There I was… only a few more days with Flat Stanley. He still needed to see the Big City!
So we pedaled towards Navy Pier to start his big adventure! Posing in front of the iconic
Ferris Wheel that Taylor got to ride last summer.

We also pedaled along the Chicago River and made it to Michigan Avenue.
Stanley was impressed by the big buildings… especially the gleaming white Wrigley Building!

Over the river, he was greeted by Marilyn Monroe… or at least a huge sculpture of her
in the infamous dress & stance from “Seven Year Itch.” And… for the record…
I have NO IDEA why she’s even here in Chicago?!!!! Or when she’s leaving?…

Across the plaza from Marilyn Monroe is the beautiful Chicago Tribune Building.
Striking gothic architecture with incredible “inclusions” mortared into the facade…
pieces & parts for other famous & historic buildings around the world.

Also in the Tribune Towers… the WGN Radio station! You can see the broadcasters
through the window as they work. And Stanley climbing out of my bike bag!

Then, further up Michigan Avenue, Stanley found two of his favorite friends…
and Taylor’s favorites as well! Always a happy moment when you see Mickey & Minnie
greeting you at The Disney Store.

Next we were off to the historic Chicago Water Tower. A beautiful brick building reportedly
one of the few that survived the Great Chicago Fire. Actually, I think it was the building
across the street that survived the fire… but who’s counting?!

And a trip to downtown Chicago would not be complete without a stop for some chocolate!
Sadly, they weren’t open yet… shucks…  I guess Stanley’s tour was not quite complete!

By the time that our tour had finished, I was running late. And we still needed to pedal
all the way home… into the wind!!! Needless to say, I was exhausted and running late.
I actually sent a text message to the “glitter gig” to tell them I would be coming in later.
And I blamed it all on Flat Stanley and his Big Adventure!!!

With my next soda kiln less than two weeks away, it’s time to start making some of the taller
pieces that will go on the top shelves… and follow the curve of the roof quite nicely. These
large slab vases are a lot of fun to make with different textures on each side of each vase.

Now that they’re all stamped and ready to start drying, I just need to add some colored
slip details on them. Good thing Flat Stanley stopped by to help!

Yep, my first grade niece Taylor read one of the “Flat Stanley” books and is now watching
Stanley travel around. I received Flat Stanley in the mail yesterday and have about a week
to capture his travels and exploits around the city. I thought it only fitting that Flat Stanley’s
first stop would have to be the studio where Taylor loves to play in the mud!
Apparently Flat Stanley like to play in the mud too!

Soon we were inside and visually overwhelmed – just like everyone else there! We toured
pretty much the entire Museum, starting in the original part with Japanese arts & ceramics,
Indian artifacts, glass paperweights, tapestries, furniture and so much more. We went down
to the Garden Cafe, past the Chagall Stained Glass windows… which were unfortunately
obstructed for routine maintenance. After lunch, we headed to the fun stuff… Picasso, Monet,
Gauguin, Cezzane, O’Keefe, Van Gogh, and the rest of the Masters! As always, the highlight
for most kids is Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grand Jatte.”

We also worked out way through the sculptures and the Chicago architectural pieces by
Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. The beautiful Sullivan gates were a perfect photo op
for Taylor & Stanley… apparently, “T” is for Taylor!

Before we left the original Museum space, we did stop off at the Thorne Miniature Rooms.
What little 7-year old doesn’t like exquisitely made, masterpiece doll houses?!

Then, we went over to the new Modern Wing of the Museum. I question a lot of what’s there…
I think my sister was hoping that I would be able to “explain” some of the things they call “art”
in the Modern Wing. Sadly, I couldn’t. I’ve never subscribed to the concept of “I’m an artist
and therefore anything I make is art.” Seriously, some of them are drop cloths! Or scribbles!
And even if I don’t quite “get it, I would still appreciate it if the craftsmanship was well-done.
Apparently, that didn’t matter for the American Modern Artists. At least the European’s I can
appreciate. Maybe not like them, but at least admire them for what they are. Picasso, Dali,
Kandinsky, Giaccometti, Goncharova… and my favorite Surrealist Rene Magritte!

And here’s our tools for the day. Yum… and more yum!

We all started out making our chocolate pizzas. The “crust” was a layer of milk chocolate.
Followed by “sauce” of candy jimmies, “sausage” of gummie worms, “garlic” of M&Ms,
more sprinkles, more chocolate, more gummies, more fun and a drizzle of white chocolate
“parmesan cheese” to top it all off. Layers & layers of yummy goodness.

Imagine a room full of seven year old all hopped up on sugar! Too funny!!! And if you
look closely… you’ll also see my parents working in chocolate too! Taylor made sure that
her Grandma & Grandpa were playing in the mix. So focused on their yummy projects.

So here is Taylor’s masterpiece pizza… with lots of toppings! Many of them chocolate!!!

And here’s mine! We’ll just call it my “late night snack”…

Once the pizzas were done and off to the side, we switched to making chocolate
“ice cream cones” using plastic candy molds. Here’s Taylor working diligently to make her
chocolate treats just perfect! Drizzling chocolate, sprinkling candies and more!

It was a great birthday party for Taylor and several of her school friends.
They were all so cute. So funny. Playing. Working. Teasing. Interacting. Creating.
So focused in the beginning, a little looser and animated as they “snuck” more chocolate
into their mouths, and by the end… it was a real party!!!

