My friend Donna Sauers posted a very thoughtful post on her Facebook page yesterday about how important art friends are during these trying times. And I have to agree. Being sheltered-in-place alone at home can be very quiet & lonely… but it’s great to be surrounded by a lot of artwork made by your Talented Friends! And we’re all looking forward to the day art fairs may start again, so we can get out to show-off our wares, and finally play with our Talented Friends again face-to-face!

I’ve collected a lot of art… and well as “collected” a lot of Talented Friends over the past few years. It is so great to have talented friends to play with, chat with, collaborate with and to help support & promote each other! So here’s Donna’s original post sharing some of her “collection”… including art by me & my Talented Friend Cory McCrory! Cory makes amazingly whimsical paper clay pieces, and Donna makes beautiful glass beads, jewelry and some new welded-metal-mixed media pieces!!! Check them both out on Facebook… while you’re still sitting on the sofa waiting for that commercial to end!

You know I love a good spiral…
and I’m kinda fond of stamped patterns…
so here’s another soda-fired & stamped bowl to celebrate TEXTURE TUESDAY!

So it has come to this… yesterday I did my first no-contact pottery delivery! I rode my bike up into Evanston to drop off two mugs for a customer who bought them online. I took all the precautions, wore gloves & my “mask”… we chatted from about 20-feet away… and then I pedaled away! All good, but… I MISS ART FAIRS!!! I miss seeing & interacting with my customers! Some day soon, I hope!

Things are bubbling over again today… with a fresh roll of bubble wrap, I’m packing up more pottery headed out to new homes! Hoping my pottery will help brighten someone’s dreary quarantined days at home!

This week’s Mug Sale starts in just two hours on my Instagram page. But here’s a quick sneak peek in the same sequence they will be posted for sale… just in case you want to make a plan, choose in advance, get ready to pounce and prepare to snag the mug you want!!! I will start posting them at 12noon CST and will shoot for one every five minutes. So plan accordingly… when a mug is claimed, it’s gone… and no trading later when more come up!!!

When I post them on Instagram tomorrow, I’ll be sharing photos of each side of the mug so you can see the random variations created by soda-firing, as well as a photo of the mug in my hand for a size comparison.

Each mug will go for $55 which includes packing & shipping within the the contiguous US. So get ready… check out the selection & sequence right here. For the fun of MUG-SHOP MONDAY starts in two hours!!!

MUG #1 –

MUG #2 –

MUG #3 –

MUG #4 –

MUG #5 –

MUG #6 –

MUG #7 –

MUG #8 –

MUG #9 –

MUG #10 –

MUG #11 –

MUG #12 –

MUG #13 –

MUG #14 –

MUG #15 –

MUG #16 –

Okay, so we’re just two hours away from the kick-off of this week’s MUG-SHOP MONDAY! Remember that I’m switching it up this week… and the sale will only be on my Instagram Feed. I’ll start at 12noon CST by posting photos of each mug and the first person who claims it gets it. Easy-peezy… except, do you pounce on the first one you like?… do you wait to see what the next mug will be?… but then you might miss out… or do you just buy them ALL???

Sure, I still have some spoon rests in inventory…
Who knew everyone would be cooking so much at home these days??? All day. Every day. But had I somehow known about all of this COVID-19 craziness in advance & made a plan… I would have started making more spoon rests a lot sooner than tonight!!!

Just a reminder that today is my first “MUG-SHOP MONDAY” to be posted on Facebook… just one hour away! Yep, I’ll be posting the “official” Photo Album on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook at 10:00am CST. The first person to claim a mug by leaving a comment of “MINE” gets it. And when they’re gone, they’re gone!!! These are just a few more “teaser” photos!

Okay, so we’ve all become so accustomed to Mugshot Monday…
so let’s try something new… as I’ll be switching it up a bit.
Why not make it a “Mug-SHOP Monday” for this coming Monday?!

Monday morning at 10:00am CST I will be posting a photo album on Facebook with a dozen handmade mugs that are going up for sale! I don’t do a lot of online selling… but I figure right about now you’ve gotten tired of that old, boring mug you’ve been sequestered with. Might be time for a NEW ONE!!!

So check out my Facebook Fire When Ready Pottery page
at 10:00am CST on Monday, March 30, 2020. The first person to claim a mug as “MINE” in the Comments section of each page of the Photo Album will get that mug! Each mug will be $55 which includes shipping & handling within the contiguous United States. Easy enough right?… presuming that USPS plays along and we’re still allowed to ship things out during this crisis!

So here’s a SNEAK PEAK of the twelve mugs going up for sale on Monday. Remember, there is no shopping from this preview…
that can only be done Monday morning on my Facebook page… click here!

Mug A –

Mug B –

Mug C –

Mug D –

Mug E –

Mug F –

Mug G –

Mug H –

Mug I –

Mug J –

Mug K –

Mug L –

This afternoon on INSTAGRAM LIVE, I got to watch one of my former teachers Steve Lee working in his studio at The Archie Bray in Montana. He did a few demos of how he trims pieces on a chuck, carves his designs and inlays his colored slips. We also got a sneak peek of their soda kiln being loaded.

This social distancing is new for all of us, but in some weird way we’re getting to “see more” of everyone on social media. Weird, right?!

If you follow Archie Bray on INSTAGRAM, it sounds like they’re going to try doing these LIVE events every Friday afternoon during the pandemic. Check it out for a little more ceramic inspiration… and great diversion from all of that self-isolating going on!!!