The gourds are looking even better… now with some accents of colored flashing slips! Can’t wait to see what these look like when they come out of my next soda kiln firing!!! I have high hopes…

You know how much I love to see these four letters!!! My bisque kiln just clicked off… so now I’m hoping that it cools fast enough that I can start glazing some of the contents tomorrow after summer camp. Fingers crossed… but it is packed pretty tight…

My summer campers just left for the day… so now it’s back to glazing & wadding more mugs! Yes, it’s the last week of summer camp… and I’m trying to glaze & finish a full soda kiln at the same time. Days with the kids, nights in my studio!

Apparently a BIG yellow flower needs a special stamped & soda-fired vase of its own!!! Thanks for sharing this beauty Rosene!

After yesterday’s afternoon huge storm blowing though Chicago… I came home to find this huge branch ripped out of the tree and resting on my side garden area. The maple tree has been here for years, but has leaves that were drying out from out dry Summer. The City had already come through to get the debris off the sidewalks… so they’ve chopped up the huge branch, moved it to the curb, and there it sits… now unclear what will happen with the rest of the tree that is still standing?!

SUNRISE DELAYED… but worth the wait.
With one large cloud hovering over the horizon, our sunrise was delayed this morning. But when the sun finally peeked over the top, the color & shimmering reflections were well worth the wait!

While everything else is speeding along in the studio… racing towards my next firing… I did find time to make some more gourds!!! I mean, pumpkins are cool… but I personally think gourds are even cooler!!!

Time to “cook” some pumpkins! Just loading one last bisque kiln before this weekend’s soda firing. Lots of pumpkins going in… hopefully all DRY so we don’t have any pumpkin explosions this time around?!

A quiet morning along the lakefront… a lot quieter than yesterday! Didn’t have 7,000 athletes crowding the lakefront for the CHICAGO TRIATHLON. Instead, just some low-flying cloud cover… with a little sunrise trying to work itself through. A great start to the day… and a chance to work some of that lactic acid out of my muscles from yesterday’s race!