It was a beautiful day in Chicago today… and I just “had to” go out & play again!
So I hopped on my bike and rode down to Promontory Point and back along the lake.
While pedaling… I passed another mileage milestone! 1,000 miles so far this summer!
Note the hidden decimal point… otherwise, that’s a LOT of miles!!!

Luckily, when I stopped to capture the moment… I was at a beautiful garden known as
The Chicago Fire Department Fallen Firefighter and Paramedic Memorial Park.
Right along the lake, kind of hidden behind McCormick Place. Wonderful colors, textures
& patterns ablaze within the bright flowers! Quite beautiful. Quite fragrant.

Last night was 5-1/2 hours of “LOST”  fun…
the series ended… and I miss them all already… I’m such a loser!

So… did they answer all of our questions?…  NO.
Did they resolve all of our concerns, theories & reservations?… NO.
Was it a beautifully filmed episode that we will talk about for years to come?… YES.
Was there action, drama, comedy, closure, redemption and more?… YES.
Was I pleased with the ending?… YES.  Was I “thrilled” with the ending?… NOT SO MUCH.

But the more I’ve thought about it today, the more I like it, the more I appreciate it.
I think they gave us a lot of answers, but left us with a lot of topics for us to ponder.
Much like the rest of the “LOST” season. Why should we have expected anything else?!
I think they were brilliant in the way they crafted the entire series so that it “connected”
with each of us in a different way. I think that how you’ve interpreted “LOST” says a lot
about you as a person. For the past six years, we’ve all viewed it, discussed it, critiqued it,
and analyzed every little clue – all based on our own experiences & beliefs.

I still maintain that this has been my favorite show on television ever!
And that’s a strong statement from someone who takes his television watching seriously.
The show was brilliantly crafted, well written, well acted and it gave us all a lot to think about.
It was more than a show to sit on the couch and watch. It made you think. You had to work
for it. Piecing together the clues, catching the symbolism and foreshadowing, making theories.
And I still think that some of MY theories were so much better than what they told us.

In the end, it wasn’t so much about The Island, Jacob, Widmore, Ben and the Others.
It was all about Jack… and always has been. And how his journey was affected by everyone
else on the Island. How they all impacted his own journey. And how they all needed each
other. The episode does make one stop & think about the important people in your life.
And hope that they might be there in the end to help you “let go” as they did for Jack.

I loved the entire journey. What a great place to escape to each week.
Even the episodes that most people hated… dare I say Paolo & Nikki.
Thank you to the creators & writers for sharing such a wonderful experience with us!

I’m already planning on watching the entire show again from the beginning.
I’m hoping to see different clues & hints along the way, now that we know what happens
in the end. It’s been a long and wonderful journey with all of our friends who crashed
in Hawaii. But now it’s over… and what am I going to obsess about now?!

So the St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour is over and I finally made it home…
and unpacked my purchases… already loving them, touching them, feeling them…
already finding them a new place to live! But first… here’s their blog debut!

We’ll start with my favorite purchase… another beautiful lidded jar by Matthew Metz.
Already sitting on my fireplace mantle right next to my other Metz square jar!!!

And if that weren’t enough… another Metz teabowl and a tumbler by Suze Lindsay!

Followed by a Simon Levin bottle… to finish out my Simon Levin Bottle Trifecta taking
residence on the “other end” of my huge fireplace mantle!

And two beautiful Simon Levin bowls… just waiting for ice cream & LOTS of hot fudge!
No matter how beautiful the bowl, they still need LOTS of fudge!!!

Plus, two more for my mug collection – one by Silvie Granatelli, one by Ellen Grenadier.
Silvie’s with a wonderful carved texture. Ellen’s with a beautiful fern impression.

And then two fun pieces from the “rogue potters” we found by signs along the road
off the “official” tour route, hawking their wares in a wonderful dilapidated house…
with the best food spread of the entire tour! An oval vase with a great “tunnel” bottom
by Randal Anderson, and a textured “pod” by Jennifer Brandel.

All in all, a wonderful weekend filled with a LOT of wonderful pottery!
I’m already looking forward to next year… a shopping for even more cool pots!

Unless… we all get together and start a grass-roots campaign to get me invited
to be one of the potters invited to participate in next year’s pottery tour. So… here’s
my plan, if you know any of the “famous potters” on the tour, please-please-please
make them aware of my blog and of my work! Keep on them… force them, beg them,
plead… do whatever you need to do – to get them to invite me to be part of the list
of “potters-good-enough-to-be-invited-to-play-with-the-cool-kids” next year!

