When bad things happen on a Mugshot Monday!
Yep, a sad day… but in the end, “it’s just clay!”
Even worse as Patty just broke her husband’s favorite mug!!! Uh oh.

Two more mugs “submitted” for the BIG MUG discussion… apparently people are LOVING their larger mugs these days. I guess they can say they “only had one cup of coffee”… even though it was practically the entire coffee pot!!! Thanks Pam & Pammy for sharing your mugs with us this morning!

So then THIS is happening!

The soda kiln where I fire my work at Lillstreet Art Center is currently being demolished and rebuilt. It’s been about three years since it was last rebuilt… with practically weekly firings with a lot of soda mixture to slowly work its way into the kiln bricks eroding the surface & allowing some bricks to move a bit more than one would like! Looking forward to using the new kiln for my next soda firing!!!

For those of you who still remember when MTV played MUSIC VIDEOS!!!… and not just a lot of bad reality shows! I know I’m showing my age here… but I remember when MTV was a big deal for us! So new. So fresh. So much fun. Remember what a “big deal” it was when “Thriller” came out?… we were all riveted & still get a little sentimental when it shows up again!!!

So here’s a question… What’s YOUR favorite music video???

Enjoying a quiet moment on my back porch while doing laundry this morning. A quiet little spot to sit & enjoy the plants… and flowers still going strong after last weekend’s art fair! Loving the oval vase that helps spread the flowers out for a “wider” display of floral beauty. The stamping & soda-fired effects aren’t too shabby either… as the B-Clay gets such a nice shiny & smooth surface with great flashing colors.

As we are ending another month, it’s time for another installment of the 2021 CHAIN CHALLENGE!!! And this month I’ve gone for another version of the ceramic chain… each link textured & soda-fired with a bit more gray-reduction & shine than the first one!

#2021chainchallenge
#handmadechain
#chainlinks2021

Towards the end of our bike ride today, we ran across this little field of sunflowers again. We saw it a couple weeks ago… but it was great to see how some of the flowers have changed. New colors blooming… including some “new” almost-white sunflowers! So cool.

While riding through the farm fields out in the middle of nowhere today… our regular route was “altered” by a missing bridge & road under construction! Sure, it “might’ have said ROAD CLOSED… but that has never stopped us before!

A beautiful day biking out amongst the cornfields!

The weather today was practically perfect… and perfect for a long bike ride through the farm fields of the far western suburbs! Along the way we passed this beautiful barn… and surprisingly a nicely weathered WHITE barn!