We’re just one week away from ART IN THE GARDEN.
It’s a great grassroots art fair hosted by a bunch of fun artists & friends in Glenview.
We’re all bringing our handmade wares, as well as some amazing new collaboration projects between the artists! So much fun to work on something new & different for this show! Of the snippets I’ve seen so far… they’re all coming together really well. A few more days to pull everything together… as we hope to see you next Saturday or Sunday!!!

Saturday, September 7th & Sunday, September 8th in Glenview, Illinois
10:00am-5:00pm each day.

And for even more information on the show, the artists and the fun…
check out our grassroots website!!!

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While cruising through Frankfurt’s museum row, I had to take some time out to go through their Art Museum… filled with a lot of German artists (go figure) and a few stand-out favorites. I loved being introduced to the paintings of Lotte Laserstein… as well as Ferdinand Hodler, Karl Von Piddol, Franz Xaver Winterhalter and a “fresh new” Monet painting BEFORE the Claude Monet style we all have come to know & love!

Lotte Laserstein

Ferdinand Hodler

Karl Von Piddol

Franz Xaver Winterhalter

Claude Monet

This weekend is the Ravenswood Art Walk.
A great chance to wander up & down Ravenswood and peek into all of the studios, workspaces & galleries hidden along the way.

And look who made it into the brochure!!! ME!!!
Looks like I was painting last year’s Zombies during the Art Walk when they took that photo?!

Not quite sure about the groovy pattern they overlayed on top of the photo…
makes it look like I have some sort of geometric skin condition???

Stacked, packed and ready for this weekend’s art fair in Glenview!
Join us this Saturday & Sunday for ART IN THE GARDEN..
it’s a great little grassroots art fair with some talented friends showing, playing
& collaborating together!

Click here to check us out at www.grassrootsartfair.com

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We’re just a week away from ART IN THE GARDEN.
A great grassroots art fair in Glenview, Illinois. A merry band of artists & talented friends pulling together to put on their own show in the backyard of master metalsmith Amy Taylor. It’s a beautiful setting for a cozy, intimate art experience where you really get a chance to see some great artwork, talk with the artists and relax in the garden. Plus, it’s the perfect chance for some of the artists to collaborate on a few projects together!!!

Mark your calendars… next weekend September 19th & 20th, 2017.

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My students this past session LOVED challenges.
They asked for them!!! One night challenges. Long-term challenges.
So as part of our “throwing with intention” discussion… and trying to plan ahead and make what you want to make with purpose & intention… I challenged my class to a Masterpiece Challenge. I came to class with some sealed envelopes. And told my class that anyone who wanted to take on the challenge could. No details. No information. Just say yes… and you’re in. Almost everyone signed on.

Then they chose an envelope without knowing the contents.
And then I explained the game. Inside were images from random famous artists. And their challenge was to make a piece that was “inspired by, representative of, influenced by or in some other way similar to” the artist inside their envelope. I tried to choose famous artists who had a very identifiable style.

So they’ve been working on their pieces for a few weeks. Some of them made it to the final class, while others just didn’t quite make it done in time. I know there are a couple pieces still waiting to be fired. But… for the ones that finished, they were SPECTACULAR!!!

RENE’ MAGRITTE as interpreted by Catherine.
The photo doesn’t show it, but… the inside of the lidded jar top is a green apple!!!

GEORGIA O’KEEFFE as interpreted by Taylore.
Pretty literal. Pretty darn amazing!!!

ANDY WARHOL as interpreted by Taylore… double-duty, over-achiever..
From the Warhol “Legs & High Heels” collection…

GEORGE SEURAT as interpreted by Emily.
With s little pointillism with colored stains on Shaner Clear glaze.

FRANK STELLA as interpreted by Ryan.
Three different versions bringing Stella’s work to clay.

WALT DISNEY as interpreted by Stacey.
A wonderful rendition of Ursula from “The Little Mermaid” done as a chip & dip set.
Yes, the dip fits inside her belly!!! Brilliant Stacey!!!

And Melissa’s interpretation of M.C. ESCHER…
her largest and most elaborate pottery piece yet!!! Unfortunately, timing got away from her a bit and Melissa’s is still in the greenware stage, but you can tell it’s going to be AMAZING!!!

So what do you get when a group of artistic friends get together in a garden?!
You get a wonderful grassroots affair… ART IN THE GARDEN.

For the third year, we had a wonderful time in the backyard garden of my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor. Seven talented friends all banded together to throw a little art soiree’. A more intimate art fair where you really get a chance to visit and chat with the artists. The weekend started out with a little bit of misty rain on Saturday… but by noon it had cleared up and the rest of the weekend was PERFECT!!!