The weather was indeed much better today. Still a little chilly, still a bit cloudy, but no rain!!!
So we “returned to the scene of the crime” to revisit the wonderful potters today. My parents
returned to the first two stops, and then went off on their own to discover Stillwater & Hudson;
two local towns on the St. Croix River. So I hooked up with my friend Amy Higgason, and her
friend Katlyn. I’ve known Amy for years through our time together at Lillstreet Art Center.
She has since moved up to the Wisconsin Northwoods, but continues to make incredible
pottery way up north! Katlyn is a college student preparing to graduate in a week. She’s
worked with Amy over the years, with Amy acting as her mentor & teacher. It was great fun
to play with them both today – chatting, shopping, discussing, critiquing, and laughing
our way through the tour. We saw old friends, shared stories, talked with potters and made
new friends & contacts along the way. Some good-old-fashioned networking never hurts.

Today we spent a little more time actually “looking” at the work, since the frantic pace
and the race of shopping had subsided yesterday. It was fun to look at the work again with
fellow potters to discuss our likes, dislikes, preferences and “clay crushes” all day long.

One of Amy’s favorites is Sylvie Granatelli… okay, I bought one of her mugs yesterday too!
We all were impressed by her lines, shapes, carved textures and color pallate. Very nice.

Then we had a chance to chat with Laurie Shaman from Chicago. Laurie used to be the
Gallery Director at Lillstreet Art Center when I was first starting to take classes. I wasn’t
sure she would even know who I was, as our time there only overlapped for a couple years.
But Amy re-introduced us and she was indeed aware of me and my work. She’s no longer
working at Lillstreet, but instead has her studio just a few blocks down the street!

We then made our way to the studio of Linda Christianson where we met up with our
potter-friend Emily Murphy and her husband Ian. She introduced us to Kristin Pavelka
who has a whimsical & colorful approach to her work… much different from the other
potters invited to Linda Christianson’s place, including Dan Anderson. At this point,
I was becoming entranced by some of the textures & patterns…

Then we met up with my friend Steven Hill and introduced him to Amy & Katlyn.
His work is stunning and I’ve had the chance to work with Steven over the past couple
years on his marketing. He also had some great advice & insights for Katlyn as she
is just starting her ceramic career. In fact, now that I am “so-not-an-expert” on
Facebook, I encouraged him to set up his own Fan Page on Facebook. Which he did…
so show him that I was right, and search “Steven Hill Pottery” and click his “LIKE”
button to become a Facebook Fan of Steven’s work.

In the category wonderful studios, wouldn’t you like a large picture window overlooking
a beautiful prairie just like Jeff Oestreich?!

After visiting most of the official potters on the tour, we ran across a sign on the highway
that said “Pottery Sale” and an arrow pointing off to the side. We decided to give it a try
even though we knew they were not part of the “official” tour route. We were impressed
by this merry band of rogue potters… by their enthusiasm, signage and willingness to
become part of their own “tour.” The house was quite dilapidated, but the pots were quite
nice and very economical. From the sounds of it, our “rogue potters” were a teacher and
his students putting their work out there an capitalizing upon the hoards of pottery
enthusiasts traveling the area this weekend. BRILLIANT marketing plan!!! I love it.

We ended Pottery Tour Day Two with an evening with our friend Emily Murphy
who recently relocated up to Minneapolis from Chicago. We had dinner, toured
her house, saw her newly built studio area and some work in progress and waiting
for a kiln to finish them in… and celebrated Ian’s birthday.

It’s been a long day… and a long weekend. But I know I’ve had a wonderful trip,
and I think my parents had fun too. It’s always so inspiring to see so much great
pottery all at once. To see all of the customers coming out to support handmade craft.
To see such support for local artisans. To talk with fellow potters about their path.
To see all of the different “things” that can be made out of a simple lump of clay.
To realize that there is a larger audience out there looking for quality pottery.
Now if they would all just read this blog?! And more importantly…
How do I get “invited” to be a part of the Pottery Tour next year?!

Cold & rainy… but it didn’t dampen our spirits. We trudged out to see a LOT of pots!

The St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour is a wonderful chance to see some of the country’s
most celebrated potters all in one day… or two… or three. With seven different studio potters
opening their doors and inviting others, there are seven locations and forty-four potters
within close proximity. The tour is Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We did pretty good today –
and made it to all of the studios except for one. I’m continuing the tour tomorrow with
my friends Amy & Emily – making a second trip to each of them!

