Well, that was a LOT of photos… and a LOT of stories.
Thanks for bearing with me. And allowing me to ramble on for a bit.
Hopefully you’ve enjoyed some of the incredible Fall color – and were
impressed & excited to see the beautiful artwork of Amy Higgason!

Thanks for playing…

So while all the photos make it look like all I did was play in the woods…
keep in mind that Amy’s pottery sale was three days – Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Friday was good… Saturday was spectacular… and Sunday was slower.
So we like to focus on Saturday!!!

It was Amy’s biggest one day sale EVER!!! She did incredible. So much fun!!!
Lots of great people stopping by to admire her work, start their “Amy Collection”
and hang out around the campfire getting to know everyone. Saturday was a lot of fun
for everyone. We were all exhausted by the end of the day… but oddly exhilarated
that her inventory was so depleted!!!

So after the tour on Friday night, Amy was pleased to take me on a tour of her Northwoods
area. We were a bit tired, but still excited to get out and see some of the beauty of the
Northwoods. We hopped in her car and set out for our evening tour… and I was excited
to see her “friends” in the car! Her “love monkeys” both Curious & Sock!!!

One of the stops on the tour, was a beautiful wilderness resort where Amy’s family
comes up to vacation at. And what Northwood location would be complete without
a chainsaw carved bear?!

While we were touring the area, we also pulled off and stopped off at a beautiful lake.
The colors were beautiful, the lake incredible… and what a great sign on the bridge!

Then we headed off to tour Minocqua, and see some of the sights & locations that make up
Amy’s day-to-day life in the Northwoods. Lucky for me… we pulled off in a small park
just in time for me to view an incredible sunset!

So then we finally got around to having dinner… and of course, I had to start off with a big
basket of deep-fried cheese curds!!! When in Rome…

So once we were all set up Friday morning, we were ready for the customers!
There were 26 stops on the art tour… Amy was tour stop #14. Also joining Amy,
was her special guest artist Katlyn Koester. Amy met Katlyn several years ago
when she was working at a local Northwoods art center. Katlyn was s student then,
and she has now graduated from colege with her BFA in ceramics. She’s a “youngster”
starting out on her journey… and Amy has been her “mentor” for a few years!

Soon the customers were arriving and taking time to enjoy & appreciate Amy’s beautiful work.
The day was a bit chilly, and a little rainy here & there, but the customers continued to come!
So we were ready… three potters ready to greet the public. Enjoying the fall weather,
bundled up and trying to keep warm… and dry as the drizzle kept coming in & out.

The pots were priced. The campfire was going… good for keeping warm while we enjoyed
the fall colors just off Amy’s driveway. And amy was keeping her tea warm by the fire
in one of MY mugs!!! A little cross-marketing & support between artists never hurts!

But more importantly… the s’mores were ready to be toasted as well…
yes, that was my contribution; I was in charge of the s’mores! That’s the least I could do!
And yes… we had to “try them out” for quality control and all… We were actually offering
up “gourmet s’mores” – traditional Hershey’s, Ande’s Mints or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
Perfect for the kids… and the kids at heart! Some “into it” more than others…

The actual tour was great. We met a lot of great people who stopped by Amy’s studio.
Many of them were quite impressed by Amy’s work, and Katlyn’s too. I was quite excited
to see a couple of my friends stop by as well. My “very first” art fair friends ever came up
for the weekend… and they live in Peoria, Illinois! Luckily, they have family in Stevens Point,
Wisconsin… so they decided to come up a bit further and “share the love.” Very fun.
They are always so energetic & supportive. Also, one of my Lillstreet students came by with
her husband Pat. They have a cabin up in the Northwoods and were more then ready to
visit and “start” their very own Amy Higgason Collection!!! Pam was so excited to see the
intricate patterns, carvings & colors of Amy’s work. As a relative “newbie” in her wheel
throwing journey, Pam understands the work that goes into it… and was quite impressed!
In fact… after a long time admiring Amy’s work, it was Pam’s husband who declared that
“Amy’s work is more feathery, and mine is more foot-printy.”

On Sunday, the tour slowed down a bit and the customers trickled in a little slower.
While I took the opportunity to go for a bike ride, Amy took the opportunity to do some
demonstrating of her process – making some nice textured plates.

By the end of the weekend, were were all pretty well exhausted…
and at the end of the day on Sunday, it was time for Amy & Katlyn to ring the “closing bell.”

Sadly, Amy has decided to make this her last year of participating in the “official”
Northwoods Art Tour. She has been instrumental in the implementation & graphic design
of the tour. Unfortunately, her volunteer efforts were taking up too much of her time & energy –
so she has decided to bow out of next year’s tour. And possibly establish her own
“Pottery Event” for next Fall with some of her local art friends… and who knows?…
there’s a chance I may get to join her in the festivities next year?!

So Amy will not be leaving the Northwoods, she will not be quitting the pottery biz…
but she will be making more incredible pots and trying to find new ways to get it out there
to her “adoring public.” If you happen to see her Pigeon Road Pottery sign out on the road
be sure to stop by!

Before we get too far into the story-telling… let me introduce you to Amy Higgason.
She’s an incredible potter that I met many years ago at Lillstreet Art Center when I was
just starting out in my Beginning Wheelthrowing Classes! Since that time, Amy has
moved on in her pottery career, took a residency position in the Northwoods and has
never looked back. She’s been living up in the Northwoods now for over seven years.
Her studio is just a stone’s throw from her house – right there on Pigeon Road.
Hence the name… Pigeon Road Pottery.

