Making the most of a bad situation… or TWO!
Potholes AND Coronavirus!!!

Dealing with both at the same time!!!
And a lot of creativity to help us all get through this together… with a smile!
Thanks to Chicago mosaic artist Jim Bachor.

Click here for the full article on ThisIsColossal.com

So I’ve often said the best thing in the pottery studio is POWER TOOLS!
Especially when “drilling” lots of drainage holes into the bottoms of a bunch of berry bowls?!
So why not use a POWER DRILL to drill the holes?!

So I’ve already trimmed the bowls, and let them stiffen up to the “drier-side” of leatherhard. Not squishy. Not tacky. But definitely NOT bone dry yet. And then I start by making the first ring of holes just inside the footring… and then continue on the outside of the footring, between… staggered… lined-up… all different patterns!

And then I let them sit out a bit longer so the drilled “burrs” will brush off easily. Once the shredded debris stiffens up, I use a stiff paint brush to wipe all of those extra pieces off both inside & out! It’s always fun to see the drilled pattern after cleaning out the debris!

Now that they’re drilled full of drainage holes, I’ll let them dry to bone dry. And then I’ll take a green scrubby 3M pad to smooth out some of the rough edges before bisque firing.

Next up?… throwing a bunch of small plates to work as the drainage catch plate!

So my friend Cory McCrory has been working on a new teapot for an upcoming show. And don’t for a moment think it is a “normal” teapot thrown on the wheel like I would make. Oh no… that’s NOT how Cory rolls!

Instead, Cory makes these elaborate, handbuilt sculptures with paperclay that have made me smile for YEARS!!! We first met at the Hinsdale Fine Arts Fair when our booths were one row away from each other. I could see her work, she could see mine… but we didn’t have a lot of time to go over and look as we were both busy in our booths. But I could already tell from a distance that I was enamored already!!! I finally made it over to her both and instantly fell in love with Cory AND her amazing work!!!

So if you’re NOT following Cory on Facebook or Instagram, you definitely should be!!! She’s been working on this amazing teapot for the past couple weeks… and graciously been sharing photos every step of the way. I’ll post a “teaser” of the finished underglazed version as it goes into the kiln here. But for the full “start-to-finish” Photo Album, click here for a link to her Facebook page.

This little guy started out yesterday looking more like Audrey 2 than the prettiest tiny orchid ever it turned into today!!!

And then all too soon… while I was still pedaling…
the clouds rolled in, the wind picked-up and the rain started to come down! Sure I got a little wet, but it was still a beautiful bike ride this afternoon.

A few magical moments along the bike trail this afternoon. No matter how many times I ride the North Branch Bike Trail, I love seeing all of the deer along the way. Today I counted eighteen… that I could see! But this time of the year they blend in pretty darn well. Scroll down through the photos to see them “disappear” into their surroundings!

Stopped by the check out the new location for ART IN THE GARDEN… as our lovely hosts have moved right around the corner. Bigger space, more garden and literally a river!!! Now we just have to hope that “things” calm down enough that ART IN THE GARDEN can still go on this year… with proper precautions!!!

A lot of Nature’s beauty out there today, as I went for another solitary afternoon bike ride along the North Branch Bike Trail. Sometimes you can almost forget for a few moments the “icky situation” we’re all going through when Spring’s beauty is popping up everywhere… and then I re-adjusted my face mask!!!

Celebrating another TEXTURE TUESDAY with this really cool wooden fence I saw on my bike ride today. Live the rustic part with flaking wood & mossy accents. But it was the really cool “almost ikebana” floral & bonsai-like growths coming through the fence that really sealed the deal. LOVED IT!!

As I was leaving my studio late tonight, I thought what a lot of you would really want to see, is exactly what we’re all missing so much these days! LILLSTREET ART CENTER! It’s just not the same without everyone there being creative & playing in the clay! Everything’s pretty dark these days… including the classrooms & hallways!