Just a little teaser from my friend & master metalsmith Sarah Chapman. So while I’m scrambling over this weekend’s soda kiln & my next two September art fairs… she’s already planning another fun event with a few of her talented art friends!

More to come… as one of them is ME!!!

You know how much I LOVE a good challenge… and a good collaboration! So amidst all of my summer camps, studio time, glazing, wadding & biking… why not throw one more collaboration together for ART IN THE GARDEN?! More is more, right???

So, here’s the plan… do another collaboration with metalsmith Amy Taylor! But this time, she’s going to be working on my turf!!! No metal… just clay… inspired by her “ADORBS” collection of whimsical jewelry! So here we go…

Twenty-five years ago today, the world lost Princess Diana. Such a radiant light amongst the British royalty… even more vibrant & dynamic on her own. Destined to make a huge impact on the world. But instead, it turned out to be one of those sad & historic moments in everyone’s memory… begging the question “Where were YOU when you heard the news of that fatal car accident in Paris that took Princess Diana’s life?”

I was on vacation in California visiting my good friend Barbara. We were grocery shopping in Manhattan Beach buying things to make a cheesecake that night. We were standing in the check-out line when the news broke over the news. We were stunned as we stood there in line. We rushed back to her place, turned on the news… and didn’t turn it off for hours & hours. So sad, so tragic, such a big loss… and we never made the cheesecake!

Looks like we might have a little “infestation” of fun!!! Amy Taylor has been working on these little cuties to work along with my little cutie-patooties! Our ART IN THE GARDEN collaboration looks like it’s coming along nicely!!!

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?!