We started today at the studio of Bob Briscoe It’s a beautiful location off in the woods,
overlooking a little pond. The yard is lways full of large white tents full of pottery…
and tables & benches all around with even more pottery! Everywhere you look…
pottery!!! By some of the biggest names.

Including one of my very favorite potters… Matthew Metz. Typically you only get to
see his work, one or two pieces in a gallery, or on the pages of Ceramics Monthly. So
it’s always such a treat to see so much of his work all in one place! And have a chance
to look through them all and decide which “one?” you need to add to the collection.

And just for the record… while we’re sharing stories… I now own one of these beautiful jars!!!
Just to add to my “Matthew Metz Collection” already at home!

Other favorites… Steven Hill, Simon Levin, Suze Lindsay, Dan Anderson… the list goes on!

And these miniature porcelain vessels… so sweet, so small, so refined.
They remind me a LOT of the ceramic work by my friend Roberta Polfus!

New on the pottery tour this year, my parents’ new favorite potter: Ellen Grenadier!
Her work is a beautiful combination of slip, leaf impressions, stains and glazes.
The delicate details of the leaves are crisp & clean and quite elegant draped across the pots.

We continued the tour through the chilling rain. We made it to all but one of the studios.
At the last of our studio visits for the day, that of Guillermo Cuellar, I also met up with my
friend Amy Higgason. It was a lot of fun to get caught up, discuss the pottery and
“share our opinions” on some of the pieces. She used to be a potter at Lillstreet, but has
now moved up to Rhinelander area in Northern Wisconsin. She continues to make
beautiful pottery – check out her Pigeon Road Pottery website.

Each of the locations has its own style, its own artists, its own personality. My favorite
little bit of “personality” today was the brilliance shown at Connee Mayeron’s studio!
A little “creative problem solving” to keep the customers dry…

Let the games begin… forty-four wonderful potters all participating in one great pottery tour!
I’m going up to the Minnesota area for the weekend with my parents to participate in the
tour, see a lot of incredible work, be inspired, meet the artists… and possibly buy a few pots!

For complete details, and list of the participating potters, go to the tour website.
It’s an annual event, always over Mother’s Day Weekend. If you can’t make it this weekend,
mark your calendar for next year… and I’ll see you there!

The St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour – www.MinnesotaPotters.com

This is how I celebrated the big day on my way home from my afternoon
bike ride up to the Botanic Garden… does this even count as Mexican food?!

So tonight was the much anticipated “black tie event”… with me in my lime bow tie!
It was the annual charity fundraiser gala for the American Cancer Society. The event
was held at the Chicago Opera House – a beautiful venue for this wonderful event.

The place was filled with all the heavy-hitters… CEO’s of all the big Chicago-based
corporations, power spouses, movers & shakers, the ladies who lunch… it was a
veritable philanthropic who’s-who of Chicago… and me… a little out of place?!

It started with a reception in the theater lobby. Silent auction items everywhere,
ranging from gift baskets to spa treatments to sports tickets. From toys for kids to
mink coats to jewelry. There were also two raffle items – a large diamond ring from
Tiffany’s and a fantastic trip package to Scottsdale, Arizona.

At my dinner table, hosted by my friend Sonya from United Airlines, I ate with some
heavy-hitters from Goodman Theater, Comisky Park, the Dominican Republic Consulate
and three charities: Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer & Malaria. Rubbing elbows with the
“in crowd” was quite the change from getting all dirty in the studio! I felt so grown-up!
I actually had to wear long pants AND socks!!!

The entertainer was comedian Martin Short who got the crowd warmed-up
and ready for the main event – the live auction. Incredible “dream vacation” packages,
sports packages, all-star trips to the Academy Awards, a New York adventure to
Broadway and the Tony Awards… even a labradoodle pup was auctioned off –
all to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

All in all, it was a fun evening. Definitely a bit out of my comfort zone. It did help knowing
a couple people at my table… as well as the surprise of seeing my biking friend Nancy walk
in the door! She got a last minute invitation, so her and her husband John also came to
the gala.. unbeknownst to me. Nice surprise to see her there!

So now that I’ve been to two “Empty Bowl Projects”… I thought a little, friendly comparison
might be nice?! Kind of the pro’s and con’s of each event, so to speak. What I noticed…
what I liked… casual observations…stuff like that. Nothing too critical… just for fun!
With a little insight from “The Nancy” who is currently taking classes at Terra Incognito.