We had a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone who stopped by The Garden. We loved seeing everyone. Taking time to chat with everyone. And making some new friends & customers. It was a merry band of artists hanging out and playing together for the weekend. Thanks to Amy, and her husband Tom, for inviting us and hosting everyone in her backyard. And not only did she host everyone.. she also created some wonderful award ribbons fro everyone… ‘cuz everyone was a winner!

So in case you missed it… here’s a quick recap of some of the artists and their works!!!

Cory McCrory : Whimsical ceramic pieces made with paper clay. Cory has a wonderful sense of humor, an upbeat color palette and a wonderful appreciation for textures & patterns.

Deb Anderson : Beautiful impressionist paintings of nature, flowers, trees and more. Wonderful images that look so realistic from a distance, but then “break-up” into individual brish strokes when you get closer. Just wonderful.

Jill Wallace : Spunky colors… so close to tie-dye that you know I just loved them!!! She actually does a special ice-dyeing technique to create these special colors & patterns on her silk scarves & wraps.

Martin Chadwick : Incredible surrealistic montage paintings that feature a LOT of imagery information to tell a story. Intricate details and spot-on visual references. Not only are his paintings incredible… his sculptural ceramic work is pretty impressive as well.

Donna Sauers : Beautiful handmade glass bead jewelry with sterling silver accents & chains.  Baubles & bangles with collections of beads.

Retta Hentschel : Stained glass windows, lamps and lawn ornaments with collections of vintage glass interspersed with traditional glass. The textures & faceting of the vintage glass make for very special windows.

And our “garden” host Amy Taylor : Whose work speaks for itself! Wonderful designs and impeccable craftsmanship… each with a nifty hinge. Yep, everything swivels, bends, closes ot somehow pivots on a hinge!!! A lot of semi-precious stones, gems, glass and other inclusions make Amy’s work quite special. I already have quite the collection of Amy’s amazing pieces!

Also, the collaboration pieces that Amy and I did together had their “Big Reveal”!!! These innovative necklaces incorporate textured ceramic disks that I made. And then the sterling silver “cafe” pendants that Amy made to hold them. They have a great hinge & clasp combinatin so you can open & close the pendant to trade out the discs. Each necklace comes with a collection of discs in different colors & textures.

And who’s coming home with the round one in the center… little old ME!!!

I also received my ribbon award form Amy… not surprising it had OREO’s, huh?!!!

And a special award for Amy’s husband Tom… who got the garden all ready for our invasion. Tom was always there to help each of us in the garden. Setting up, tearing down, figuring out where everything goes and so much more!

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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!!!

Look what came in the mail the other day… WHOO-HOO!!!

The BEST pottery weekend get-away of the year!!! Mark your calendars now.
Friday, May 6th… Saturday, May 7th.. and Sunday, May 8th, 2016.

It’s always over Mother’s Day Weekend in the St. Croix Valley area just north of Minneapolis. There are seven pottery studio locations in the area. Each with a host potter and a collection of talented friends. 57 potters in total. So many pots. So much fun!!!

It’s always a great time to drive around, visit all of the studios and chat with the artists. I’ve become friends with a few of them over the years. And always end up coming home with more pottery than I had planned on buying. How can I be expected to stop when there is incredible work everywhere you stop?!!! Unfortunately, I’m not one of the “chosen” potters invited to the Tour… dare to dream, right??? I’m thinking “write-in-campaign” ???

NEW THIS YEAR!!! So excited that one of my favorite potters is joining the tour this year as one of the Visiting Artists. I’ve admired Julia’s work for many years… and attended three of he workshops!!! Not quite a pottery stalker, but close.

For more about the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour, click here.
For more about Julia Galloway’s work, click here.

At the “glitter gig” today we had a bunch of floral come back from yesterday’s events. Sadly, most of the flowers were destined for the dumpster. Except for the ones that I “saved”… and brought to the studio to share with my studio neighbors! A great surprise for three of my neighbors… and a great way to make a vase’s true destiny come to fruition!

In my studio, I now have some structural orange Asiatic lilies… hanging out in a stamped & soda-fired oval vase. Surprise huh?… you know orange is my favorite color. So of course I kept these ones for myself.

And a second group with some red roses in another stamped oval. I love the layered “organization” of a rose as it opens. Some structural repetition… sound familiar?

Over in Lisa Harris‘ studio, I used one of her rectangular footed box vases for an autumnal collection of roses, mums and kale. For more about Lisa’s work, click here.

In the corner, Karen Patinkin got a collection of vibrant red roses. Perfect for one of her porcelain vases with intricate glazing & decoration. For more about Karen’s work, click here.

And Cathi Schwalbe now has a medley of Fall flowers in one of her handmade tumblers. Mums, roses, flowering kale and some seeded eucalyptus. For more about Cathi’s work, click here.

So much fun to see a great splash of color in my neighbor’s studios. Knowing that the flowers should have been in the dumpster by now, but instead now get a “new life” in some beautiful handmade vases!