If it were only this easy… and a handful of new crayons
could end the issues of racism & promote equality around the world

A beautiful dream Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thanks for sharing.

Tonight I signed up for my third workshop with Julia Galloway!
If you want to see beautiful pots, extreme detail and exquisite design… this is the
clay workshop to sign-up for. Julia’s coming back to Lillstreet Art Center for another
two-day workshop on February 18th & 19th. And there are only 10 spaces left!

My first workshop with Julia Galloway was several years ago. I had just started pottery
classes, and had finally moved on from my Beginner’s class to Intermediate. I was still
pretty new and didn’t think that I was ready for a workshop with such an established &
renowned ceramic artist. Plus it was more expensive than I was ready to pay. Luckily,
a few of my “more advanced” friends at Lillstreet convinced me to sign up for the workshop.
So I did. Thanks Amy. And within the first 10 minutes of the workshop I was hooked. Not
only is Julia Galloway’s work exquisite, but she’s also extremely eloquent, insightful and so
approachable. In the workshop she demonstrated her construction methods, as well as
her decoration tricks & techniques. I was enamored from the get-go. I could just sit there
and listen to her talk. Her anecdotes. Her insights. Her creative turn-of-phrase.

A few years later, Lillstreet Art Center moved to its current location on Ravenswood.
Julia Galloway was one of the first artists to come there for a Visiting Artist Workshop.
And I was right there ready for another workshop… and to be her workshop assistant!
By then I was a studio monitor, teaching assistant, had moved on to more advanced classes
and totally understood the benefit of taking a workshop from someone of Julia’s caliber…
regardless of the price!

As her workshop assistant, I also had the opportunity to work more closely with Julia.
Including helping her install her solo show in the Lillstreet Gallery. It was great to have some
quality time with her to discuss her work, as she also asked me about mine, as we unpacked
and put out her stunning pieces. Part of her show was this incredible & crazy collection of
tumblers. Each on it’s own shelf. But the crazy part was that when I put them all on the
shelves in the correct sequence, an image appeared across the collection. Like magic. Oh,
but wait there’s more… when you turned all of the tumblers around to show the opposite
side, the same image appeared but only as a black & white line drawing across all of the
tumblers! Luckily, someone just happened to catch me passing the installation one day…
me in my apron, smirking with a bunch of stunning tumblers behind me!

So now she’s coming back to Lillstreet Art Center for another 2-Day Workshop. She’ll be
showing her techniques, sharing her stories and hopefully giving away all of her secrets!
I’m very excited to be going to her workshop once again. My Julia Galloway Trifecta.
Each time that I’ve seen Julia in person, I’ve been at a very different stage in my ceramic
career. The first time I was a beginner, recently engulfed in clay. My second workshop I
was becoming proficient but wasn’t sure where my “path” would take me. This time, I look
forward to seeing her again with my current perspective as a now “professional” potter
working to make a living while playing in the clay!

In fact, I’m so excited and encouraging everyone to sign-up… so much so, that Sam,
my Tuesday night wheelthrowing assistant, has already secured her spot as Julia’s assistant
for the workshop! Hopefully she’ll have a similarly wonderful experience that I did
when I was Julia’s workshop assistant.

Sign up today – click here to register online with Lillstreet Art Center.
As of tonight, there were only ten spaces left for this special workshop!

Okay, so maybe I’ve been watching too much TV lately?!
And yes, let me just say before anyone else does… I WATCH FAR TOO MUCH TV.
But I’m really good at multi-tasking so I can get a lot done at the same time.
Especially with the TV & DVD player I have in my studio!

With that said… I saw this wonderful pile of metal this morning on my bike ride.
It has just “appeared” along the lakefront in a parking lot near Montrose Harbor.
And it seemed odd that this geometric pile of metal would just show up. Out of nowhere?!
Love the geometry. Love the repetition. Love the unexplained presence along the lakefront.
Kinda like an alien invasion. Setting up before their “arrival” to our planet… uh oh…
Yes, I just finished watching both seasons of the alien invasion show “V.” Can you tell?…

I’m also all caught up on the fairy tale based shows”Grimm” and “Once Upon A Time.”
As well as criminal drama “Person Of Interest” from “LOST” creator J.J. Abramms.
Next up, it’s another alien show – “Falling Skies” … and then “American Horror Story.”
It’s been really nice having a little more free time heading into the holidays. Catching up
on a lot of TV viewing while wrapping, packing & prepping for this weekend’s festivities!
My TiVO was getting full with all these shows piling up. It’s been fun watching all of these
series from the start and clearing out my TiVO at the same time.

