Sure to bring a smile to your face… look at these little cuties that Amy Taylor has been making just in time to debut at “Mud & Metal” this Saturday at my place!!! Come early… I’m sure these “Adorbs” are going to go fast!!!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the beautiful work that my friend Amy Taylor makes. Wonderful designs, stunning stones and classy style.

She’s known for putting hinges in her pieces so they all have a great wiggle & swivel to them. No promise that these actually pieces will be at my place Saturday… but there will be a LOT more just like ’em to whet your whistle!!!

In addition to her jewelry collection, this year at The One-Of-A-Kind Show this year, Sarah is also showing off some of her new sculptural work. A “constellation” of beautiful wall pieces. Each one a beautiful in it’s own right… but we all know that a grouping of three, five or ALL of them would be much better!!!

The two larger pieces have a wonderful blue color to them. Some sort of chemical “etching” process to force the brilliant blue patina. And then the “accent piece” is actually a separate pendant that comes with a chain necklace so you can wear it too! The whole idea is brilliant!!! Not only is the wall piece beautiful, and the pendant gorgeous, but the “stand” that hods the pendant is beautifully incorporated into the overall design as well. She’s a smart one!

The others have stones & gems “stitched” into them. Beautiful textures, colors, patterns and patinas. What’s not to love with such wonderful layers of fun?!

So there they are… wonderful, sculptural wall pieces by Sarah Chapman. Each one a beauty… even cooler as a grouped constellation!

And just for the record… the stunning necklace that she was “modeling” yesterday in this photo sold and went to a very good home. But there are plenty of others stunners waiting for you today at One-Of-A-Kind.

Okay, so she may have moved to Minneapolis… but, Sarah’s here in Chicago this weekend at The One-Of-A-Kind Show down at the Merchandise Mart. She makes wonderful jewelry with incredible craftsmanship. Beautiful gems, stones & shells encased in beautifully designed mountings. I must admit that I already have “quite the collection” of Sarah’s wonderful work. One of the many benefits of having Talented Friends. For more of Sarah’s work, click here for her website… or click on the link to her page in the right column of my blog.

She’s at The One-Of-A-Kind Show for one more day… today!
And I’ll be down there again this afternoon helping her in her booth.
If you would like to stop by, she’s in Booth #2118. If you need free tickets, click here.

And trust me, her work looks a whole LOT better without this weird yellow tint
my camera picks up from her display lighting!

And a showy “boat” pendant whose shadow is equally as cool…

C’mon down to The One-Of-A-Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart.
I’ll be here all day helping my friend Sarah Chapman in Booth #2118.

She makes incredible jewelry. Perfect holiday gifts for everyone on your list…
including me!!!      hint, hint…

Two weeks from today… a second Holiday Home Show at my place.
Mud & Metal : A Collaborative Holiday Show.

Make your list, check it twice, then mark your calendar for December 13th.
The perfect chance to finish off your holiday shopping… handmade pottery
AND wonderful jewelry by my friend Amy Taylor!!!

Sure, I “should have been” home getting ready & finishing up everything on my To-Do-List before tomorrow’s Holiday Home Show. Instead, I decided to go to the Ceramics Showcase in Evanston to visit a few of My Talented Friends!!! How could I pass up the chance to see so many great pots in one place… made by some pretty terrific people!!! Friends like Cory McCrory, Roberta Polfus, Delores Fortuna, Amy Higgason, Nancy Gardner & Mary Dye… plus even more!

So, here’s the deal…
AFTER you come to my Holiday Home Show, you can go to this Ceramic Showcase.
But only AFTER you come to my place first…   got it?
Sure they all make beautiful pots as well… but come to my place first!…  deal?!

And of course I can’t leave empty-handed. So I had to snatch-up a new Christmas ornament by Cory McCrory…

As well as another cup to add to my already overflowing Mug Collection. This beauty was made by Nancy Gardner. I’ve been coveting from afar for a few years. This time I decided to dive in… choose from several sweet ones… to come out with this wonderfully whimsical, delightfully painted and perfectly pinched pot.

And then after all of THIS fun… then I had to go to the Holiday Opening Night Party at Lillstreet Art Center. Again… “should be” getting ready for my own Holiday Home Show. But duty calls…

Assembled “in the nick of time”… two more collaboration pieces with My Talented Friend Cory McCrory. Over the summer we did an art show with a garden theme. We decided to do some collaboration pieces that were visual puns of popular garden plants. One of our “art fair friends” missed the weekend show by a day (what?… no calendar?) but wanted two of the collaboration pieces. So we decided to create two more just for Richard. Hopefully he’ll be able to stop by my Holiday Home Show to pick them up… and NOT show up a day late this time!!!

First up, Black-Eyed Susan…

And second… on the slightly naughty side… Butterfly Bush

So now you know why I needed all those green tiles, right?

C’mon now… this is just crazy!   CRAZY PERFECT!!!
Yep, she’s at it again…

For anyone who knows me fairly well,
you know that I have a strange fascination with roadkill.
Can’t get enough. Gotta stop. Must take a photo.

Having pedaled thousands of miles across the country & rural farmlands, you see a wide range. And not surprisingly, I now have quite the collection of photos of roadkill I’ve seen over the years. It’s the “Circle Of Life.” It’s nature’s way of reclaiming one of its own. It’s one bad decision in thinking they can out-race that car across the road. It’s the fascination of how thing change, evolve, decay and reveal a whole new system, a structure, a skeleton.

And now two of my favorites are colliding…
roadkill done with that wonderfully whimsical Cory McCrory flair!!!
Gotta love it… gotta have it. You know my birthday is coming up… hint, hint…

She’s started a whole collection of roadkill plates.
And here they are with underglaze colors waiting for the glaze firing.
They can ONLY get better!!! I can’t wait to see the final results!!! Love ’em Cory!!!

So here’s one… “Why did the chicken cross the road?”
To prove to the raccoon that it CAN be done!!!

The tiled collaboration pieces I made with my friend Cory McCrory had a really great reception during “Art In The Garden” last weekend. It was so much fun to see people enjoying our collaboration. Especially when they would take time to “figure them out”… and when they belted out a good belly laugh when they got it. But now that our “Garden” Party is over, we have a couple collaboration pieces available. They’re a VERY Limited Edition… don’t miss out on one of these last six pieces.

Bleeding Heart

Foxglove : SOLD 9.7.14

Poison Ivy

Spider Plant  : SOLD 9.8.14
And notice how the green tiles are “straight” vines at the top and curled patterns at the bottom much like the way a Spider Plant grows!

Spider Flower – aka Cleome.

Butterfly Bush  – complete with a magnifying glass to see the “tiny bits.”

Here’s the info about the West End Art Festival in LaGrange this weekend. Cory will be there with the last six of our collaboration pieces. They’ve been going fast… don’t miss out. And say hello to Cory for me while you’re there…

If you’re interested in a collaboration piece, but can’t make it out to LaGrange this weekend, you can also send Cory a message on her Facebook page. Click here to connect… and “save” one for yourself!!!