This project is for the BIRDS… quite literally!!! Yes, for this year at ART IN THE GARDEN I’m making a collection of birdhouses! Textured terra cotta with angled roofs & rings to hang them from… even ventilation holes under the eaves! Thus the power drill…

A little last-minute “pumpkintizing” going on in the studio… painting them with some smooth orange flashing slip in preparation for this weekend’s soda kiln firing.

Looks like Kristin Conneely has been busy working her “mosaic magic” in her studio… still working on some collaboration pieces for ART IN THE GARDEN. It’s always so cool to see how different artists re-imagine things you’ve made for years… giving them a breath of fresh air!!! Can’t wait to see the finished pieces… September 9th & 10th in Glenview!

For more info… www.grassrootsartfair.com

With dark clouds in the sky, you could literally hear the drama as I pedaled up to the lakefront. Waves crashing in all around. Yet timing is everything… and hard to stop taking photos when there are so many picture-perfect splashes. The challenge is catching them… as timing is everything. So there are still a lot of photos here… fifty-three… but I think I did a pretty good job of narrowing it down from the 169 photos I came home with!!! You’re welcome…

So I gave some porcelain platters & bowls to Amy Taylor with a band of black underglaze around the rims. I also gave her a couple of my favorite DiamondCore Tools for her to play with. Looks like she’s been doing some amazing sgraffito work for our collaboration pieces for ART IN THE GARDEN in Glenview. We’re all trying to finish up our collaborations as we’re just a week and a half away… mark you calendars for September 9th & 10th!

Click here for more info – https://www.grassrootsartfair.com/

Celebrating another TEXTURE TUESDAY… with some textured terra cotta! All of these fun textures will be part of the collaboration project I’m doing with Cory McCrory this year for ART IN THE GARDEN. They’re coming together nicely… can’t wait to share more teaser photos! And what’s with the big round holes???

Stopped by Kristin Conneely’s mosaic studio the other day. I just love seeing where artists make their magic happen! Of course she’s got a beautiful assortment of colors, tiles & shards… including some amazing glass shards from our glass-fusing friend Robin Kittleson. So fun to see them sharing supplies… as we introduced them to each other during this spring’s “4×4 : Four Makers Show.” Robin has a ton of leftover shards & scraps from her amazing fused glass pieces… and it just works out perfect that Kristin uses “shards & scraps” in her mosaic masterpieces! Come see Kristin’s incredible mosaics at ART IN THE GARDEN on September 9th & 10th in Glenview!

Another morning, another ride, another sunrise. And a perfect chance to work some of that lingering lactic acid out of my legs. A quiet start to the day… plus some “structural” sunrise fun with the set-up for the AVP Beach Volleyball Tournament down at Oak Street Beach this weekend.

It might be kinda late… but I’m feeling really great about getting all of these handles attached! One step closer to getting these “hybrid” mugs in the soda kiln this weekend… oh wait... colored slip, dry, bisque, glaze, wad, load… a lot of steps still to go!!!

Score, slip, attached… repeat.
And repeat, repeat, repeat… and repeat again!!!