Start your “tour” at the Sandwich stop for the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR… just one month away!!! We’ll have plenty of pottery & fun for everyone… including a wide range of textures & patterns!!! Which we’re celebrating today for another TEXTURE TUESDAY!!!

Saturday, June 11th & Sunday, June 12th

It’s finally Spring… and it’s finally time for pretty plants!!! This Friday & Saturday is our second annual PLANTS & POTTERY POP-UP SALE down in Bartonville, Illinois… near Peoria! Hundreds of homegrown plants for your garden, patios & home… and plenty of pottery for everyone! Be sure to share with your friends!

2314 Skyway Road, Bartonville, IL 61607
Friday, May 13th & Saturday, May 14th – 9:00am-4:00pm

Did some late-night studio work this evening… adding some underglaze accents to this latest batch of terra cotta flower pots. Just gotta wipe off the surface… leaving the underglaze only in the stamps, and then a bit of clear liner glaze! Hoping to get these all done & ready for next weekend’s PLANTS & POTTERY POP-UP!!!

Did I mention ROAD TRIP???…
Did I mention diversions?… and snacks?… like this yummy cherry pie I picked up along the way. A quick stop at the NORSKE NOOK in Osseo to break-up the drive, stretch the legs, buy some gas… and a PIE!!!

Another road trip… another diversion… always great to get out of town for along weekend with friends… and a LOT OF POTTERY!!! But you still can’t beat Nature’s beauty…

You know how I LOVE rusty metal… so this turned out to be a fun stop during my drive home from Minnesota yesterday! Part of the fun of a good road trip… being able to stop to explore the local “attractions” as a fun diversion along the way!

After picking-up my new clay at Continental Clay…
I also took a little side trip to a friend’s pottery studio.
Lucky for me, she’s not a big fan of reclaiming her own clay?!
So I loaded several bags of dried porcelain scraps into my car
before heading home. WHOO-HOO!!!

Just break it up… add water… soak.. a little labor… FREE CLAY!!!

After a FULL day of Pottery Touring… yes, we made it to ALL of the stops… Sarah, Jules & I went out for a great dinner at MASU… I’m not good with directions, but it was “somewhere” in the Minneapolis area?! Great food, great friends and a great day full of pottery!!!

So I “may” have done a bit of shopping up at the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour… like this great sgraffito jar made by Matthew Metz. Just one more for my already overflowing collection of his work!!!

You can follow Matthew’s work on Instagram… @metzpottery

So many pots, so many techniques, so many talented potters! Over the course of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour, we saw so many amazing pieces of pottery. But I will say that my favorite pieces were the exquisite pots by Becky Lloyd. I have followed her for years on Instagram, and her work was even more AMAZING in person!!! Such intricate details & sgraffito carvings. The shapes. The forms. The patterns. The CRAFTSMANSHIP!!! Be sure to follow her on Instagram – @beckylloydyogamama