THE BOWL SIZE
One of the first things that struck me about the event tonight at Terra Incognito
was that all of the bowls were practically the same size. Approximately a one-pound bowl
for you potters out there, a single-serving soup bowl for you non-potters! You could tell that
there were some stipulations, a little guidance, a few parameters put on the bowls. Nancy
said that they even had a couple “group throws” to make a lot of the bowls where Dave Toan,
owner of Terra Incognito, donated the clay – already wedged in one-pound balls. So they just
had to throw the bowls – then someone else would finish it quickly, most with no trimming
Whereas at the Lillstreet event, you’ll find bowls of all different sizes. From soup bowls,
to pasta bowls to large serving bowls, and all the way down to miniature bowls! Fully
finished, fully decorated, all different size, all different finishes… including soda fired!

THE BOWL FINISHES
The bowls at Lillstreet are donated from all the studio artists, as well as students.
So they’ve all been “finished” by the artists before donating them. So they are all trimmed
and glazed by the artist. Apparently, the bowls at Terra were also made by students, but
not necessarily “finished” by them. A lot of the bowls were very simple. A lot were not trimmed.
Very basic bowls – yet still more than appropriate to raise money for a worthy cause.

THE PROCESS
I enjoyed how Terra Incognito had they’re event organized. As you entered, your “donated”
your $20 for a ticket. Once inside you “shopped” around for the perfect bowl. Then you
simple gave them back the ticket as you were leaving. easy in, easy out. No lines waiting
to play, no wrapping, no bagging. Just a bowl. In, out, done.

THE EXTRAS
This year, Lillstreet added a new section of Silent Auction items also donated for the cause.
So as you were exiting, you had a chance to place your bid on some of the “nicer” artworks
that had been donated. At Terra Incognito, there was one room of bowls that had been made
by students of two local high schools. Very sweet.

THE FOOD
With the First Slice Cafe being located right inside Lillstreet, they provide the soup & bread
every year for Empty Bowls. It’s nice to have the cafe that is helping disperse the donations
and help feed the hungry right there and involved in the event. In LaGrange, the local businesses
were involved and you traveled the town to repeatedly fill your bowl with food from over twenty
different restaurants. It was a lot more social, people milling about town all night long.
And a great way for other local businesses to get involved in the cause.
Did I mention the fudge?!… twice!!!

No matter how you look at it, both events are wonderful. A lot of bowls. A lot of fun.
A lot of money raised for local organizations fighting to combat hunger. The Empty Bowls
Project is a nationwide event, held at pottery locations all over the country. Just one small way
that local potters are pitching in, helping out and still throwing pots!!!

Tonight I participated in another Empty Bowls Project – a community event to help
combat hunger. And by participate, I mean donating to “buy” a bowl and EATING!!!

This time, the event was sponsored by Terra Incognito in LaGrange. Much like the event we
did earlier this year at Lillstreet Art Center. If you remember, the basic concept is that a bunch
of potters all donate ceramic bowls for the cause. Then on the night of the event, the place
is flooded with lots of people who purchase the bowls for $20 and then get it filled with food.
So they get the bowl, they get some food and they get to feel great donating to the cause!
When we arrived, the line was literally around the block with people waiting to donate!

In fact, in the photo above… you can “almost” see the bowl I picked out.
It’s in the far top corner, far right column of pots, third one down from the top.
Kind of a small teabowl shape, slightly squared off, with a nice mix & interaction
of glazes – almost crystalline, but not really… though sadly, not trimmed.

One of the coolest parts of the Terra Incognito event is that it is in conjunction with a lot
of the downtown LaGrange restaurants. So you take your bowl and set out to experience
free food from over 20 local restaurants. It’s extra fun to wander the town, see a bunch
of people filling their bowls and getting free food everywhere you go! From appetizer
bruschetta & crab cakes, to entree pizza, pasta & wings, to desserts of gelato, fudge &
cookies. Not necessarily in that order. In fact, we actually did the free fudge twice! Yum!

So I teamed up with my friend Nancy, who many of you have met as one of my art fair
assistants, and she is also the one responsible for getting me started in pottery several
years ago! But that’s a whole ‘nother story for another time! So we grouped up
with her husband and two other friends to do our charitable part…
and eat as much as we could to support the cause!