Subjected to the hectic, frenzied & totally unorganized experience of my VERY first
craft fair… Gerry & Rosene have been with me since the beginning of my pottery career.
Unbeknownst to them, Gerry & Rosene were across the aisle from me when I showed up
to set up my booth. It was my very first art fair – and I knew nothing!!! They were veterans
of the art fair circuit and watched in disbelief as I spread my pottery all over the floor,
the aisle, anywhere I could so that I could empty the crates that would become my shelving…
it was everywhere! And nothing was pre-priced… I was a wreck. Luckily, they were there
to help me through this crazy experience!

Gerry & Rosene were the owners & artists of Pine Needle Crafts – focusing on “primitive”
home decorations. Since then, they have retired from the art fair circuit, as well as “crafting”
all together. Instead, they have decided to turn their other passion into a new business
venture. Their incredible garden down in Central Illinois is spectacular vision with layers,
colors, textures and whimsical touches everywhere you look. Once a year, they open up
the garden in the Spring for their own garden sale of hostas, perennials & annuals.

This weekend, I made the trip down to visit… and sit back to relax in their garden.
It’s always great to see them, share stories while playing in the dirt, relax in the hot tub,
and enjoy some incredible brownies!!!

Besides the rusty bikes… which are a great accent for any garden… I need to get one…
one of my favorite focal points in their garden is this groovy bridge that crosses the creek at
the bottom of the garden ravine. The plank bridge was simple & plain… until they put their
collection of rusty garden tools to “use” as their not-quite-conventional handrail. Love it.

So their yard is incredible. The front of their house is full of flowers and rusty accents.
Turn around the side of the house and enjoy a large deck overlooking the backyard.
A few steps down, and you see an incredible “spread” of garden unfold before you.
Layers & terraces take you down to the bottom of the ravine, across the bridge and
back up the other side. Around every corner, there are spectacular plants & flowers. Some
have bright colored flowers, while others are more appreciated for their foliage & textures.

But it’s not just flowers… like I said, it’s also an incredible assortment of rusty metal
accents – and you know how I LOVE RUST!!! So it’s great to look around… see the
beautiful garden they’ve created and be inspired by their passion & excitement.

Plus… mixed in amongst the sloping garden… one of my own ceramic totem poles!
Being slightly upstaged by a beautiful Siberian iris.

In addition to gardening, Gerry is still working in the wood shop making bird houses!
Over the years, I have received quite a collection of Gerry’s pieces… many with great
barnboard sides and rusty metal roofs. Rosene stays crafty as well – mostly with her
hand-painted garden plant identification markers. Yes… EVERY PLANT in their garden
is marked with a hand-painted sign! Crazy, I know…

But then it’s time to drive back to the city after a very enjoyable day in their garden.
And a car load of potted plants they’ve sent me home with. Plants that were left over
from their sale, as well as cuttings & divisions from many of their spectacular garden.
For those of you that have seen my condo garden, you can thank Gerry & Rosene for
the majority of the plants that are flourishing there. They have been such generous
& supportive friends over the years… it’s great to have Talented Friends!

I had planned to pedal down to the 57th Street Art Fair today to visit some of my
artist friends who were showing there work down there. Sadly, I only got part way
there before I had to turn around as I could see the big storm clouds headed my way!
I made it home just before the clouds opened up and dumped on the city. So I hopped
in my car and headed down to the south side.

Luckily, by the time I drove down there, the storm had just stopped and the fair was
just getting under way. So I had plenty of time time to hang out with friends and shop!
It’s always fun to attend an art fair, support my friends and have fun without having my
own booth. So I started with a Twizzlers break with Julie and metalsmith Sarah Chapman.
Centrally located right next to the funnel cakes, so I made frequent returns to Sarah’s booth.
Then it was off to make the rounds… Amy Taylor’s hinged jewelry, Judy Zeddes prints,
Melissa Banks’ chain maille, Glynnis Lessing’s porcelain sgraffito, Karen Patinkin’s glazed
procelain, Roberta Polfus and her carved porcelain miniatures, Marian Castro-Palanyk’s
porcelain, Molly Bitters leather & silver jewelry & Mary Zehnder’s southwestern sculptures.

