Quickly becoming an annual event, tomorrow I will be hosting
another Home Show – just in time for your last minute holiday shopping!
After the success of the first Home Show which kicks off the season,
now it’s time for another show to help close off the shopping season.

As an added draw, I have invited my friend Molly Bitters to join me for the day.
She’s a wonderful metalsmith who incorporates her metal work with hand-dyed
& embossed leather.

“Mud & Metal” : A Collaborative Holiday Home Show
Saturday, December 13th, 2008 – 10:00am-6:00pm

Please contact me for address, directions & more details…

So this past weekend was my annual Holiday Home Show.
And I would like all of my faithful customers for making it a rousing success!
It was great to see so many familiar faces hanging out & relaxing in my place.

With pots in every room of my condo, it was a great kick-off for the holiday shopping
season. Some rushed in with shopping list in tow. Others were just there to browse.
Either way, it was great to see everyone having fun & enjoying the holiday ambiance.
Especially those who I’ve met this past summer on the art fair circuit
who finally got to come to my home and see my widest pottery selection to date!
Always more work displayed at the Home Show than I can squeeze into my 10’x10′ tent.
Plus, many people took time to admire my tile wall… all 2,894 tiles of it!

Plus, the ever-popular “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” drew rave reviews by many bargain
shoppers. The shelves were filled with pieces I’m tired of “shlepping” around
to all of the art fairs, plus some class demo pieces… and a few with minor damage
or “kisses” from the kiln – a few drips, a couple chunks from the kiln ceiling.
With great discount pricing, these sale racks are always a big draw! You should have
seen the gridlock surrounding the clearance shelves first thing Saturday morning!!!

Thanks again to everyone who found time to fit my Home Show into their hectic schedule.
And mark your calendar now for next year… it’s ALWAYS the weekend before Thanksgiving!!!

Also next Saturday…
I have been invited by Steven Hill to participate in his Holiday Open House
at Center Street Clay in Sandwich, Illinois. It’s an honor to be invited…
sadly, I will not be there in person as I will be hosting my own Holiday Home Show.

Holiday Open House and Sale
Open House – Saturday, November 22nd – 12:00pm-9:00pm
Holiday show continues through December 21st
Gallery Hours on Saturdays 10:00am-4:00pm and Sundays from 12:00pm-4:00pm
and by appointment. Take a drive out west and visit the quaint town of Sandwich.

Center Street Clay
218 West Center Street, Sandwich, Illinois 60548
(815) 570-2030  -  www.CenterStreetClay.com

Steven Hill is a well-known potter who recently moved to Illinois and established
Center Street Clay in Sandwich. This will be his second holiday season here and they’re
kicking it off with a great Holiday Open House.

Steven Hill

Invited Artists…

Kenyon Hansen

Lindsey Heiden

Doug Jeppesen

Cory McCrory

Sarah Mizanin

CJ Niehaus

Phyllis Pischl

…and me too!!!

One week from today is my annual Holiday Home Show.
So I’m at the studio today firing another soda kiln full of new pieces.
Here’s a glimpse of the stacked kiln – before the door was bricked closed
and the firing began! This kiln will cool all day Sunday
and be unloaded Monday night… just in time for my big holiday show!

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show 2008
Saturday, November 22nd & Sunday, November 23rd
10:00am-6:00pm

It’s the widest selection of work from Fire When Ready Pottery
that you’ll see all year – with pottery in every room of my condo
and my annual “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” at clearance prices!
It’s the perfect chance to start your holiday shopping.

Please contact me for address, directions & more details…

With less than four weeks until my annual Holiday Home Show,
I’ve been trying to stay productive in the studio. Keeping pieces at different stages
in the process… some freshly thrown, while stamping slightly dried pieces,
then trimming the leather hard work. The it’s off for firing…

“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show
Saturday, November 22nd & Sunday, November 23rd
10:00am-6:00pm  -  always the weekend before Thanksgiving!

More updates to come… please e-mail me for complete information.

Yes… I’ve been red-dotted!

One of my collaboration pieces from “Collective Conversations In Clay”
has been purchased… and therefore… I’ve been red-dotted. The first red-dot of the show.
The traditional indication in a gallery show that a piece has been sold.
The red dot.

Last night was the Opening Reception of “Collective Conversations In Clay” at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago. The show is a collaborative effort of ten ceramic artists. Artists were paired up with a partner to collaborate on their pieces for the exhibition. Each artist was to create a piece in their own style – as well as finishing a piece of their partner’s in their style as well. So it’s a matter of applying your style to someone else’s form.

The collaborating pairs were:
Emily Murphy & Gary Jackson… yep, that’s me!
Jay Strommen & Debra Fritts
Joanna Kramer & Dustin Yager
Gina Hutchings & Sarah Hicks
Shane Grimes & Nancy Pirri

Emily Murphy and I were collaborating partners. We’ve worked together for years with our studios near each other – but never collaborating on actual pieces! So it was a nice challenge for both of us. I decided to create my totem pole form. Stamping & glazing mine… and giving her a set so she could do her thing.

And she created two sets if her “signature” dinnerware. One of them she finished herself, the other set she gave to me when it was leather hard to finish in my style. She added slipped, I stamped. We both sprayed some glaze and soda-fired our dinnerware sets.

The Opening Reception was also the kick-off of Chicago Artist’s Month in Chicago. Which also coincides with the Ravenswood Artwalk this weekend. So there was a lot of traffic flowing through Lillstreet – stopping in to see the show and visit the studios. The gallery show continues through October 31, 2008.

“Collective Conversations In Clay” •    beingtobeing.com
Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 769-4226  •  lillstreet.com

Just two weeks from today…
The gallery opening of “Collective Conversations In Clay” at Lillstreet Art Center.
A collaborative show where five sets of ceramic artists create their own piece for the show – as well as finishing a piece of their collaborative partner. Emily Murphy and I are right on schedule with two weeks to go. My pieces are stamped. My collaboration/traded pieces are stamped… just waiting to be glazed, fired and installed in the gallery.
Here’s a sneak peek…

Collective Conversations In Clay
Opening Reception – Saturday, October 4th, 2008 – 4:00-7:00pm
Lillstreet Art Center Gallery – 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago

For more information:   beingtobeing.com

Hope to see you there…

With just one month to go… it’s time for a little “conversation in clay.”

Eight ceramic artists will be working together to have a long “conversation.”
Five artists invited five other artists to collaborate with them in the project.
Each pair of artists will have their own “conversation” and work together to finish their pieces.

So here’s how it works… each artist will create two similar pieces. The artist will finish one of them in their own signature style. The second one goes to their collaborating “partner” who will finish that piece in their signature style. Emily Murphy and I will be working together to create our own “conversation in clay.” So I will finish one of my one pieces and one of her pieces… while she will finish one of her’s and one of mine!

Opening Reception at Lillstreet Art Center Gallery – Saturday, October 4th.
4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois – lillstreet.com

More details to come… and “conversations” to be had…

It was a wonderful three-day weekend in Chicago.
Not only was the weather incredible – sunny & warm with a nice cool breeze off the lake.
Possibly the nicest weather weekend all summer in Chicago?!

It was a great chance to relax, bike a lot of miles, play along the lakefront and spend some quality production time in the studio. So I thought it might be a good chance to show you a bit of my studio. A lot of tools and a lot of pots. With a little stamping along the way…