Layers of colors… layered with plenty of Cory whimsy!!! Underglazes bringing the bugs to life…. well, kinda. I can’t wait to see these when they’re finished. And then I get them all so I can add-on my part of the collaboration project!

Like I said before, every year at ART IN THE GARDEN, Cory McCrory & I do a fun collaboration project. This year we hope to have ten different pieces… each a one-of-a-kind masterpiece! We still have a lot to do… and the show is just over a week away! Mark your calendar… September 6th & 7th in Glenview, Illinois.

So it took my just about three hours to fully load the soda kiln… kinda like Pottery Tetris! Trying to fit in as much as possible, all the while trying to leave some space for air to flow through during the firing. The soda atmosphere needs to get in between everything to leave its glazed finish. I piled a LOT of work into this one! The back stack is a single shelf filled first to the top. Then front stack is a double-shelf filled up to the arch. It’s packed tight… so it might be a long firing today?!

And then I rolled down my studio cart… the same one my Dad built for me several years ago! I have figured out that a full cart of glazed & wadded work pretty much equals a fully loaded soda kiln. The masking tape just works as a little “protection” so nothing jumps off the shelves while I take the rickety freight elevator downstairs… kinda like a pottery seat belt!!

Last night started with an empty soda kiln… full of possibilities.

And we have IGNITION!!!
Starting the day… and starting my soda kiln firing!

It looked like it was just going to be gray & gloomy this morning… so I skipped my morning ride and went into the studio instead. But then THIS happened!!! A beautiful urban sunrise from the roof of Lillstreet Art Center!

And while Cory has bugs everywhere…
I’m “buggin’ out” while glazing hundreds of textured tiles for our collaboration project!!!
Gotta keep glazing & get them into a kiln quick!!!

Looks like Cory has a full-on infestation happening!!!

A simple statement. A single dahlia. The simplest arrangement with just one bloom in a handmade ikebana vase. Stamped & soda-fired… and coming to ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend!

And yes, I grew it in my yard!!!

Another splashin’-fun sunrise!!! It started with some beautiful pastel clouds wisping cross the sky… but even more exciting with the addition of waves crashing all around. I especially love when the crashing waves get “illuminated” by the sunrise. Sometimes timing is everything!