Another morning of perfectly clear skies. A nice orange ombre’ as the sun slowly crested the horizon. A bit chillier than yesterday, but it’s supposed to warm up this afternoon.

By the end of class tonight, I came away with this beautiful pie plate made by Christine… a former student who just wanted to be part of our game!!! And the last of Martin’s tart cherry pie-lets?… pocket pie?… fold-over… ??? Well, whatever you call them… they were AMAZING!!! And look pretty amazing in Christine’s retro striped pie plate too!!! Great game, great potluck & such talented students this session!!!

For our final class tonight, my students had a challenge… to make a functional pie dish in class to “trade, exchange & steal” as part of our White Elephant game. Sadly, one of them didn’t get glazed in time… so it turned into a pitcher for the game. And sadly I missed getting photos of a couple as they got wrapped to go pretty darn quick!

And there it is… hot out of the oven & just in time for the potluck at tonight’s Wheelthrowing class!!! A fun pie that tastes, smells & looks like apple pie… with absolutely NO APPLES!!! No apples, no apple juice, no applesauce… nothing!!! Just a bunch of boiled crackers!!! Go figure… but in a handmade pie dish to make it look a little nicer!

You gotta know the pressure I was under… knowing the Martin our “Top Baker” would be judging my efforts. I figured I could never win with a “real” pie… but maybe some bonus points for this quirky throwback recipe?!

Tonight was the last class for my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class… with a potluck to celebrate!
So I had to step-up and throw something together quick before class!!!

Still boiling… it’s coming together. Soon to be pie filling!!!

With sun streaming through the window, it looks like a great time for a Monstera Monday!

A beautiful morning along the lakefront… not a cloud in the sky! Clear skies & warmer weather made it quiet & serene along the lake. Without the clouds to play with… you gotta “get creative” with the morning photos. And I LOVE the ones with the seed pods in the sunshine!!!

Glazing & loading… time to add another shelf and LOT more trees!
This is just the glaze first kiln… I think I might try to squeeze in two more glaze kilns
before next weekend! Dare to dream…

So, sure I should be in the studio glazing…
or sure, I should be at home setting up for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW...
but c’mon… it’s another gorgeous Fall day in Chicago!!!…
and I couldn’t say “NO” to my bike!!!

Especially when there are small pockets that still have trees holding onto their leaves!
Won’t last for long… enjoy it while you can! I can “work” later tonight, right???

There’s been a forest “growing” in my studio… festive trees in line for some glazing fun tonight! Gotta get these moving if they’re going to be ready for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW next weekend! That’s the plan anyway…