One of my stamped & soda-fired totem poles down in Central Illinois getting ready for Fall. Plants are withering & leaves are starting to turn & fall… love seeing this through the seasons!

Looks like it’s TOTEM TUESDAY! And it looks like Gerry & Rosene’s garden is doing great this summer… beautiful flowers all around their totem pole. Stamped & soda-fired pottery is always a nice addition to the garden!

Always fun to see a stamped & soda-fired totem pole in the snow!
Sure, not a full snowstorm… but a pretty dusting nonetheless.

A fun day for candy overload & spooky Fall decorations! Like this creepy skeleton with one of my totem poles all draped in spider webs!!! Thanks for the photo Chris!

One of my best friends from high school got married after college, moved around a bit and ended up in St. Louis. She was home visiting her Mom a few weeks back… and happened to see these in front of a house in Elk Grove Village! She was excited & confused… is that Gary’s pottery in front of someone’s house???

So when Anna called a couple weeks ago, she asked about them… a weird coincidence that she would just “happen upon” this… AND recognize them as mine… as she was cutting through a subdivision not even close to her Mom’s place?!

Turns out she drove past my friend Chris’ place in EGV… proud owner of one of my stamped & soda-fired totem poles! And now, a great “small world” story with my friends Anna & Chris!

Some beautiful spring flowers gracefully dancing in front of the one of my stamped & soda-fired totem poles down in Central Illinois… is there such a thing as #TotemPoleTuesday?!

And sure, there may have been a bit of April snow this morning…
but it looks like Spring is still holding strong!

Looks like another beautiful, snow-covered day down in Peoria.
So cozy. So serene. So snowy. Until you look a little bit closer…
and what do you see???

Hidden deep inside the snowy branches…. still standing…

The new “replacement” totem pole that I made for Gerry & Rosene after their first totem pole got smashed by a falling tree! Luckily, it looks like this one is okay… but WHEW!!!… that was a close call!!! I think they might need to buy a lotto ticket with that kinda luck!

It’s beginning to look LOT like Christmas!!!… EVERYwhere you go! So festive & fun to see how one of my ceramic totem poles is now surrounded by Christmas Cheer!!! It’s a crazy mix of holiday fun out in the suburbs these days!!! Thanks Chris!

Clear blue skies made a perfect opportunity for a beautiful afternoon bike ride! Including a stop at the totem pole at Lake Shore Drive & Addison… a favorite landmark for many Chicagoans!

It was great to see my most recent totem pole still standing in the garden this past weekend… even though the plants have all withered away. The soda-fired colors are a nice contrast to the browns of the ground & bare trees. It will be especially fun to see it again when the snow starts to fall.