by her lines, shapes, carved textures and color pallate. Very nice.

Then we had a chance to chat with Laurie Shaman from Chicago. Laurie used to be the
Gallery Director at Lillstreet Art Center when I was first starting to take classes. I wasn’t
sure she would even know who I was, as our time there only overlapped for a couple years.
But Amy re-introduced us and she was indeed aware of me and my work. She’s no longer
working at Lillstreet, but instead has her studio just a few blocks down the street!

We then made our way to the studio of Linda Christianson where we met up with our
potter-friend Emily Murphy and her husband Ian. She introduced us to Kristin Pavelka
who has a whimsical & colorful approach to her work… much different from the other
potters invited to Linda Christianson’s place, including Dan Anderson. At this point,
I was becoming entranced by some of the textures & patterns…

Then we met up with my friend Steven Hill and introduced him to Amy & Katlyn.
His work is stunning and I’ve had the chance to work with Steven over the past couple
years on his marketing. He also had some great advice & insights for Katlyn as she
is just starting her ceramic career. In fact, now that I am “so-not-an-expert” on
Facebook, I encouraged him to set up his own Fan Page on Facebook. Which he did…
so show him that I was right, and search “Steven Hill Pottery” and click his “LIKE”
button to become a Facebook Fan of Steven’s work.

In the category wonderful studios, wouldn’t you like a large picture window overlooking
a beautiful prairie just like Jeff Oestreich?!

After visiting most of the official potters on the tour, we ran across a sign on the highway
that said “Pottery Sale” and an arrow pointing off to the side. We decided to give it a try
even though we knew they were not part of the “official” tour route. We were impressed
by this merry band of rogue potters… by their enthusiasm, signage and willingness to
become part of their own “tour.” The house was quite dilapidated, but the pots were quite
nice and very economical. From the sounds of it, our “rogue potters” were a teacher and
his students putting their work out there an capitalizing upon the hoards of pottery
enthusiasts traveling the area this weekend. BRILLIANT marketing plan!!! I love it.

We ended Pottery Tour Day Two with an evening with our friend Emily Murphy
who recently relocated up to Minneapolis from Chicago. We had dinner, toured
her house, saw her newly built studio area and some work in progress and waiting
for a kiln to finish them in… and celebrated Ian’s birthday.

It’s been a long day… and a long weekend. But I know I’ve had a wonderful trip,
and I think my parents had fun too. It’s always so inspiring to see so much great
pottery all at once. To see all of the customers coming out to support handmade craft.
To see such support for local artisans. To talk with fellow potters about their path.
To see all of the different “things” that can be made out of a simple lump of clay.
To realize that there is a larger audience out there looking for quality pottery.
Now if they would all just read this blog?! And more importantly…
How do I get “invited” to be a part of the Pottery Tour next year?!