Looks like we might have a little “infestation” of fun!!! Amy Taylor has been working on these little cuties to work along with my little cutie-patooties! Our ART IN THE GARDEN collaboration looks like it’s coming along nicely!!!

Looks like the uber-talented Mary Foster has a great start on some new mini paintings for ART IN THE GARDEN… now if only they had some great ceramic frames to go with them?! Oh wait… sounds like another collaboration in the making?! I think there’s a “pretty good chance” you might see the final collaborations in two weeks at ART IN THE GARDEN. Just a hunch…

So in the creative world of collaboration projects… I gave these tiny stamped & soda-fired “cutie-patooties” to metalsmith extraordinaire Amy Taylor a little while back… with the anticipation that she’ll do something really cool with them!!! I have a clue… but can’t wait to see them in-person at ART IN THE GARDEN on September 10th & 11th in Glenview!

Hard to believe that August is almost over, and September is right around the corner! Which also means that ART IN THE GARDEN is just over two weeks away! It’s a wonderful grassroots art fair in a charming setting right along a branch of the Chicago River.

Saturday, September 10th – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, September 11th – 10:00am-5:00pm

One of the best parts of this show is that several of the artists are working on collaboration projects… working together to combine their mediums & styles. Offering one-of-a-kind pieces you won’t see at any other art fair! I know I’m working on collaborations with at least three different artists!!! Mark your calendar… we’d love to see you!!!

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Randal, Fred and the rest of The Rogue Potters on getting a new sign… now looking so “legit” and official. Hard to believe it’s already twelve years since I met the “merry band of Rogue Potters” during the Minnesota Pottery Tour… not an official tour stop, but a great add-on with clever signage on the highway! A talented group of potters… so glad I’ve been able to be part of their journey! The sign looks great guys!!!

I love when your “friend-worlds” collide! Like earlier today when my good college friend Kelly & her mom Mimi met up with my pottery friend Cory McCrory during an art fair at the Vrooman Mansion in Bloomington! I know Kelly has been an online “fan” of Cory’s work for several years… so this “friends-collision” makes me very happy! Plus, it looks like a few purchases were made too… which also makes me happy!!! Fun pottery for everyone!

I “behaved” the whole weekend… until I saw Kenyon’s cups and I just had to have one!!! I think I must have touched them all at least twelve times… narrowing it down slowly… until I finally decided that THIS ONE was the one that “had to” come home with me! Crazy cool design, patterns, glazes & soda-fired effects. Well done Kenyon… and THANK YOU!!! It was great hanging with you guys all weekend in Sandwich!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Sandwich this weekend for the first in-person NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR! It was so much fun seeing everyone celebrating pottery & appreciating handmade wares! Great fun hanging out with some talented potters all weekend as well… Cory, Kenyon, Lindsey, Linda & Nancy (errr… Burt)!

Another huge THANK YOU to my talented friend Cory McCrory for hosting us at her studio location in Sandwich! She made it such a wonderful event for all of her guest artists. So thoughtful, so welcoming, so appreciated! You’re the best Cory!!!

Whimsical illustrations with kind of a groovy retro vibe by Nancy Gardner…another one of the potters at the Sandwich location of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR.

Layered with technique & style, Linda Lee Kiepke combines her love of clay & illustration in her pottery… another soda-firer at the Sandwich location of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR.