Here’s a little more of a “sneak peek” at Amy Taylor’s wonderful work.
Keep in mind that practically everything has a hinge in it to give an extra swivel.
Even better – she’s coming to my home this Saturday with all of her lovelies this
Saturday, December 8th for “Mud & Metal : A Collaborative Holiday Show.”

So plan on stopping by my place this Saturday from 10:00am-6:00pm to stock up,
do a little Christmas shopping, hang out, and tackle that holiday gift list! We’ve got
a lot of wonderful gift ideas in every room of my home. C’mon by this Saturday!

Another week to wait.
Another chance to finish your holiday shopping.
Another Holiday Home Show… in case you missed the first one.
Another guest metalsmith with beautiful jewelry!!!

Mark your calendar for next Saturday, December 8th for the second
Holiday Home Show. This time it’s “Mud & Metal : A Collaborative Holiday Show”
with my friend & metalsmith Amy Taylor stopping by my place for the day. Her work is
wonderful with a bit of whimsy along the way. She’s most known for her hinged pieces…
and if you’d like to see more of her work ahead of time, click here for her website.

With my pottery in every room, fascinating jewelry in the dining room, food & drink
in the kitchen and even more “Tired Of Shlepping” bargains on the back porch,
you’re sure to find something for everyone on your holiday gift list… including yourself!

It was a huge relief getting up this morning knowing that ART DETOUR was over.
And that my car was already packed and ready to head home. But first… another sunrise!

It has been such a wonderful weekend staying at the cabin on Moccasin Lake. Spending time
with my parents, Sarah & Julie. But this morning, they were all already gone. I had the cabin
to myself. Very quiet. But I couldn’t relax too much, as I had breakfast plans with Wendy in
Land O’Lakes. We were going to go to a different restaurant, but Wendy suggested we switch
to the Sunrise Lodge. Which was oddly ironic, because Pam & Pat had just suggested that
restaurant for breakfast a few hours earlier!! And they were all correct. I started with a
chocolate chip waffle. Which disappeared all too quickly. As it’s an “all-you-can-eat” place,
I then had a cranberry pancake. Yum!!! I was ready to go for another, but luckily, their
breakfast hours had already ended. So  I was “cut-off” from becoming a breakfast glutton.
Probably a good thing… for both me AND the kitchen!!!

Now this was ALL Wendy’s idea… she’s hooked!!! And she suggested we go GeoCaching!!!
Luckily, there was another one just down the road at the headwaters of the Wisconsin River.
So we followed my phone for clues and narrowed it down… and Wendy found her first one!!!
Giggling, laughing, so excited… just like a giddy little school girl…

All too soon, our morning fun was over, and I had to head home. Many miles to go!
I was heading home from Land O’Lakes and not quite sure how to get home the fastest.
So I thought I knew… and thought I was doing okay… but I kind of got a little lost somewhere
around Rhinelander. Until I saw the landmark Hodag – and then I knew where I was!!!

Special thanks to my friend Pam & Pat who let us borrow their Northwoods cabin
while we were up north for ART DETOUR. It was an incredible getaway for me, my parents,
Sarah & Julie. After a long day of working (and standing out in the cold) at ART DETOUR
it sure felt good knowing that there’s this beautiful cabin waiting for us. Sure, it’s a bit of
a drive away from Lake Tomahawk… but it is truely a BEAUTIFUL drive!!!

For those who might not make it to the ART DETOUR… here are the artists…

AMY HIGGASON – Not only was Amy our host for the weekend, she’s also a wonderful
potter who does a lot of carving & illustrative work. Originally from the Chicagoland area,
Amy moved from Lillstreet Art Center up to the Northwoods about eight years ago!

KATLYN KOESTER – Katlyn is a recent college graduate who is now starting out on her
ceramic career. She’s been mentored by Amy for several years and is now well on her way
to becoming a self-supporting artist on her own!

SARAH CHAPMAN -Some of the coolest jewelry ever!!! Made by one of the coolest
metalsmiths ever. Sarah has been in Chicago forever, but just recently moved to Minneapolis.
She’s still making cool jewelry… but we do miss her in Chicago!!!

WENDY POWALISZ – Another artist from the Northwoods, Wendy paints some
wonderful watercolor paintings with a wonderful color palette. She’s also living the true
Northwoods life… in a wonderfully rustic log cabin made by her husband Lance.

And of course, me… GARY JACKSON… functional, textural, whimsical, etc…
I’m assuming that if you’re already here ready my blog, you probably already know
what my work looks like. Just in case… here’s a few more images…

I’m counting the days until ART DETOUR.
I will be heading up to the Wisconsin Northwoods a couple days early
to set-up and soak in the incredible Fall colors. Maybe even a hike or two?!
Sadly, no bike as my car will be full of pottery… and s’more supplies!!!

Mark your calendars for a wonderful Fall weekend getaway to the Northwoods!
I will be traveling up north with my pottery to participate in ART DETOUR.
Five artists. Five friends. All off the map… with gourmet s’mores to share!!!

