My favorite part of the THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE yesterday was the full-blown replica of Central Perk… all made out of LEGO’s!!! Fully interactive with all the furniture, details, colors & props you remember and want to play with for your photo-ops! So much fun… and SO MANY LEGOS!!!

And yes, before everyone gets weird… there was PLENTY of safety protocols in place! Full masks all the time at THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE… staggered time entry, limited group access to exhibits, social distancing and more than a LOT of cleaning stations to keep everything “Monica Clean”!!!

Yesterday I took my niece Taylor and her parents to THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE downtown. She’s a new FRIENDS fan having recently binged the entire series during the pandemic… so I knew this would be the perfect birthday gift! Especially when your friend Terry is one of the creative masterminds behind the project and gets you free tickets for the exclusive preview event!

So much fun touring through the world of FRIENDS. Central Perk. Monica’s kitchen. The window to poke Ugly Naked Guy. Joey & Chandler’s apartment. Phoebe’s guitar. The wedged sofa. Joey wearing all of his clothes at once… even the fountain & sofa from the opening credits!!! Tons of memorabilia and plenty of photo-ops along the way… PIVOT!!!

Be sure to stop by THE FRIENDS EXPERIENCE on Michigan Avenue as it opens this Wednesday, March 17th. And special thanks again to Terry for hooking us up… I love having talented FRIENDS!!!

So no one told you life was gonna be this way.
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke,
Your love life’s DOA.
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear.
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month…
Or even your year, but…
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU.

Just ran across this headline as I was pulling old newspapers out of a box in my studio to put out some wadding to stiffen-up a bit. Hard to believe it was a year ago. Hard to believe it’s still going on. Hard to believe there’s finally a glimmer of hope at the end of this very long tunnel.

I’ve been working on these pieces for awhile.
And it finally feels GREAT to call them done!

I received a request from a local Chicago customer for a special order last Summer during the shutdown. He owns & runs THE ECCENTRIC CAFE in Kalamazoo, Michigan… a part of Bell’s Brewery. Apparently, the bar has a lot of “visual intrigue”… wonderful collections & things to look at all over the place. In fact, it’s one of the only brewery pubs with NO TELEVISIONS!!!

So the request was that I would make a large “tankard” or stein for his newest collection. I LOVE making mugs… so I was definitely intrigued to tackle them on a much larger scale! He said he was “collecting them” from a few of his favorite potters around the country. So I was HONORED to be chosen to be part of his collection of favorites!!!

The request was that I can make any style, shape or form tankard “in my style”… and they had to hold more than 64-ounces! Knowing that I was going to be soda-firing them, I decided to make a couple extra just in case something goes wrong during the firing… a drip from the ceiling, a splotch of errant soda, or any other random issue that comes up while soda-firing. So here are the three finished pieces seen from both sides. Totally pleased with the finished results… and NO random soda mishaps!!!

Tankard #1 –

Tankard #2 –

Tankard #3 –

As I was making them, I was continually concerned that they wouldn’t be large enough… a minimum of 64-ounces. You know how clay shrinks when it dries… again when it gets bisque fired… and yet again when soda-fired. So I threw them fairly large with the shrinkage in mind… but after each step in the process they kept getting smaller and I kept getting more & more concerned!!! Turns out I was all good… BY FAR!!!… as each of them finished out with a volume of nearly 96-ounces each!!!

When I sent photos of them finished to Larry to choose which one he wanted… I was blown away when he said he loved them and wanted ALL THREE!!! Blown away!!! I was so excited that he loved them so much.

Last night I dropped them off … so nice to complete the commission and pass them off to the client. They will now be on their way to THE ECCENTRIC CAFE in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can’t wait to see photos of them in “the collection” when they all come together. I know a few of the other potters involved… and it’s sure to be a pretty sweet collection! And then when “things” settle down a bit this summer, I may just need to do a roadtrip to Kalamazoo to see the pottery collection in person!

Sure, we may have a new vaccine beginning, but that doesn’t mean we’re free & clear! Let’s be diligent and beat this thing… please continue to wear your mask, wash your hands, sanitize and keep 6-feet away!!! I know it’s going to be weird with another socially-distant holiday… but let’s get through this together… by getting through it alone!!!

Today is a very big day for Chicago with the first of the coronavirus vaccines being administered. I know we’ve all waited anxiously for this day… but I can’t even imagine what the past year has been like for Dr. Allison Arwady. She has been so instrumental in Chicago’s efforts during this pandemic. So it was great to see her today on TV as the first vaccines were administered. I’m sure we’re all hoping this will get us back to “normal” some time soon.

And I’m also hoping that it will make Allison’s life a bit more “normal”…so she can come back to my pottery class again!!! We haven’t seen her throwing at the wheel ever since this whole thing began. I know the studio has saved my sanity through all of this… I can only imagine how much Allison needs a little “clay therapy” these days!!!

Thank You again for all you’ve done for the City of Chicago Allison!!! We all hope to see you soon… at a pottery wheel and NOT in front of a scary chart or graph!!!

A touching epilogue from Melissa
who won the Silent Auction yesterday…

“I’m so glad you’re happy and that your auction was a success! My mom passed away three years ago and I’ve been looking for the perfect place to memorialize her for myself and for my two sisters. Your work showed up in my Instagram feed under the hashtag “cardinal” and here we are. Right place, right time.”

Amazing what a simple hashtag can do. Obviously things were meant to work out the way they did yesterday. Such a fitting tribute – a full circle moment for this entire “Cardinal Commission” project. It has been quite fulfilling & touching at so many moments along the way. Thank you to everyone who has been along on this journey with me.

So we’re currently eleven days into my TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS POTTERY SALE… and here’s a little “teaser” of the special event headed your way tomorrow to celebrate Day Twelve!!! And no, that’s NOT a partridge in a pear tree… but close…