Starting TOMORROW!!! I’m packing up now, loading car with tons of pots & headed to Sandwich soon to start setting up! Looking forward to a great weekend as part of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR again this year. Hoping to see a lot of pottery-loving folks this weekend… come on by the Sandwich location first… and then head to the rest!!!

One last reminder! Hope to see some of you this weekend in Hinsdale!!! Even if it rains… as pottery looks even better when it’s wet!!! HA!!!

Mark your calendars for this weekend in Hinsdale… another weekend, another art fair! We’re in a beautiful park this time with plenty of trees, flowers & a fountain in the middle! I’m in the same spot as usual, so swing by and say “Hi.”

Last night in class, I did a couple demos of plates & platters. One of the plates was kinda plain… so I decided to add some thick white slip & chatter through it with a rubber rib.

My final class demo for my SURFACE DECORATION class last Thursday was a fun & colorful floral pattern. I used black, red & green slip… and let it dry to a stiffer leatherheard surface. And then started carving through the layers with my DiamondCore Tools. It was a fun platter to work on… my first time doing a multi-colored sgraffito piece. I’m pretty pleased with this new direction… although I feel it still needs some more detailing & clean-up. I might just need to make more of these…

After the sgraffito bowl, I went for a more geometric treatment of a larger dinner plate… carving through the band of black slip to reveal a pattern of the lighter clay body. Just trying to show my students that there are different styles… and that not all sgraffito needs to be so illustrative. Again, carving clean lines & smooth curves with my DiamondCore Tools.

So proud of Taylor… who definitely paid attention to my class demo & listened to my mantra “More Is More” again. Look at this amazing plate that she decorated with my stamps during class this week. I’ve already warned her… it’s a slippery slope. But have a GREAT time stamping!!! With great results like this… we want to see MORE!!!

Meanwhile, back at my Easter dinner… I made two flavors of Gooey Butter Cake. A yummy version of the St. Louis classic… in honor of my niece Taylor who is now going to school in Missouri and had her first Gooey Butter Cake “experience” recently. And now we’re all fans!!!

Looks like there was a bit of Easter yumminess down Peoria this past weekend… a festive carrot cake with plenty of cream cheese frosting & glittery sprinkles!!! Oh yeah, and a pretty green stamped plate makes any cake even more special. Thanks for sharing your pics with me!

Some Easter fun yesterday with my niece Taylor who took on my “challenge“ to make her standard crescent rolls into Easter Bunnies!!! NAILED IT… but in a good way!!! Ha!