The bug infestation finally made it to Chicago!!!

After a few “challenges” along the way… my pal Cory McCrory finally got her bugs together & sent them my way!!! So tonight I’m putting them together with my part of the collaboration project. Windows are open… but I still feel like I’ve been sniffing glue for awhile tonight!!!

Just trying to get them done & drying so they’re ready for this weekend at ART IN THE GARDEN in Glenview, Illinois!!! Fingers crossed… with fans blowing fumes outside!!!

Looks like all is not lost… some of Cory’s bugs have “survived” the recent kiln disaster! Proving that some bugs might even survive the apocalypse!!! So I guess this is part of Plan A… and there’s a Plan B underway… and we’ve still got to put everything together!!! Uh oh… this weekend’s art fair is getting closer & closer! Good thing I thrive under pressure & deadlines!!! Now I just have to get everything from Cory to do my part of our collaboration project!!!

Looks like my pal Kristin Conneely is pulling together some last-minute mosaic collaborations for ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend! And this one is a three-way… my orange nuggets, Cory’s leaves & Kristin will be mosaic-ing all around them!!! You’ll need to stop by this weekend to see the finished collaboration pieces!!!

Just a quick update… looks like “Cory Plan B” is well under way!!! Seems like the bugs are still coming to Glenview this weekend… perhaps just in a different “form” than originally expected?! More to come…

Looks like an exterminator found its way into Cory’s studio! All joking aside… sometimes bad things happen to good bugs. Pottery has this strange way of keep all of us very humble. Just when you start to think that you’ve got this thing under control, the kiln gods step up with a healthy slap of reality. We’ve all been there. It hurts. All that time & effort… gone. And it always seems to happen at the worst of times. So here we are… less than a week away from ART IN THE GARDEN.

But we artists are a resilient bunch. So Cory & I are quickly developing a “Plan B” and trying to make the best of a bad situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures… and a LOT more creativity!!! I’m sure she’ll make the best out of this… some are fine, some art salvageable, some aren’t. So we may be shifting gears… but we’ll STILL have some fun collaboration pieces to show off next weekend. Perhaps not so many bugs… but who knows, maybe some TV’s or other fun things???

Okay… so I “may have” gotten a little out of control while glazing “a couple” tiles for a quick glaze firing. Not to mention the hundred or so tiles also in my soda kiln. Gotta have plenty of options, right?!

Layers of colors… layered with plenty of Cory whimsy!!! Underglazes bringing the bugs to life…. well, kinda. I can’t wait to see these when they’re finished. And then I get them all so I can add-on my part of the collaboration project!

Like I said before, every year at ART IN THE GARDEN, Cory McCrory & I do a fun collaboration project. This year we hope to have ten different pieces… each a one-of-a-kind masterpiece! We still have a lot to do… and the show is just over a week away! Mark your calendar… September 6th & 7th in Glenview, Illinois.

And while Cory has bugs everywhere…
I’m “buggin’ out” while glazing hundreds of textured tiles for our collaboration project!!!
Gotta keep glazing & get them into a kiln quick!!!

Looks like Cory has a full-on infestation happening!!!

For those of you wondering how Cory McCrory makes such amazing bugs… here are some great “process” shots from her studio! She works with paper clay which helps with keeping the clay “workable” a bit longer. And then it’s a lot of parts & pieces… body parts, wings, antennae, legs & so much more!!! And a lot of scoring & slipping!!!

Be sure to come to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend to see these amazing bugs in person!!! Saturday, September 6th & Sunday, September 7th in Glenview, Illinois.