More clay fun from my friend Cory McCrory…
she’s definitely doing HER part of the collaboration!!!
Guess I need to get may act together too?!… and soon!!!

A great “hands-on” project… Cory is making her pieces, and I’m doing mine!
Mark your calendar for “Art In The Garden” in Glenview on August 30th & 31st.
One-of-a-kind, limited edition collaborations with my friend Cory McCrory!!!

Cory’s making something to “cluck” about… birds of a feather… and another “teaser.”

Okay, so here’s an update…
My good friend Cory McCrory and I have decided to do a creative collaboration!
She’s a wonderful artist… full of whimsical imagery, colorful surfaces and beautiful textures. We’re both participating in the same art fair during the last weekend of August. So we thought it might be fun to do a project together just for this show!!!

Art In The Garden – Saturday, August 30th & Sunday, August 31st.
At the home… err, in the garden of our mutual friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor.
More details to come…

So… since this show has a garden theme of sorts, Cory & I decided to work together to make a limited edition of collaborative “garden” pieces. We’ve worked together to develop the plan. Brainstorming ideas. Working on the whimsy. Getting it all started. Cory has her pieces in the works & under wraps, and I’ve started to work on my part of the project tonight. Here’s a hint… with more to come…

Coming soon… a fun, new collaboration I’m doing with my favorite Cory McCrory!!!
We’re both making pieces & parts, and then we’re putting it all together.
Limited edition… unlimited fun & whimsy!!!

Details to come…

One of the best parts of art fairs is “trading” with your talented art fair friends. Lucky me came home with two new pieces by My Talented Friend” Cory McCrory!!! Love the colors, the textures, the whimsy… and you know I LOVE WHIMSY!!!

And speaking of colors, textures & whimsy…

Congratulations to my creatively-crazy-ceramic friend Cory McCrory who won “1st Place 3D Art” today at the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival. Her work is incredible, and so is she! Mark your calendar for August 30th & 31st when we will be playing together at “Art In The Garden.” Details to come…

My favorite metalsmith Sarah Chapman is downstairs in the Lillstreet Gallery for the opening of her Jewelry Trunk Show. Stop by tonight to see her and her incredible jewelry!!! She’s here tomorrow too – teaching a workshop, showing in the Gallery… and we have plans for hot fudge!!!

And if you can’t make it to see her in person, her jewelry will be here for awhile. And there are PLENTY of these signs everywhere with her picture on them. Ha!!!

Tonight we had a very special guest who joined us for class. My teaching assistant Susan brought a friend of hers who is visiting from Sweden. They met a few months back when they both attended a workshop at La Meridiana in Italy. It was so much fun to have her in class to share stories, pottery experiences… and she even brought a bowl all the way from Sweden for the bowl exchange!!!

Saga Johnsson hung out with us for the night sharing her path, meeting my students, touring my studio & Lillstreet Art Center. At one point (after cheesecake) she sat down at the wheel to throw a couple quick bowls. It’s always so much fun to watch other people throwing. It’s mesmerizing for me every time!

Later, Saga stepped aside and shared some more of her story with images from home, her studio and her body of work. She showed off her pottery she “sells” for a living, the pieces she plays with to express herself, her kids, her chickens, her workshop photos at La Meridiana, and so much more. Ahhh… the beauty of a tablet packed full of photos!!!

Here’s a quick excerpt from her Etsy site…

I live and work full-time as a ceramic artist/ studio potter in the beautiful countryside of Österlen, SkÃ¥ne in Sweden. I have a studio and a shop next to my house where I also run a small Bed & Breakfast. I started out doing art (painting, drawings and sculptures) 19 years ago… (time does fly by when your having fun! ) The last few (8) years my main focus has been mainly focused on ceramic. I love the way clay challenges me and always let me discover new and exciting things about my material and about my self.

And I loved that Saga was so willing to share. She instantly “fit in” and became part of my class for the night. She has such a great energy about her. I had a great time hanging with her. Maybe I need to plan a little vacation to Sweden?… I hear there’s a great Bed & Breakfast there???… with wheels!!!

Here’s a quick peek at Saga’s stunning work. She does a lot of work with hand-drawn illustrations she turns into decals and applies to her pots.

And here’s a little trick she shared with us…
Saga enjoys placing her decals so they are cropped off the edge forcing the user to “visualize” the rest of the image. Not one to “waste” the cropped off portion of the illustration decal… the other half goes on the other side of the cup!!! Brilliant!!!

For more of Saga Johnsson’s work, click here for her website.
Or click here to follow Saga Keramik on Facebook.

My parents have been keeping a secret from me.
So have my friends metalsmith Sarah Chapman & photographer Brad Pogatetz.
I’ve saw them both at the “One Of A Kind Show” and neither of them said anything.
I even asked my parents directly if they had bought anything at “One Of A Kind.”
I got a very non-committal & evasive answer… which should have been a clue!

When I got to my parents house late on Christmas Eve, I was ready to hit the bed. It had already been a long day, and a late night celebrating Christmas Eve with my parents & family friends. Not to mention the head cold I’ve been battling for a few days. I was done. Ready for bed. But my parents had another plan… and something they wanted me to see. Apparently, they had done “a little shopping” while they were at “One Of A Kind” and everyone was keeping the secret from me! Until now…

Yes, my parents have purchased an incredible photograph by Brad Pogatetz… one of “My Talented Friends.” There it is hanging… or “floating”… on their wall, in a white “art alcove” area on one of their walls. They even painted the surrounding wall in a beautiful brown color JUST for the photo!!!

We met Brad several years ago when he was my booth neighbor at “Art In The Barn.” I’ve loved his photography ever since. Two years ago, my parents surprised my with one of Brad’s photographs for a Christmas present. Imagine my surprise when I saw this huge, beautiful piece hanging in their house… a wonderful Christmas present for themselves!!!

Brad’s photographs are quite beautiful. The subject matter may be of deteriorating spaces and places long forgotten, but the composition and clarity if incredible. Every little detail is captured, drawing you right into the space. You can practically reach out and touch the paint peeling from the walls, scratch across the rusty metal, or splash in the stagnant pools of water. His printing process is brilliant, and many of the surfaces are gleaming & metallic. The rusty metal looks oh, so rusty. And you know I LOVE RUST!!! But one of the coolest things is how the photo seems to “move” as you look at it from side to side… as you can see from the photo below where I took it from an angle.

To see more photography by Brad Pogatetz, click here or the link in the right column.

And for the record… I call dibs!!!
Whenever my parents decide to “bequeath” anything – I GET THIS ONE!!!