Day Two at the Evanston Lakeshore Arts Festival.
Shelves are restocked, ClayQuilt tile boards have been replenished… and we’re kicking off the day with a NEW sales receipt book. Day One, book one. Day Two… here’s hoping we fill up another one today!!!

Soon to be part of a few collaboration pieces I’m working on with my friend Cory McCrory!!!
Parts & pieces are coming together… mark your calendar for “Art In The Garden”
if you want to see the finished “Limited Edition” pieces. August 30th & 31st.

Okay, so here’s an update…
My good friend Cory McCrory and I have decided to do a creative collaboration!
She’s a wonderful artist… full of whimsical imagery, colorful surfaces and beautiful textures. We’re both participating in the same art fair during the last weekend of August. So we thought it might be fun to do a project together just for this show!!!

Art In The Garden – Saturday, August 30th & Sunday, August 31st.
At the home… err, in the garden of our mutual friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor.
More details to come…

So… since this show has a garden theme of sorts, Cory & I decided to work together to make a limited edition of collaborative “garden” pieces. We’ve worked together to develop the plan. Brainstorming ideas. Working on the whimsy. Getting it all started. Cory has her pieces in the works & under wraps, and I’ve started to work on my part of the project tonight. Here’s a hint… with more to come…

I unloaded my cone 6 glaze kiln last night… just a couple, last-minute pieces that will be headed to the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival this weekend. Here’s the top layer with lots of colorful promise…

Layer two didn’t look too bad either… a new batch of textured tiles!

Just as I thought I might be getting somewhere with my glazing…
I unloaded another kiln and now have a LOT more bisque to keep working on!!!
SO it almost seems like I have more bisque NOW than before I started?! Two steps back…

And not only will the tiles get glazed… but they also need a little ball of wadding glued on the bottom of every single one of them!!! Ah yes, the glamorous side of soda firing…

Okay, so now I have “official” Fire When Ready Pottery Pinterest boards you can follow.

Yes, I’ve been snowed in and uploading all day.
Five different Pinterest boards full of my pottery images for you to pin & share!
Just do a quick Pinterest Search for the following…

Fire When Ready Pottery

Fire When Ready: Stamping

Fire When Ready: Mugs

Fire When Ready: Tiles

Fire When Ready: Textures

And more to come… although I’m still not sure what I’m doing?!

Deck the halls, walls, trees… and custom tiled fireplaces! If you look closely, behind the “festivities” is a textured tile fireplace I did a few years back for my friend Chris. Sure, I bet they all want their stockings right up front for Santa to see… but I’d like for him to see more of the fireplace!!!

And a quick peek at the fireplace when we first finished it without all of the “festivities” in place!

The sun is shining and the shelves are restocked.
Lots of great art & many of “My Talented Friends” all around.
Bring on the customers! Bring on the fun!!!

Nothing says “time to go to bed” better than a dining room full of freshly stained & varnished wood. More varnish layers tomorrow, then some tiles adhered Friday… and we’ll have some new ClayQuilts for this weekend’s art fair! Right down to the wire… and maybe some vivid dreams tonight from the fumes?!

After setting up in Hinsdale, I made it home in time to put some finishing touches on a few more new ClayQuilts. Arranging my handmade tiles onto boards to hang on the wall. Glueing them down so they’re dried and ready to take to the art fair in the morning. You know how tough it is to make them look so random???