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!!!

I wore my new necklace by Carole Axium today to RAVE reviews!
She was one of the featured artists at “Art In The Garden”… and as always, I love having talented friends. Especially when they want to “trade” their wares for mine. I think I might have gotten the better end of that deal with this little treasure…

Another beautiful day in the Garden. The day started out a little warmer than Saturday, with a little less breeze. Expectations were that it might be a little hot & sticky, but luckily it turned out to be another incredible day. And again today, guests were welcomed into Amy Taylor’s backyard for the inaugural “Art In The Garden : A Grassroots Art Fair.”

And really, what art fair doesn’t “need” a groovy neon sign??? Thank you Cory…

And what Garden Party wouldn’t benefit from a refreshing batch of lemon water?!

The “Art In The Garden” Gang were all ready to tackle the day on Sunday… and were greeted with wonderful ribbons awards that Amy had created for us.

My ribbon was the “Sunshine Award”… enough said… And the rest of them were each uniquely appropriate for each artist. A very thoughtful & garden themed “thank you” for each of us from our host & incredible metalsmith Amy Taylor!!!

Cory McCrory – “Garden Hoe Award”

Carole Axium – “Blossom Award”

John Caruso – “Beefsteak Tomato Award”

Even Amy’s husband Tom received an award… “Weed Wacker Award”

It was fun to see even more people stopping by the Garden throughout the day on Sunday.  Day Two was a little bit slower, but Sundays typically are at every art fair. It gave each of us a little more time to hang out & chat with the customers… and do a little shopping & trading with our fellow artists.

It was also a lot of fun to see more of the collaboration pieces I did with Cory go off to good homes. Each of them so excited to have a whimsical piece of art for their homes!

Even our host Amy now has a Cory/Gary collaboration piece for her home… which has a striking resemblance to “Poison Ivy.” Coincidence?…

Plus, Cory and I each had to have one as a souvenir of our collaboration project. Cory and her husband chose “Queen Anne’s Lace”-y Panties… and I knew all along that I wanted “Foxglove” with the soda-fired tiles.

Day Two also gave us a chance to re-stock the shelves for the new customers.

Keeping with the garden theme, I had to bring a collection of ceramic flower pots. And some beautiful orange “props” to help demonstrate how pretty the flower pots would be with flowers in them!

Also, the weathered wooden fence in the backyard was the perfect place to show off some of my ceramic masks and tiled “ClayQuilts. Sadly, the masks don’t get to travel to art fairs very often as they are tough to hang on flappy tent sides. This fence worked out perfect… and these two masks are now SOLD and “playing” in someone else’s backyards!!!

The other artists were set-up and ready to go as well. Metalsmiths Amy Taylor & Carole Axium, as well as ceramic artist Cory McCrory and photographer John Caruso.

Cory McCrory had her share of gorgeous too… you now I’m a fan and already have quite the collection at home! I love her colors, textures & whimsy!!!

Including two “fresh out of the kiln” platters…

All in all, another wonderful weekend thanks to all of our friends, family and wonderful customers who stopped by to make the first “Art In The Garden” a hug success! So much fun for everyone… and a great art fair experience for each of the artists thanks to Amy & Tom’s wonderful hospitality! We’re hoping for a SECOND “Art In The Garden” next year… mark your calendars…

Today’s teasers are a bit “racier” than normal…
bringing a little spice & sass to “Art In The Garden” this weekend in Glenview!

Just three days away…
“Art In The Garden: A Grassroots Art Fair”
Saturday, August 30th & Sunday, August 31st – 10:00am-5:00pm

1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025
One block west of Waukegan Road between Lake Street &Glenview Road.
More specifically between Grove Street (at a light) and McLean Court.

Hope to see you there!!!

Just a couple days away… “Art In The Garden” : A Grassroots Art Fair
in the backyard of my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor. Saturday 8/30 & Sunday 8/31.