Continuing my “Welcome to Fairbanks Tour”… we also stopped by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). We’ve all heard about the Alaskan Pipeline… but who knew parts of it were above ground? Not me!!! As a Midwesterner, I guess I assumed it was all underground. Even crazier, it is built with these support beams that allow the actual tube to “slide” around throughout the seasons. Wait, what?… it moves??? And oh, but wait there’s more… the weird “tuning fork” pylons are there to help keep the ground under the pipeline cold enough all year long so it doesn’t sink into the melting ground. And, the weird “missle” thing is used to run up & down inside the tube to clean it out!!! So much going on here… I had no idea!!!

After Theresa picked my up at the Fairbanks Airport, we went out to lunch and then North Pole, Alaska. Okay, so it might not be the “real” North Pole… but this cute little town is all decked out for Christmas year-round!

This gift shop seemed to be the main attraction. Complete with a huge Santa Clause, oversized Christmas Tree, reindeer & some painted tiles around the store. Cute… quaint… thematic… but it all looks like it coulda used a nice re-hab a few decades ago!

Okay, here we go!!! Welcome back to ALASKA!!! I’ve been spending a lot of time editing & cleaning out some of my photos… I “may have” taken far too many photos???… if that’s even possible??? And I finally think I’m ready to start sharing my ALASKA Adventure… through some quick photos & stories! We’re going chronological… starting at the beginning! So here go… giddy-up!!!

My Alaskan Adventure began with two flights… lots of blue skies & lots of clouds moving in as we got closer to Fairbanks. I traveled from Chicago to Seattle, and then Seattle to Fairbanks. I had a window seat both times so I could easily fall asleep… and the first flight I had plenty of extra leg room!!! Great flights… let the adventure begin!!!

Looks like an exterminator found its way into Cory’s studio! All joking aside… sometimes bad things happen to good bugs. Pottery has this strange way of keep all of us very humble. Just when you start to think that you’ve got this thing under control, the kiln gods step up with a healthy slap of reality. We’ve all been there. It hurts. All that time & effort… gone. And it always seems to happen at the worst of times. So here we are… less than a week away from ART IN THE GARDEN.

But we artists are a resilient bunch. So Cory & I are quickly developing a “Plan B” and trying to make the best of a bad situation. Desperate times call for desperate measures… and a LOT more creativity!!! I’m sure she’ll make the best out of this… some are fine, some art salvageable, some aren’t. So we may be shifting gears… but we’ll STILL have some fun collaboration pieces to show off next weekend. Perhaps not so many bugs… but who knows, maybe some TV’s or other fun things???

We’re kicking off September without a cloud in the sky!!! The weather these past few days has been just INCREDIBLE!!! And it looks like we’re in for another spectacular day today. Happy Labor Day… is that a thing?… do you even “wish” people a Happy Labor Day??? Enjoy either way…

Just hoping we have incredible weather next weekend too for ART IN THE GARDEN!!!

As I’ve been going through all of my photos from Alaska, it has taken me quite a while to edit them down & prepare them to start posting. But I think I’m finally ready!!! And what better way to start than with another little “teaser”?… and a fun game?!

I had a wonderful adventure up in Alaska for my Pottery Workshop with the Fairbanks Potters Guild. Followed by some great travels afterwards with my new Alaskan potter-friend Theresa. And there “might” just be a trail of fortune cookies waiting to be found along my route… hiking all over & driving from Fairbanks, through Denali National Park to Wasilla, Whittier, Portage Glacier, Seward & Anchorage! Some are easier to find than others… but here are some “visual clues” to help! And then as I start posting more photos, there might be even more “clues” in the posts that follow! Giddy-up…

Also in the kiln… a fresh batch of fortune cookies!
With a nice wash of iron oxide to help the textures “pop.” We’ll call this batch “replenishment.”

Okay… so I “may have” gotten a little out of control while glazing “a couple” tiles for a quick glaze firing. Not to mention the hundred or so tiles also in my soda kiln. Gotta have plenty of options, right?!

After being “trapped inside” the studio firing the soda kiln all day yesterday…. it felt great to get out this morning for another stunning sunrise ride. So quiet & still with great clouds & great reflections. Always the best way to start my day!

A little morning glow in the kiln… just waiting for the cones to start falling!