But while I’m on the topic… I’m also all caught up with “Chuck” and “Hawaii Five-O.”
Both of which I’ve really liked over the years, but am now ready for them to end.
“Chuck” just seems to drag on and on… luckily it’s their last season! As for “Hawaii Five-O”…
I still like the show, but I really hate how they always seem to spoon-feed you every detail.
How each plot “revelation” is handed out like a Hawaiian prescription drug. Someone needs
to tell them that their audience can think and piece together the clues without them
smacking me over the head with them! But I digress…

Making room for MORE TV in the New Year!
More Reality TV… more Housewives… and a new season of “Survivor” starting in February!

For those of you haven’t figured it out yet… this pile of geometric metal pieces will become
a large geometric done to house salt. Yes, the salt that they will scatter all over Lake Shore
Drive throughout the winter to help keep it clear. No dome yet… just a pile of metal.
And I love it. The only thing that would make it better is if it were all rusty!!!

I love clever puns… clever wordplay gets me every time.
I love giggling… and seeing people giggle uncontrollably in an awkward situation.
And now I love Anderson Cooper for both of those reasons.

Yes, generally professional, straight-laced, and well-respected CNN Anchor
Anderson Cooper has combined a crazy “news” story with a ton of puns and
cracks himself up. On air. On CNN. On one of the most respected news shows
in the country!!! Imagine him doing this while interviewing the President…
or the Queen Mother… or reporting from the front lines in Iraq… or while hosting
“The Mole.” Yes, some of us do remember that he got his start on broadcast TV
as the host of the reality show “The Mole.” We should have known then…

Click here for the video… Anderson Cooper Giggling on CNN

And then, the following evening on CNN, he revisits the incident and puts humself
on “The Ridiculist” and calls out other on-air TV gigglers! More giggling fun…

Click here for the follow-up video… Anderson Cooper Puts Himself on “The Ridiculist.”

Thank you for changing the world. Thank you for changing my life. We will all miss you.

Sadly, my weekend escape was quickly coming to an end.
So I hopped on my bike for one last ride before packing up. Another beautiful day,
another beautiful ride. Unfortunately, I knew my time was drawing short.

When I got back to the cabin, it was already time to pack up. But I had to sit on the dock
just a little more… and got for a quick dip in the lake… and then hang out a bit…
get a little sunburned… and then finally say my goodbyes and start the drive home!
I would have stayed longer… but I had to get back for another week of Summer Camp!!!

Saturday we woke up very early to get Amy to her art fair. She still had some
setting up to do, and I was apparently her designated assistant. Since we had set up
the tent the day before, Saturday started with setting up tables, shelves and putting
out her wonderful pots. Check out her website for more at Pigeon Road Pottery.

Unfortunately, after only a couple hours, a huge storm came through and effectively
closed down the art fair. But as in true Northwoods style, just an hour after we closed
everything down & packed the cars, the sun came back out! But by then, the customers
and most of the artists were gone for the day! So we went to Dari-Maid for ice cream!!!

Back at the cabin, we again relaxed, and spent a little quality time in the hammock!

Unfortunately, before the sunrise could impress us again, the clouds rolled back in
and covered the sky. So it was time for another boat trip around the lake with my friend
Pam at the helm! Then back to more relaxing… and incredible grilled brats for dinner!!!

Another day in the woods. Another day in heaven.

So while Amy did some more packing up & prepping for her art fair,
I once again hopped on my bike for another tour around the area. The roads are
in great condition and the scenery is breathtaking everywhere you go.

When I got back, we packed the cars and headed off to Land O’Lakes, way up there on the
Michigan peninsula border. My friends Pam & Pat have a cabin up on Moccasin Lake and
offered to let us stay there… since Amy’s art fair was going to be in Land O’ on Saturday.
When we got there, we were impressed by their cabin, their lakefront and their hospitality!

We played. We chatted. We relaxed. A wonderful escape.
We swam. We ate chips & salsa. We boated around the lake and saw a deer swimming
across, the loons and their newly born chick and a couple bald eagles flying around.
Which only made the loons scream and cry out louder… whimsical, yet haunting.

And so as not to disappoint, Mother Nature served up yet another stunning sunrise!

And oh, but wait there’s more… as the sun set, and I thought the sunset was over…
suddenly, the orange glow began on the horizon. Like a “freebie” second sunset!!!