A few more shots of this year’s collection of Holiday Mugs… just in time for this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW!!! New stamped & soda-fired mugs with a string of Holiday Lights… as well as some mugs with Christmas Trees & star toppers… kinda like last year’s holiday mugs!

Here’s the first sneak peek… this year’s NEW Christmas Mugs with stamped holiday lights. And a few more mugs with Christmas Trees in case you didn’t get one last year! Although this time there are some stars on top too! All coming to this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW… limited quantities, so come early!!!

Fresh out of the kiln… a batch of fun colored mugs for another Mugshot Monday!!! Each & every one will be at my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW this weekend!!! Along with a few more… as we’ll be starting out with over a hundred mugs when the doors open Saturday morning!!!

Looks like Matthew is supporting his favorite team… and going GREEN ON GREEN!!!
Healthy greens in a stamped & soda-fired bowl.

The holiday lights are now “illuminated” with assorted colored slips. Some multicolored, some limited color assortments. Just trying to get them all ready for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW… always the weekend before Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 22nd & Sunday, November 23rd. 10:00am-6:00pm.
Mark your calendars!!!

Last night in my Beginning Wheel class, we were celebrating the end of the Fall session with a potluck… as we like to do. The theme was “dips & the vehicle to get it into your mouth.” I made my friend Kelly’s favorite recipe “Texas Caviar”… and had just the perfect bowl to serve it in along with tortilla chips!

Thank You… Thank You… THANK YOU!!!

I couldn’t be more thankful to all of the people that made my Alaska Adventure possible up in Fairbanks earlier this summer. I had the best time experiencing Alaska… and getting there to teach a two-day workshop for the Fairbanks Potters Guild was a “great excuse” to go to Alaska. So huge, HUGE THANKS… and a couple Thank You gifts that followed…

To Theresa who scheduled, organized, facilitated, chauffeured & tour guided my whole experience. She literally took a week off work to take me all around Alaska to see the sights on her own time. Amazing. So I hope she enjoys adding a teapot to her collection!

To Tammy & Matt who hosted the workshop at her Raven City Studios, provided a LOT of clay, plenty of tools, hosted dinners & even took me hiking!

And to Ida… my favorite! I told her while I was here that I believe every studio should have their own Ida. She obviously has more ceramics knowledge than any of us. She was a steady “support” for me with her knowing glances, her nods of approval, her offering assistance & overall making me feel like I was doing a good job throughout my workshop experience. I’m guessing she’s the matriarch of the group… an probably doesn’t always get the accolades as she should. So there… YOU’RE THE BEST IDA!!!

It has also been fun after teaching my workshop in Fairbanks, Alaska… to see some of the glazed results of the local potters there. Like these beauties from Bianca of WILLOW STUDIOS in Ester, Alaska. Many of them with some nice stamping & one hybrid mug using one of my favorite textured rollers from MKM Pottery Tools. It was so much fun to share my techniques… but even more fun to see them carry on into finished pottery! Nicely done Bianca!!!

Hard to believe that it has already been three months since my Alaskan adventure!

Traveling to Fairbanks to teach a two-day workshop with the Fairbanks Potters Guild. We had such a great weekend playing in the clay together. It was such a great group of potters all ready to share ideas, tips & tricks! We had a great time… and I’m looking forward to “taking my show on the road” more often in the future.

If anyone else is looking for a Chicago potter to come to your studio, art center or pottery guild… keep me in mind! We made so many pots in just two days. We made stamps… made mugs… made platters… made bowls… and made memories for a lifetime!

Just finished doing a bit of quick garden work… a tiny clean-up before the bad weather hits tomorrow! Back porch plants safely tucked away in the basement… and I pulled off the last of my yellow cherry tomatoes before chopping down the plant. Kinda hoping a few more of these will ripen in a sunny window??!