Yesterday I had a great visit with a pottery hobbyist from Lawrence, Kansas who follows me on Facebook… and my blog! Marsi and her partner David were in Chicago for the first time… and I was towards the top of their “must see” list. We had a great visit & tour of Lillsteet. We shared stories, anecdotes & pottery encouragement… and then she shared these sweet little pots with me! Inspired by my stamping techniques she has seen online. Always fun to meet some of your social media “friends” in person! Thanks for making the trip Marsi… hope you had fun too!

With the recent passing of The Pope, there has been a lot of news about the pomp & circumstance of what follows. On a pre-scheduled flight to Rome, my friend Trish had an opportunity to travel to The Vatican for the official viewing ceremonies. Surprisingly enough, Trish & her fellow flight attendant friend got caught-up with the News Crew to share their thoughts & impressions of it all!!!

FYI… Trish is on the left!

This week in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled underglaze transfers. I’m not a huge fan of the pre-made & purchased versions… so we “doodled” & made our own! Black underglaze outlines on paper… then filled in with colorful underglazes. Once they dried, we applied them to our leatherhard pieces just like a temporary tattoo! Wet with a sponge & press gently with a soft rib. Peel way the paper gently & the image had transferred to our pots. We had a lot of fun… and saw that there’s a bit of a learning-curve here. Kudos to those potters on Instagram that do this technique so flawlessly… we all have new-found respect!!!

Swirls of ombre’ blended slip…
and then some geometric sgraffito carvings.over the top.
A quick textured rim & a layer of clear glaze… voila’!!!

For tonight’s SURFACE DECORATION class, I told my students to have some leatherhard pieces ready to play with. Looks like “someone”… me… might not have done their homework on time. Any wagers on whether I can get these freshly-thrown pieces to leatherhard in time for class??? You know I love a good challenge!!!

A warm morning with nothing but beautifully rippled reflections along the lakefront.
An AMAZING way to start the day!

Woke up to rain this morning… but with April Showers come… ummm?…
DANDELIONS!!! And I’m here for it.
Might be a weed… but still a colorful sign that Spring is here!!!

Just a little fun with bricks & shadows on a sunny afternoon Texture Tuesday!!!

Clear skies, warm breezes & calm water… what could be better?!
Oh yeah, maybe a great sunrise reflection at the end???

This might be the best & funniest Facebook comment I’ve ever gotten?! I don’t think that I’ve been compared to “AI” before?… but I’m kinda flattered in a weird way!!!