Tons of textures & colors at the Shepherds Harvest Festival. Lots to look at… even more to touch & feel. Such a tactile explosion for those of us who tend to touch everything! Lots of wool & yarns… but also some things I never thought I’d see?! Like the last photo… fish skin leathers!!!

This Saturday morning before returning to the Pottery Tour, I met up with two of my students who were also touring. But we made a little “detour” to the “Shepherds Harvest : Sheep & Wool Festival” on the way up from the Twin Cities. There were all kinds of sheep, a few llamas & sheep… and plenty of people shopping for wool, yarn & felting supplies! Very fun, but we kinda stood out like a sore thumb… as we’re pottery people… NOT sheep people!!!

And our new best friend… who rocked the llama hat better than Katie!!!

While in Minneapolis, early Saturday morning I went over to Continental Clay to pick-up my order. Ed was waiting for me on the loading dock… ready to load my car with two kinds of clay! Lots of boxes spread evenly… weighing down the car! So nice of Paula & Ed to schedule a Saturday pick-up for me while the store is only open Monday-Friday!

And you can’t really call it “a collection” with just ONE… so… this little sweetie came home too!!! Such amazing sgraffito line-work on such a small piece of porcelain pottery. Just for the record, this little pot is only 2.5-inches tall. Another AMAZING piece from Becky Lloyd from North Carolina… and already thinking about what might piece join these two next year?!

Okay, so I “may” have done a little more damage while shopping at the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. I’ve followed Becky Lloyd on Instagram for awhile now… and have been amazed by her detailed sgraffito work. I saw her pieces for the first time last year during the tour… and have thought about them every since! Dare I say coveted? So this weekend I felt myself slipping… sensing the start of a new collection… and YES, I took this amazing piece home with me!!! The sgraffito carving is so tight & precise… and so tiny in spaces that it looks gray, not black & white… until you look really close and see that there are still individual carving lines there!!! BEAUTIFUL… and I’m so excited to own this stunner now!!!

Be sure to check her out on Instagram – @beckylloydyogamama

Okay, I couldn’t decide… so I got TWO!

Two sides to two cups to add to my already overwhelming Matthew Metz collection! Especially loving Matt’s new spiral texture technique of carving textures “behind” all of the slip & sgraffito carving!

Cup #1 –

Cup #2 –

Two of my students made the trek up to The St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour… and found a great photo-op when they swung by The Rogue Potters! You know how the movie “Ghost” is kind of the bane of a potter’s existence?!… and how that song & movie get referenced at the start of almost every session?! Well, I guess if you can’t beat ’em… join ’em?!!! – – – Well played Katie & Jen!

Driving the Pottery Tour… there’s another great “unofficial” spot along the way! Just north of the Taylor’s Falls area, a fun group of local potters have set themselves up with a bunch of sandwich board signs to draw the people in! THE ROGUE POTTERS are a fun bunch of potters… with one of the coolest wood-firing kilns around. I swear one strong breeze might take it down, even though Randal says he’s tightened it up a bit with some new steelwork. Still a great, well-used & well-loved kiln!

To see more about THE ROGUE POTTERS… http://www.roguepotters.com/

So many pots. So many surfaces. So many different approaches to decorating your pottery surfaces. Here’s a collection of some of the ones that caught my eye during the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. Too much eye-candy to capture all of them… but so much fun to try!

For more St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour info… www.minnesotapottery.com

With the Minnesota weather being a little colder than Chicago’s… it was fun to see their crabapple trees just starting to bloom as ours are already starting to peter-out. These two flowering trees were at Guillermo’s stop along the Minnesota Pottery Tour.