Celebrating a little Texture Tuesday with layers of paint, rust & who knows what else???…
love it … plus, orange is my favorite color!!!

Sure, we finally got some beautiful sunrise reflections… but I’m getting a little tired of this Canadian wildfire haze still hanging around Chicago. The hazy horizon, the delayed sunrise & the glowing red sun. It was cool at first… but I’m ready for some clear skies & colorful clouds again! Just sayin’…

Celebrating NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DAY
with a quick snack after teaching class.

And thinking of my Mom who used to bring homemade cookies
to almost every art fair!!! Such sweet memories…

Tonight in class, one of my students returned after two weeks traveling in Australia & Los Angeles. It was great to have Michael back… and luckily his pots were still leatherhard for trimming… and, oh but wait there’s more… he also brought some OREOs back from Australia for us!!! Thanks Michael!

Beautiful back porch begonias blooming today!

Another red sun morning with the Canadian wildfire smoke still hanging around over the lake. Wispy clouds creating colorful reflections waiting to reveal a big “red ball” of a sunrise!

Spent today playing hooky with my cousin Kim. We had a lot of great adventures & laughs along the way. We ended up at her place… where I saw her peach tree FULL of peaches. Too many peaches? Is there such a thing?… yes! They were EVERYWHERE!!! I can’t even imagine stepping out my back door to find hundreds of peaches at arms length. Crazy!!!

And yes… of course she sent me home with a bunch of homegrown peaches!!! So yummy!!!

It’s hard to believe that in just two weeks I’ll be up north teaching a pottery workshop on ALASKA!!! Huge thanks to the Fairbanks Potters Guild for inviting me for this “bucket list” adventure!!! I can’t wait to finally see Alaska… I’ve heard such great things. Plus, I get to meet new potters & share my own pottery adventures with them for two days. Anyone else ready for an impromptu “adventure“ to Alaska to join in the fun? It’s not too late!!!

So excited to have some black-eyed susan’s blooming in my garden!!! For those that have followed me for awhile, know how I’ve struggled. For years I’ve tried to grow them as they’re one of my all-time favorite flowers. But to no avail. Everyone said they’re so easy to grow. That they’re too invasive. That they’ll spread all over in no time. To which I said “Yes please!”

But year after year I would get nothing.

No matter if I planted plants, or seeds, or divided pieces from friend’s gardens… I tried EVERYTHING!!! So imagine my excitement now that I seem to have three plants that have “survived” and are now in their third year!!! And they’re FLOWERING!!! I’m hoping I’ve broken the curse?!!!

Same stamp on a large platter! More surface to decorate means more impressions! A larger platter with one stamp… pressed in one by one by one… over & over & over again!!!