Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall.

And here are the same tiles after soda-firing… framed & ready to be hung on the gallery wall. A fun collaboration challenge for each of us… making thematic tiles using our usual medium & techniques. So some are metal, some are glass, and mine are clay! We’ll have sixteen tiles in the collaboration wall installation. We’re pretty excited to see how it’s coming together… and we hope you can come see it in person this weekend in Evanston!

Okay, so a couple weeks back I made four tiles… as part of the “4×4 : FOUR MAKERS” collaboration project based on the four seasons.

Truth be told… these were made for the soda kiln… shown here glazed & stained ready to go into the kiln. But with the randomness & occasional “tragic” results of a soda firing, I knew that I had to have a back-up plan… or two. So this was Plan A : soda fired. But to hedge my bets, I also made Plan B : glazed. And just in case… Plan C : plain tiles with some separate parts & pieces I could stack & add-on to the base tiles. Luckily, Plan A seems to have worked out fine. So I’m going with the Plan A ones for the show!!!

Opening tomorrow at 2:00pm!!!
I can’t believe it’s almost here… as we’ve all been working on this show for quite awhile! We’re busy setting up today… shelves, pedestal, mugs, pots, wall hangings, lighting, and so much more! Including a collaborative piece we’ve all worked on together inspired by the four seasons… spring, summer, fall & winter! We hope you can stop by to see us this weekend in Evanston!

So my talented metalsmith friend Sarah Chapman is sharing a little “teaser” of her pieces for the collaboration project we’re all working on for this weekend’s “4×4 : FOUR MAKERS” gallery show. We’re each making four pieces… all of them squares… all of them with the same themes… hoping that they all some together when we install the show tomorrow! Remember, the show is this weekend on Friday, Saturday & Sunday in Evanston, Illinois.

Space 900 Gallery, 816 Dempster Street, Evanston, IL 60202

Okay, so Darlys is apparently the over-achiever of the group… and is already showing-off her pieces for “4×4 : FOUR MAKERS”... while the other three of us are still scrambling to get our pieces pulled together!!! Stop by “4×4” next weekend in Evanston to see how they all come together! Now back to work…

And while we’re talking collaborations… I also received this photo from Beth, the happy owner of this collaboration I did with Retta Hentshcel & Ken Staggs for ART IN THE GARDEN this summer. I made some tiles, then Retta worked her magic with the stained glass… and then Ken made the amazing frame to hold it all together! It was out first 3-way collaboration… and I’m hoping there will be more next summer!

Looks like these kiddos are enjoying their ART IN THE GARDEN collaboration cups. I made this summer with my pal Amy Taylor! I made the cups… she added the creatures… the kids added the smiles!!!

So I had a little “summer camp” situation in my studio over the summer. My friend Kristen asked if her kids could stop by for a little “private” summer camp experience in my studio. I’ve known the kids forever… so of course I said yes. Although I haven’t really done much with them since they took my Lillstreet Chess Camp a couple years back.

We started with some wheelthrowing lessons, and then they each gave it a try. AJ went first, followed by Lizzy. I think they were both a little surprised that it wasn’t quite as easy as it looks!

But then I also “flipped the script” a bit on them… and told them they would have a handbuilding project as well. They thought they would be able to make whatever they wanted…. but, oh no, that’s not how I play!

I think they had all kinda forgotten about a little drawing that AJ had done back when he was in second grade. He was trying to raise money to buy himself a new set of LEGO’s… and his mom Kristen set-up a little gallery show for him to show-off his artwork. I purchased this drawing at that gallery show… and have had it in my studio ever since.

So I pulled it out… and challenged them each to make a handbuilt “cup” that was “inspired” by AJ’s monster drawing from so many years ago.

On their next visit, they trimmed their wheelthrown pieces, and finished working on their handbuilt monster cups. The final touches were put on with some colored underglazes. Once they dry, I will bisque fire the monster cups and glazed them with a clear glaze. Their wheelthrown pots will be glazed as well… to match their color choices of course!

As you can see, Lizzy went for a more literal approach in building her cup. I especially liked her use of textures to mimic the patterns in the drawing. While AJ went a little off on his own “version” of the monster… with a great triple-eye & vertical mouth situation!

So much fun playing with these kids… they were so much fun. Glad we could work out this Mini Summer Camp this summer… two days of clay fun in my studio with AJ & Lizzy!

Looks like Cory McCrory is in the final stretches with our collaboration project. Just putting some finishing touches, staining, sealing & assembling all of the parts & pieces… before se starts choosing the “perfect” trio of flowers for each of the wall vases that I made. Another wonderful collaboration project with Cory coming together in the nick of time for ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend!

The clock is ticking… and adhesives have got to dry… so I better get these collaborations going quickly!!! I made the colorful ceramic frames & Mary Foster made some amazing mini-paintings to go in them! I just need to pair them up so that they’re all ready for ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend!!!

For more info… www.grassrootsartfair.com