We open in just a couple hours. Everyone is filling their shelves and putting out their wares. It’s always so hard to finish putting out my own pottery when all I want to do is gawk & shop in everyone else’s booth!!! Especially my “creative genius” friend Cory McCrory.

Be sure to stop by to chat with the artists, buy some handmade art or just hang out in Amy’s beautiful garden! In the backyard garden of my friend & wonderful metalsmith Amy Taylor.
1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025

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Looks like something special in the works?! This is the kind of “magic” that happens when artist friends get together and collaborate. Come to ART IN THE GARDEN this weekend to see the final results. Amy Taylor is amazing!!! And let me just add two more enticing tidbits… “Limited Edition” and even better… “interchangeable.”

So we started with some textured clay “cabachons” or disc inserts.

Then Amy made some great metal “cases” to hold the discs. Practically everything Amy makes has a hinge on it somewhere, so it was no surprise that these do too!!!

A little cleaning up… and then polishing…

Insert the ceramic disk… and voila’… PERFECTION!!!
She’s amazing… and this one may just have to be mibe?!

And again… interchangeable ceramic disks in the hinged sterling case…
but VERY Limited Quantities this weekend only at ART IN THE GARDEN!!!

Collaboration fun coming soon… see what happens when my textured ceramic discs are shared with metalsmith Amy Taylor and a “challenge” to make something cool out of them. The “Big Reveal” will be this weekend at ART IN THE GARDEN. September 10th & 11th at 1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025. Stop by early for these “limited edition” collaboration pieces!!!

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Looks like my friend & wonderful metalsmith Amy Taylor has been busy getting ready for next weekend. Her workbench is getting full of wonderful things that will be at ART IN THE GARDEN. A fun, little art fair with a handful of talented friends!!! September 10th & 11th at 1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

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Eight “talented friends” hanging out in the garden. A smaller, more intimate grassroots art fair. This is our third year hosted by my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor. A great alternative to the mega-art fairs that can be a bit overwhelming. Easier to shop, chat with the artists, or just hang out and relax in Amy’s garden!

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Here we go…. the third month… March.
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me & four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
We’re three months in… a quarter of the way!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory embraces Spring this month with brightly colored ornaments of flowers, petals and textures. So while we’re tap dancing on the front edge of Spring, the past few gloomy days have been brightened a bit my Cory’s cheery ornaments.

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
For March, Sarah “returns to her roots” and mimics her jewelry style with a beautiful brass & beaded ornament. According to Sarah, it’s “definitely inspired by my penchant for reversible jewelry and now ornaments!”

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta continued her “galactic” ornaments! Last month they were porcelain “moon and stars”… this month see’s focused more on the “transportation” aspect of the galaxy! Methinks the Millennium Falcons will be a BIG hit!!!

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy takes another spin on her already popular ADORBS jewelry collection…
this time celebrating Spring showers with that one ADORB-able Spring Green eye!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME again!!!
And for my March ornaments, I’ve been making small flocks of birds. Trying to keep them simple & stylized. I can’t decide if I like them better with textured bodies or textured wings?! So I’ve decided to make some of each.

And since I’m not really sure how I’m going to glaze finish these avian delights… I decided I should make another flock of birds for the soda kiln. These birds are made with soda clay… and still need some eyes!!! And maybe a some accents of colored flashing slips?!

So there they are… March ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

And oh, but wait there’s more!!!
Remember, the ceramic folks have a little tougher time actually finishing their ornaments due to kiln firing schedules. So we’re frequently posting the dried greenware versions monthly. And then, once they get glazed & fired, I’ll post the “finished” results here too.

Like this one… a few finished February beauties from Cory McCrory!!!

Celebrating Pi Day with a slice of homemade pie around my neck!
It’s so much fun to have talented friends who know you so well…
and know of your love of homemade pie! We’ve often joked that the main reason I bike so much is so that I can eat more pie!!! And my bike has been known to stop at many a homemade pie place!

So this wonderful little adornment was a gift from my friend & talented metalsmith Amy Taylor. Such a “sweet” and thoughtful gift from one pie lover to another! Click here to see more of Amy’s wonderful metalsmith masterpieces!

Here we go…. the second month… February… second of twelve…
And another batch of holiday ornaments made by me &  four of My Talented Friends.
Remember, we’ve all signed-on for a Monthly Holiday Ornament Challenge.
The plan is for each of us to make a new ornament each month of the year.
We’re two months in… one sixth of the way!!!

My Talented Friend : Cory McCrory
Cory embraces our second month of ornaments with a wonderful batch of textured & constructed ornaments. They’re amazing so far!!! And I LOVE them… so I’m sorry, but there may not be any of these left to share with anyone else after I buy them all from Cory!!!  Ha!!!

My Talented Friend : Sarah Chapman
This month, Sarah takes a more “natural” approach with a beautiful stone and “twig.”
Some stylized wire-work and voila… another beautiful ornament by Miss Chapman.
I’m sure this one will really glisten in the sun… or Christmas lights?!

My Talented Friend : Roberta Polfus
Roberta continued her love affair with porcelain & carving. Her ornaments could make a beautiful Christmas Constellation if you promised someone the “moon and stars.”

My Talented Friend : Amy Taylor
Amy takes another spin on her already popular ADORBS Collection…
this time looking forward to Spring with that one ADORB-able eye!

My Talented Friend : … oh wait, it’s ME!!!
And for my February ornament, I’ve been making some porcelain snowflakes. The stamping is giving them a sort of knit texture. I’m hoping to glaze them with a clear glaze that will make them shine with a very slight cool blue hue.

So there they are… the ornaments of My Talented Friends Cory, Sarah, Roberta & Amy. Be sure to check out their websites. They’re all in the LINKS section in the far right column. And they all have fun Facebook pages too. Find your favorites & follow them everywhere!

And oh, but wait there’s more!!!
Remember, the ceramic folks have a little tougher time actually finishing their ornaments due to kiln firing schedules. So we’re frequently posting the dried greenware versions monthly. And then, once they get glazed & fired, I’ll post the “finished” results here too.

Like this one… a few finished January beauties from Cory McCrory!!!

My niece Taylor got a new Taylor for Christmas!!!
Her Grandma & Grandpa (my parents) bought Taylor a beautiful new necklace from “My Talented Friend” Amy Taylor. She makes these wonderfully whimsical necklaces that she calls ADORBS… because they’re ADORABLE!!! I love having an adorable niece…. and I love having talented friends. And I really love when these moments come together!

So cute… so ADORBS.
For more of Amy Taylor’s work, click here for her website.

For those of you who may have missed MUD & METAL this past Saturday, here’s a quick glimpse of the beautiful metalwork by Amy Taylor. She had quite a few beautiful pieces in my dining room!!! If you’re still looking for holiday gifts, be sure to check out her website or shop on her Etsy page.

Website : http://amytaylorjewelry.com
Etsy : https://www.etsy.com/shop/hingedjewelry