Because one sunrise is never enough…
and this morning’s was stunning – and then got even better!!!

Another bike ride, another “treasure” on the Lakefront…
Apparently, at some point during the fall last year, there was some roof repair work
done on the terra cotta tile roof at Promontory Point along the lakefront.
But what a nice surprise to see that someone had a “vision” and decided to create
some art instead of just throwing away the old shingles?! So cool to find random surprises
like this along the lake. And even cooler that no one has messed with it, taken it or ruined it!
Kinda restores your faith in humanity… and creativity, no?

Okay, so even though I’m exhausted from glazing & wadding every night this week…
you’re never too tired for a beautiful sunrise bike ride along the lake!

Today was a beautiful day.
Even better once I got out on my bicycle…. dust it off… pump up the tires…
It’s been a long time coming… but biking season is finally here!!!
Let’s hope the nice weather stays this time…

The above artwork is a beautiful bricolage project that was completed last summer
by a group of local city artists and kid’s groups. It is under Lake Shore Drive at Bryn Mawr.
It’s a huge mural project that covers spans the entire width of Lake Shore Drive along both
sides of Bryn Mawr Avenue. It’s made up of a large collection of mosaic tiles, mirror shards,
as well as ceramic pieces created just for the installation. It even includes images & historic
items embedded in the artwork for all to enjoy. Rumor has it, they’re going to do the same
thing this summer to the Foster Street underpass too!

Oh, what to do with all those dry clay scraps?…
Well, turn them back into new clay again of course!!!
Yep, all of those dried trimming scraps can be re-hydrated into new clay
and used again to make a new pot!

So I take all of my trimming scraps and allow them to dry out completely.
I keep them in a large plastic bin for “safe keeping.” When there’s a good amount
of them, I fill the container with water just above the clay level. The water will soak
into the dry clay and allow it to “slake” down. After the clay has absorbed the water,
I let it sit for weeks… or at least until I feel I have time to deal with it.

When I feel that the dried clay is rehydrated, and the majority of the water has either
soaked in or dehydrated, I scoop out handfuls of the new clay mixture and place it on
a large slab of plaster. This will help draw the excess water out of the mixture. I typically
leave the pile of clay sitting on the plaster bat for a few days until enough moisture has
been drawn out and the mixture is now close to a normal clay consistency. Then, I take
the clay off the plaster bat and get ready for some “heavy lifting.”

As you can see, I don’t worry too much about what kind of clay scraps get into my reclaim.
In fact, some of my other studio mates don’t reclaim their scraps… so them give them to me!
You just need to make sure that all clay going into your reclaim bin is rated for the same
kiln firing temperature.

I then take slices of the new clay, and interleave them with layers of fresh clay straight out
of the box. As the majority of my work is fired in the soda kiln, I generally use fresh
soda clay when I’m layering so that I know that at least half of it is for the soda kiln.

Now that I have stacks of mixed clays, I start pounding them together. It’s actually
easier than it sounds. Just pick up the entire stack, and slam it back down onto the
table. Cut it in half, stack the halves on each other – and slam it down again.
Slice-stack-slam-repeat. Slice-stack-slam-repeat. And so on… and so on…

Seen above, I’ve only sliced, stacked & slammed once. See the layers are still apparent?
Assume you are starting out with 10 layers. Slam them down, cut it in half, stack it on itself…
now you have 20 layers. Repeat… and now you have 40 layers. Repeat… and now you have
80 layers. Then 160 layers… 320 layers… 640 layers… etc. So the more times you do it,
the thinner the layers become and the more incorporated your different layers become.

Once I have sliced & slammed the clay and feel that they clay is well incorporated, I pound
roughly into cubes and store it in recycled clay bags. This reclaimed clay is now ready to go!
Yesterday, I reclaimed over 175 pounds of recycled clay – that would have otherwise been
thrown away. Even better… with just a little effort, it’s like FREE CLAY !!!

The past three mornings have been stunning.
The weather has been surprisingly warm and the sunrises spectacular.
A wonderful view each morning as I ride along the lakefront before work.
Each day I’ve wondered if it can get any better…

And each time it did…

The Hilly Hundred is my favorite bike ride of the season!
It’s like the bookend marking the end of my summer riding season.
Two days of hills… two days of fun… with thousands of riders!

Some seasonal beauty from the weekend…
click on each thumbnail for a larger image.

Saturday morning was chilly – but the sun warmed it up quickly.
The day’s ride was crisp & clear – with long sleeves & gloves.
Sunday started with frost on our tents… the chilly morning
wiped out some of the few prairie flowers remaining!
But the day got warmer as we ended up riding in shorts & short-sleeve jerseys!

After a long day of riding on Sunday… it’s time for a long drive home.
Enjoyable when your view through the car window is this…

And for those of you who like to see the details…
here’s a small snipet of the daily cue sheets showing elevation gain
for each day – over 3,000 feet of elevation gain daily!

As fall settles in, my early morning bike rides are getting tougher & tougher.
Yet with a stunning sunrise like this… it still makes it all worthwhile!
And I hope that the biking season continues for a few more weeks!!!