And a trip to an art fair would not be complete without a little shopping…
including a new chain maille bracelet to add to my Melissa Banks Collection…
and couple great miniature vases to add to my Roberta Polfus Collection! Yeah me!
And yes Sarah, you were “supposed” to help me narrow down my Polfus choices!!!

Followed by dinner at my favorite restaurant, Rose Angeli’s, and a brand new dish of
jerk chicken ravioli with asiago cheese cream sauce, fried plantains and mango chutney!
Yeah… I know, sounds a little strange – so much so that I HAD to try it… and LOVED it!!!

Well, we’ve survived Schaumburg Day One… and it was a great day!
Good sun. Good sweat. Good sales. Plus it feels good to have one day over with!
One day down, one day to go…

We started this morning early with the full booth set-up… I prefer Friday afternoon
set-ups as it makes Saturday less frantic. But we finished setting up just in time!
The show “officially” started at 10:00am – but customers were already shopping by 9:30am.
So even though we were still doing some finishing touches, we were also more than ready
to meet some customers and make some sales!

I had a good day – lots of fun, lots of sales, and lots of new friends we met along the way.
And not just the new customers, but always great to see the returning “groupies” as well.
As many of you know. I also have my parents right there once again helping out all day.
Plus my Aunt, sister, brother-in-law and niece Taylor stopped by to visit as well!

But the biggest surprise of the day was a visit by my old college friends Keith & Julie,
and their newly engaged daughter Katie – all of whom I had no idea they would be coming!
It’s been about a year since they surprised me last year that the Hinsdale Art Fair. So imagine
my surprise to suddenly turn around, look up and see some “flash-from-your-past” friends
right there at the entrance of my booth… color me shocked, sweaty & glad to see old friends!
It was great to see them (all the way up from Goodfield, Illinois) – and great to hear that they
are faithful blog readers and “Fans” on Facebook.

So I’m home tonight, doing two quick loads of laundry, and hoping to get a good night’s sleep
tonight so that I’m all ready for Day Two of the Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival!
Let’s hope for another successful day tomorrow… and more fun too!

With the finale of “LOST” coming tonight… I just realized that the “answer”
to everything on the Island has been staring me in the face all along. Who knew that
the overall theme would be captured in a set of little bottles I’ve had for years
as part of my Cory McCrory Collection!!! Go figure… luckily, they each have stoppers!

The weather was indeed much better today. Still a little chilly, still a bit cloudy, but no rain!!!
So we “returned to the scene of the crime” to revisit the wonderful potters today. My parents
returned to the first two stops, and then went off on their own to discover Stillwater & Hudson;
two local towns on the St. Croix River. So I hooked up with my friend Amy Higgason, and her
friend Katlyn. I’ve known Amy for years through our time together at Lillstreet Art Center.
She has since moved up to the Wisconsin Northwoods, but continues to make incredible
pottery way up north! Katlyn is a college student preparing to graduate in a week. She’s
worked with Amy over the years, with Amy acting as her mentor & teacher. It was great fun
to play with them both today – chatting, shopping, discussing, critiquing, and laughing
our way through the tour. We saw old friends, shared stories, talked with potters and made
new friends & contacts along the way. Some good-old-fashioned networking never hurts.

Today we spent a little more time actually “looking” at the work, since the frantic pace
and the race of shopping had subsided yesterday. It was fun to look at the work again with
fellow potters to discuss our likes, dislikes, preferences and “clay crushes” all day long.

One of Amy’s favorites is Sylvie Granatelli… okay, I bought one of her mugs yesterday too!
We all were impressed by her lines, shapes, carved textures and color pallate. Very nice.

Then we had a chance to chat with Laurie Shaman from Chicago. Laurie used to be the
Gallery Director at Lillstreet Art Center when I was first starting to take classes. I wasn’t
sure she would even know who I was, as our time there only overlapped for a couple years.
But Amy re-introduced us and she was indeed aware of me and my work. She’s no longer
working at Lillstreet, but instead has her studio just a few blocks down the street!

