Apparently today Crain’s Chicago Business listed Lillstreet’s “Empty Bowls” event
as one of the “Top 10 Things To Do This Weekend in Chicago.” And some of my
stamped & soda-fired bowls were used as the “poster child” for their posting as well!!!
Lucky me… yet even luckier if they would have mentioned my name!!! Oh, so close…

Click here for Crain’s Chicago Business “Top Ten” List for this weekend!

And for those of you who don’t feel like clicking on the link above,
here’s a picture of the bowls that made a “surprise guest appearance” today!!!
Not quite famous (yet)… but I’ll take any publicity I can get.

The Empty Bowls Project is a nationwide effort by potters to end hunger. Lillstreet Art Center
is proud to host this 6th annual event to benefit First Slice, a local hunger-fighting
organization. Just a quick FYI… First Slice is also a great place to get a snack, a sandwich
or a piece of pie… or two! And they’re conveniently located in the Lillstreet Gallery...
a little too convenient to my studio if you know what I mean!

Join the festivities and share a modest meal of soup and bread, served in a handmade bowl
donated by a ceramic artist that you may take home as a reminder of all the other bowls
you will have helped to fill. So not only to you get dinner – you get a bowl!!! And you feel
great doing a good deed at the same time!

Bowls are $25 each, and there is no limit to the number of bowls you may purchase.
Sales begin at 5:00pm on a first-come, first-served basis. FYI – several of the donated
bowls will be mine! There will also be a silent auction of artist-crafted items…
and I’ll have a donated piece in the Silent Auction as well. Anything for a good cause!

The Empty Bowls Project – at Lillstreet Art Center
4401 North Ravenswood (at Montrose), Chicago, Illinois 60640
Just a few steps east of the Montrose stop on the Brown Line.

And by the way… did I mention that the stack of bowls that have become the
“poster child” for Lillstreet’s Empty Bowls Project are actually mine as well?! Go figure…

I made the bowls several years ago when we were still at the old Lill Street location.
Emily Murphy and I went to a workshop with Australian soda-firing guru Gail Nichols
at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. I was kind of “new” to the soda process and
still learning a lot. She showed off some of her bowls that she threw and fired on their sides.
I was intrigued enough that when I got back to the studio, I made my own version of the
inspirational “Gail Nichols Bowls.”  All bowls are similar, but each have a different soda
flashing effect. Some more subtle. Some more dramatic. Some blasted with soda.
And not a single stamp to bee seen anywhere… like I said, it was several years ago!

And if you stop by my place, or come to my Holiday Home Show,
you can see this full stack of bowls still on top of my kitchen cabinets!

If the Mayans are correct, tomorrow may be the big day.
But if the Oreo’s are right, tonight’s going to be a yummy “double-stuffed” evening!!!

But then again, what if Michael Stipe was right all along?!
Or maybe he was just the very last Mayan?… he doesn’t look much like a Mayan?

Click here for the video – REM : It’s The End Of The World (As We Know It).
A fun, illustrated rendition complete with lyrics… for those of us STILL determined
to memorize all of the words to this classic, very fast-paced song!

I guess I’ve only got about 9 hours to do it….
since the world’s gonna end at 5:32am tomorrow morning?!

And if the world does end today as “it’s supposed to”,
it’s a good thing I hit my biking mileage goal this morning!
One more thing off the list before everything ends later today?!

Be sure to notice the decimal point… I’m not THAT crazy!!!

Today’s a special day on the calendar. We won’t see this happen again
for another thousand years. And if you’re around for that one, Congratulations!!!

Hard to believe that the holidays are quickly bearing down on us…
but they are. And I’ve been working hard getting ready. Because just ONE MONTH
from today is the kick-off of my annual Holiday Home Show!!! So if you’re in the
Chicago area, or even looking for a quick road-trip, I’d love to have you stop by!

Mark your calendars…
“My Home For The Holidays” Home Show 2012
Saturday, November 17th & Sunday, November 18th.
10:00am-6:00pm both days. At my home, not the studio! For specific address
information, please send me an e-mail – gary@firewhenreadypottery.com.

Pottery in every room of my condo, food & drink in the kitchen. Plus the
ever-popular “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” on the back porch. It’s the perfect time
to kick-off your holiday shopping. I’m sure there’s something for everyone on your list…
including yourself!!! So mark your calendars and bring your friends!!!

Today is October 11, 2012… which numerically turns into 10 – 11 – 12.

And if you wait until 1:14 (and 15 seconds) it would be 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15.
But that’s going too far, right???

A very special day for remembrance & reflection. I remember watching it all unfold
live on national television. Amazed by the day’s events playing out right in front of us.
Events that have changed our lives forever.

Eleven years ago today…

So the sunrise was a little anti-climactic again this morning. Dark & gloomy. But…
there was a bright spot on the morning ride… The Redbull Flugtag has come back to Chicago!
And this morning they were setting up just south of North Avenue Beach.

So here’s the deal with the Flugtag… it’s a whimsical competition for human-powered
flying machines. And by “flying”, I really mean running off the edge of the large scaffold
structure and plummeting into the water below. Each “flying machine” is handmade
and had some sort of theme to it. The “crew” does a thematic performance on the deck
before attempting their flight. It’s a day of wonderful nonsense & merriment…
and a bit of cluttered wreckage in the lake for the Redbull folks to clean up!

The fun begins tomorrow! You can tour the “airplane” hangars starting at 11:00am
followed by the official shove-off. For more information, click here… Redbull Flugtag.