So the past couple days have been great… and we’re not done yet! It’s officially BIRTHDAY WEEK!!! Thanks so much to everyone for their great birthday wishes. You sure know how to make a guy smile!!! Love you all. Thanks again… and let’s keep the party going!!!

And while we were having a “bowl party” in class last week… it was oddly appropriate that Chris brought “party-size” OREOs to class! Possibly the biggest package of OREOs we’ve ever seen in class!!! … burp.

Looks like Rosene is enjoying a crisp & juicy summer salad on the this warm & summery Saturday! Looks yummy in that green stamped bowl! Thanks for sharing!

But oddly, Taylor wasn’t the only “surprise visitor” in my art fair booth last weekend. So… I stopped & bought some grocery store cookies on my way to the fair for a snack. But when Taylor showed up with HOMEMADE cookies… the store-bought ones went to the side. I set them in a crate that had a couple overstock mugs & my t-shirt inside… and promptly forgot all about them.

So imagine my surprise when I showed up Sunday morning to find some cookies scattered around my booth… and a broken hybrid mug from the now toppled-over crate! I’m guessing that I might have had a little raccoon friend visiting overnight. At least he didn’t find Taylor’s cookies!!!

And… I guess the up-side of broken pottery is you get to analyze your own pottery skills a bit. My wall thickness looks pretty thin & even! Not bad… especially for a “hybrid” wheelthrown & handbuilt combo mug!!!

So I had a wonderfully “sweet” surprise this past weekend at ART IN THE BARN. My niece Taylor has gone off to college about six hours away for her freshman year… so I knew I would be flying solo without her help at the art fair. But then imagine my surprise when showed up “out-of-nowhere” to surprise me!!! I couldn’t process it at first… you’re here?, you’re at college?, what are you doing here?, why aren’t you at college?, thanks for coming?, great surprise?, etc.!!! And then she handed my a tin of homemade chocolate chip cookies that she had made for me… just like my Mom did for every art fair before she passed. The sweetest cookies, the sweetest gesture, the sweetest memories!

But then… oh, but wait there’s more!!!

I also spent the night at Taylor’s house out in the ‘burbs instead of driving back & forth. When we went out for dinner… this PILE of cotton candy came out for dessert… passionfruit flavored cotton candy!!! Just sealing the deal… as the “SWEETEST gestures of the weekend! Taylor’s the BEST!!!

So much fun when a friend finds you some new OREO’s that you haven’t tried yet. Sure, I think we’ve figured out that the “imported” OREO’s aren’t as sweet & yummy as we would expect… but it’s always fun to try a new flavor! Or in this case… half & half combined flavors??? Thanks for indulging my OREO addiction Emma!

What’s black & white… and red all over?
Thanks George for sharing your fresh tomatoes in one of our porcelain sgraffito collaboration pieces from ART IN THE GARDEN! The colorful tomatoes totally “pop” on the black & white dish!

The new session of pottery classes started tonight with my Intermediate Wheelthrowing students… and Martin is back!!!

Need some good recipes?…
follow Martin on Instagram… and sign-up for his weekly newsletter! @martinsorge

Looks like Allyn has a morning ritual…
with another morning ritual that enhances the “first” morning ritual?!

Anyone else?

Pretty plates for a tasty potluck… Monday night we celebrated our last class of the session with a yummy potluck. I brought the chocolate mousse cake, while Kristen made chocolate chip cookies! Food always tastes better on handmade pottery!!!