Actually, there’s a full-blown Northwoods studio tour going on in the area. Many artists
will be opening their studios & galleries for this special art weekend. We are not “officially”
part of The Tour… that’s why we’re the DETOUR!!!

My potter friend Amy Higgason lives in Lake Tomohawk and she’s hosting ART DETOUR
for the second time. Stop by to see her studio, as well as the rest of us in our art fair tents.
Keep your fingers crossed for good weather. If it’s cold, don’t worry…
we’ll have the campfire stoked & burning all weekend long!

More info to come… or check out ART DETOUR on Facebook!

Mark your calendars now, and plan on a beautiful Fall getaway weekend
to the Wisconsin Northwoods! On the first weekend of October, there is a full tour
of Northwoods artists who open their studios. Well, we’re not quite on the tour,
we’re the ART DETOUR!!! Same weekend, so you can come up just to see us…
or you can do the full art tour as well. After spending some time playing with us
and making some gourmet s’mores!

Five friends, five artists… one studio location! One stop shopping!!!
Stop by the pottery studio of my friend Amy Higgason of Pigeon Road Pottery
for some great art, good fun & guaranteed giggles! Yep… guaranteed!!!

After months of training & preparing, it was finally Triathlon day in Chicago!
The day starts early as the bike transition are opens at 4:45am and closes at 5:45am.
So thousands of racers all need to get their bikes & gear in place before it closes.
Once closed, it’s time to wait for your assigned Wave time. Mine was 8:54am…
so we had to wait about three hours to get started!!! Luckily, my friend Pammy was
coincidentally in the same wave, and Chris just before ours. So we could all hang out
watch everyone else, and wait together!

The sunrise was beautiful as it came up over the lake. Beautiful shades of pinks & reds.
Although we all know that famous slogan, “Red skies in morning, sailors take warning.”
So the red sky was just a warning of things to come… and they did.

So serene. So beautiful. Even with that one lone lifeguard boat preparing for the fun.

And then the first Wave went off… as there were more lifeguard boats at the ready and
the first swimmers started passing by. And once it starts, the anxiety level increases
as it’s now “real” and you know that your Wave is coming soon. No stopping it now.

As our Wave got closer, it was finally time to squeeze into our wetsuits and don our pink
swim caps. Each Wave of the Triathlon is assigned a different group color…
last year purple, this year pink. Pammy and I were ready… excited to get started…

Okay, and maybe just a little scared too…

As the clock continues to tick down, we’re just two minutes from starting.

So you finally get into the water and tread water until the air horn signals the start.

And we’re off…

The swim starts in Monroe Harbor across from Buckingham Fountain. You swim
south to the Field Museum, turn around at the orange pyramid cone, and then
all the way back north to the swim exit a mile later!

Once I finally made it out of the water, there’s a HUGE sigh of relief. That is
definitely my worst leg of the race. Not a big swimmer. In fact, I did the entire
thing once again doing the side stroke!! Crazy, I know… but it works for me.

Then it’s on to the bike transition where you change clothes, put on your bike shoes
and head out on your bike. It’s two laps along Lake Shore Drive totaling 25 miles.
The first lap was pretty nice. But when I turned around to start my second lap, you
could definitely see the storm rolling in. The wind was picking up an there were large
gray clouds to the west. On my last stretch south, the rain started with a light drizzle.
I was happy that I had completed the bike portion before the rain really kicked in…
and that my average speed on the bike was over 20 miles per hour!

Sorry for the lack of pictures here… but my Dad was also the photographer, and he
was back by the swim & run section. So I don’t have any photos from the bike or run.
You’ll have to take my word on it… tee-hee.

Then it’s back to the bike transition one more time to ditch your bike, change clothes
& shoes as needed, and then it’s off for a 6.5 mile run through Grant Park. You head
south along the lake past the Museum Campus and Soldier Field, then turn around
down my the 31st Street Beach. The whole time it was raining. At first, it was a
refreshing drizzle. But at times it picked up a bit – but by that time I was already wet
from the rain & sweat, so I didn’t care much.

By the time I made it to the Finish Line, it was really coming down.
And there stood my parents in the pouring rain cheering me on! Yeah me…
to have such a great cheering section! So excited to come across that line.
Excited to have finished my second Triathlon! Relieved that all of the hard work
& practice paid off. Endorphins, Adrenaline. Sweat. Gotta love the combination!

Soaked through & through… but still celebrating with my friends Pammy & Chris.
And enjoying the fact that I shaved 13 minutes & 40 seconds off last year’s time!!!

Back home, it felt great to take a shower, wash off the grime and eventually be dry again!
Some stiff muscles, but nothing too sore. And a nice new Triathlon medal to show for it.

And the big reward at the end?… a celebratory dinner at my favorite Rose Angeli’s
with my parents, Pammy and her husband. A wonderful end to our wonderful day!

Rochelle, one of my former pottery students, stopped by summer camp this morning
to say goodbye as she’s moving to Boston to go for grad school. HARVARD to be exact!!!
She’s been so much fun to have around the studio, always smiling, always witty, always
sarcastic. Three of my favorite things. She did give me a going-away gift too…
ahh, she knows me so well. My fourth favorite thing!!!