And the best part… besides playing with Taylor the birthday girl…
is taking home a box full of chocolates that I’ve created for myself!!! Yummy…

Click here more information about The Morkes Original Party.
Morkes: The Chocolate Shop – 180 North Rand Road, Palatine, IL 60074 – (847) 359-3454

And then

I love it. I know I’m kinda partial… but I think she’s got some real talent here!

Part of the fun is being in the Barn. It’s nice to be “protected” from the elements.
Plus I had a double-booth again this year, so I have plenty of space to spread out.
Which is a nice perk, but also a lot more work. A lot more shelves to shlepp out.
A lot more pots to make, price & pack. A lot more needed to fill the double space!
And it’s always so fun to see my latest pieces all set out & ready to go!

But after all of our hard work, my parents and I finally had the space all put together…
and ready for the onslaught of customers today! The weather turned out to be great.
Just a couple raindrops, but not enough to get wet. Dark clouds, but no storms!
Which turned out to be great shopping weather for those who came out to the Barn!

Another benefit of “Art In The Barn” is that I look at it as the official kick-off of my Fall season.
Now don’t get me wrong… I love Fall. But I also love Summer, and have a really tough time
admitting to myself that Summer may be coming to an end. The hospital folks who organize
“Art In The Barn” do such a great job decorating the place with hay bales, corn stalks,
pumpkins, gourds & mums that you can’t help but realize that it is indeed Fall.
It makes my work look pretty sweet too! I love the Fall color palette… and monsters too!

Special thanks to everyone who came out to “Art In The Barn” today. It was great to see
so many familiar faces… friends, family and loyal fans. Including my sister & her husband
who brought my niece Taylor. She loves coming to the art fairs, helping out wherever she
can, and this time, sporting a vibrant new hairstyle left-over from a “rock & roll” themed
birthday party the night before! She was surely rockin’ her new look much to the chagrin
of Mom & Dad. At the fair all day, as well as our family dinner that followed.

I had wonderful day in Barrington.
And look forward to another one tomorrow…

And then, after letting the slip dry for a few minutes, we carefully peeled out the leaves
to reveal the leaf reliefs!

Next we took our slabs and draped them over a few handmade “frame” molds. After pressing
the slabs carefully into place, we trimmed off the excess edges & finished them off. They are
now set to dry… and after they’re fired, I will glaze the plates in the their “chosen” glaze color!

We headed down to Navy Pier to continue her fun day in Chicago!

Little did she know it, but I had also arranged for her to attend a surprise performance
of “Cirque Shanghai Extreme” on the Skyline Stage on Navy Pier. My friend Kim is the
Production Manager, and she graciously “hooked us up” for the show! And Taylor loved it…
she was mesmerized during the show. Especially when the acrobats came out over
the audience and performed just feet above her!

And then, oh but wait there’s more… after the show, Kim also took Taylor under her wing
and with a nod & a wave, Taylor got a complimentary stuffed panda. Which was then
autographed by a couple of the acrobats! And then… Kim also asked if we wanted to go
backstage to see some of the props, costumes and the large globe cage!!!  And after seeing
four motorcycles all driving around & flipping around inside the cage, it was very cool
to go inside… sans motorcycles!

But her evening wasn’t over yet… once she saw the huge Ferris Wheel on the Pier, it was somewhat inevitable that we would be going for a ride. So we were once again “hooked up” and hopped on the ride – slowly taking us up well above Navy Pier. With fantastic views of the city and lake all around us!

But the fun continued… as it was Wednesday night, which also means Fireworks!!!
Yep, every Wednesday & Saturday night we’re treated to fireworks over the lake!
And with that… her magical Claydate Playdate had come to an end…

I’m pretty confident she had a wonderful time.
Okay, except for the moment when she found out she was just an inch too short
for the flying swings ride!!! But that was “corrected” with a huge swirled lollipop
for the drive home!

After dinner, I did get out for a quick bike ride to pedal off today’s extra calories.
Luckily, my six-year old niece Taylor had brought her bike too. And now that she’s
excited to not be riding with training wheels anymore, we were off to the park
and around the neighborhood. For a true beginner, she’s off to a strong start!

She’s apparently been saving “supplies” in a drawer for awhile now, much to the
chagrin of her somewhat neat-nikish father Scott! But she finally made her vision
come true. With a beautiful art fair booth for me!!! Complete with snow-covered roof,
falling snowflakes, a Christmas tree and curled ribbon garlands.. that she had saved
from her Christmas presents! Adorable.

And being the great Grandparents… how can you let a Christmas “hint” like that go by?!
So they got her the “huge” dollhouse she pointed out in the catalog. It’s apparently
sized for Barbie dolls, which also makes it taller than Taylor herself!!! It was camouflaged
in an oversized Christmas present. No gift tag. No name. But I think she may have guessed.
We all made her wait all day… for the final gift unveiling!

So I made her four different sets of “dinner plates” and two oval platters!
Each set with a different texture, pattern & glaze color. She’s been to the studio several
times and loves playing in the clay. She loves to flip-over all of my pieces to make sure
my signature is there. So yes.. I made sure to sign each little plate!

She was excited as she opened her present… and then proceeded to put plates in every
room of the house… on the porch… on the bed… and luckily, even the dining room table!