Amy’s work has always been quite intricate, textural & detailed. I’ve always liked her style.
I think it may come from the fact that we were both trained as graphic designers before we
started in pottery. So we have a similar background, and a similar aesthetic.

Once I was there, we did the usual chit-chatting, settling-in and giggling… then we
set off to unload her latest kiln. Done just in time for the Northwoods Art Tour.

As we were unpacking the kiln, I was once again awestruck by her work…
the carving, the sgraffito, the textures, the sprigs, the imagery. All of it.
So of course I was also doing some mental shopping of my own!
Which of these beauties was going to come home with me?!

So here’s a quick photo tour of Amy’s studio and her amazing work!

Also, for those of you who may have done the Art Tour in previous seasons, Amy also
has decorated her studio with some of the projects that were created during the Tour.
A couple years ago, Amy had all of the guests make a textured tile. They have all now
been glazed & fired, and mounted onto two panels that decorate the exterior of her studio.

This past summer, she had people make little clay heads. All of the heads
have now been fired and now “reside” in a commemorative platter in Amy’s studio!
Too funny… and a great idea I may need to “borrow” sometime in the future!

Welcome to Pigeon Road Pottery… and the beautiful view down Amy’s road.
A beautiful fall weekend full of beautiful fall colors. And lots of beautiful pots
just down Pigeon Road up in the Wisconsin Northwoods!!!

After my fun weekend up in the Wisconsin Northwoods… spending a lot of quality time
with my friend & wonderful potter Amy Higgason – I came home with some great
new pots to add to my collection! A beautiful carved bowl and a large platter. Each more
stunning than the next. The amount of time & effort she puts into each piece is amazing!

When someone asked how our ceramic works compares to each other…
one happy customer (thank you Pat) summed it up quite eloquently as
“Amy’s work is more feathery, Gary’s work is more footprinty.”
Oddly accurate if you really take time to think about it.

This weekend is the Northwoods Art Tour up in Wisconsin. Just in time for Fall colors too!
And my friend Amy Higgason is participating in the tour again this summer. She’s a great
potter who used to work at Lillstreet Art Center with the rest of us. But then she decided
to “fly the coop” and move up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Since then, the has made
a nice home for herself, as well as a beautiful studio! And she’ll be showing off her studio
this weekend… Amy Higgason at Pigeon Road Pottery.

It’s going to be three days of fun… and a lot of art to boot! Each day from 10:00am-5:00pm.
Friday, October 1st  -  Saturday, October 2nd  -  Sunday, October 3rd.

Amy will be Studio #14 on the big tour. Also joining Amy will be potter Katlyn Koester
as her guest artist. Both of them make beautiful pots, whimsical decorative pieces and
so much more! Too much talent for just one stop on the Art Tour!!!

I will be traveling up to the Northwoods to help Amy for the weekend – and would love
to see you stop by. Amy makes this incredible work that is quite detailed & intricate.
A lot of textures and patterns. Some of it has sprigs & carving, while others are more
slip & sgraffito illustrations! Incredible work. Come check it out.
For more details… www.northwoodsarttour.com

Another talented friend to add to the list…
Amy Higgason of Pigeon Road Pottery.
Always smiling. Always laughing. Always good to see!

I just got a new plate from Amy – and I love it!!!

Amy used to be a studio member at Lillstreet Art Center back when I was
just starting to take classes. Her work has always been very detailed & precise.
Something I greatly admire – as we both come from the same graphic design
background! She also has a wonderful painterly style showing off her
wonderful illustration skills.

She’s very much into patterns & textures – two of my favorite things!
Many of her pots have this wonderful “sprigging” technique – which is kind of the
opposite of my stamping technique. Instead of pressing the pattern into the pot,
she’s making a textured “applique” piece to attach to the surface of the pot.
Below you can see how she carves out sections around the perimeter – and then
adds an eclectic grouping of shaped, textured & glazed sprigs to decorate the center.

So Amy now resides up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. She has set up her own
“little piece of pottery heaven” up in the woods. With a cute little studio just steps
away from her cabin, she’s busy pumping out wonderful pieces of pottery.
Check out her work at www.pigeonroadpottery.blogspot.com

So as I paint the color slip details onto the thrown & stamped pieces,
I need to make sure that every stamp gets highlighted and none
of them are missed along the way. Problem is, some of the soda slips
look surprisingly similar to the natural clay color. So as I go around
dabbing a little bit of slip into the stamps… how do you keep track
of what you’ve done if the slip matches the clay?

Well, after years of struggling to keep track… a simple suggestion
by fellow-potter-friend Amy Higgason may have resolved my problem.

Why not simply color the slip so it contrasts more?

Sounds simple, right? Why did I never think of that?
Amy suggested using simple food coloring to tint the slip
as it will easily burn out of the slip at a low temperature before
the “real firing” starts to affect the pots.

So I added some food coloring to the slips that “match” the clay,
especially to the “smooth orange” slip – so I added red & yellow
to make it “oranger”… and look what happened…

Not only is the slip easier to see as I apply it to the pot…
it was also a really groovy process! As the drops of food color hit the slip,
it seeped & spread, made really fun patterns that evolved as I stirred it together!!!
Who knew?…