We then made our way to the studio of Linda Christianson where we met up with our
potter-friend Emily Murphy and her husband Ian. She introduced us to Kristin Pavelka
who has a whimsical & colorful approach to her work… much different from the other
potters invited to Linda Christianson’s place, including Dan Anderson. At this point,
I was becoming entranced by some of the textures & patterns…

Then we met up with my friend Steven Hill and introduced him to Amy & Katlyn.
His work is stunning and I’ve had the chance to work with Steven over the past couple
years on his marketing. He also had some great advice & insights for Katlyn as she
is just starting her ceramic career. In fact, now that I am “so-not-an-expert” on
Facebook, I encouraged him to set up his own Fan Page on Facebook. Which he did…
so show him that I was right, and search “Steven Hill Pottery” and click his “LIKE”
button to become a Facebook Fan of Steven’s work.

In the category wonderful studios, wouldn’t you like a large picture window overlooking
a beautiful prairie just like Jeff Oestreich?!

After visiting most of the official potters on the tour, we ran across a sign on the highway
that said “Pottery Sale” and an arrow pointing off to the side. We decided to give it a try
even though we knew they were not part of the “official” tour route. We were impressed
by this merry band of rogue potters… by their enthusiasm, signage and willingness to
become part of their own “tour.” The house was quite dilapidated, but the pots were quite
nice and very economical. From the sounds of it, our “rogue potters” were a teacher and
his students putting their work out there an capitalizing upon the hoards of pottery
enthusiasts traveling the area this weekend. BRILLIANT marketing plan!!! I love it.

We ended Pottery Tour Day Two with an evening with our friend Emily Murphy
who recently relocated up to Minneapolis from Chicago. We had dinner, toured
her house, saw her newly built studio area and some work in progress and waiting
for a kiln to finish them in… and celebrated Ian’s birthday.

It’s been a long day… and a long weekend. But I know I’ve had a wonderful trip,
and I think my parents had fun too. It’s always so inspiring to see so much great
pottery all at once. To see all of the customers coming out to support handmade craft.
To see such support for local artisans. To talk with fellow potters about their path.
To see all of the different “things” that can be made out of a simple lump of clay.
To realize that there is a larger audience out there looking for quality pottery.
Now if they would all just read this blog?! And more importantly…
How do I get “invited” to be a part of the Pottery Tour next year?!

Over the years, I’ve gotten to know a great watercolor artist on the art fair circuit.
She does beautiful paintings of birds and botanicals. And as she’s getting ready for
the kick-off of her art fair circuit, we’re getting a quick look at her newest piece!

Check out her website to see more watercolor works by Anne Gilna.
Go to my “Links” for a quick transfer to her website!

Not on Easter?… but weeks later???
Today was the annual “Easter Ride”… the official kick-off of our biking season.
It is the first organized bike ride that gets us all out there to pedal through
the Illinois countryside. The ride started down south in University Park, and
rambled 68 miles through area, into Indiana, and back. It was a windy, chilly ride…
but a wonderful day to be riding with friends! And celebrating Chris’ birthday!!!

And when you run across a huge buffalo… you’ve got to stop!!!

So… my friend, studio-mate and fellow TV Jeopardy player… Karen Patinkin
has finally made her online debut. Welcome to the wonderful blogosphere Karen!!!
Now don’t get too excited… she doesn’t have a new blog… she doesn’t have
a new website… although I keep urging her to jump on the blog band-wagon.
But today she was featured on a Chicago-based blog “Chicago Now” that features
great things around town. And today she’s being “exposed” as one of
“The Best Kept Secrets” after 30 years of making beautiful pottery!

Check her out on “her first blog posting… Karen Patinkin: Best Kept Secret

As the seasons come throughout the year, my friend Alison is often in the kitchen
baking up seasonal specialties, and decorating other festive décor for your home.
Once again, Alison created beautiful cookies for my family’s Easter celebration.
okay, enough laughing about MY non-religious family even celebrating Easter!!!

From decorating cookies in festive shapes & colors…
Alison was recently accepted into culinary school which she’ll start this Summer.
I’ve already offered to be her guinea pig! If you would like to get on Alison’s mailing list,
or order your own festive holiday goodies, feel free to contact her at:
alisonchronis97@ameritech.net

With my bathroom remodeling now complete, it has taken a little time to get used to
the changes. New colors. New tiles. New toilet. New towels. New vanity. New sink height.
New taller shower stall door that I no longer hit my head on when I get in & out everyday!
It’s the little things that make me happy… plus all of the textures to enjoy as well.
Including one of my favorite cups by fellow potter & friend Cory McCrory!