Here it is again… Mother’s Day Weekend… and the Best Pottery Tour EVER!!!
The St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour is an annual event  a bit north of Minneapolis. There are seven host potters on the tour that invite even more talented artists to their place for the weekend. This year there were fifty guest artists! Truth be told… some day I would love to be one of those invited guest potters. Dare to dream! Maybe we need to start a write-in campaign???

So here’s the deal. The pottery tour is always Friday, Saturday & Sunday. There are large tents set-up at each location FILLED with wonderful pots!!! The artists are all there and ready to chat. What’s not to like? It’s a great opportunity to see some amazing work, network and make some more “pottery friends.” We always do the full tour on Friday when the shelves are overflowing… and selling fast!

Here’s a quick peek at some of the fun! And some of the pottery!

Yes, you are correct…. it all can be a little visually overwhelming. But in a good way. With so many talented potters involved, it’s nearly impossible to see everything. So let me share a few of the pieces that caught my attention.

Large Pitcher by Steven Hill.

Dinnerware by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson

Platter by Shoko Teruyama

Pottery display full of work by Kyle Carpenter.

Colorful carrot plate by Karin Kraemer.

Striped & sectioned platter by Suze Lindsay.

Glazed bowl by Ellen Shankin & carved porcelain mini vessels by Sandra Byers.

Forget-Me-Not Platter by Karin Kraemer.

Dotted Leaf Plate by Kyle Carpenter.

Pottery display full of work by Matthew Metz.

Some foliage beauty on Kyle Carpenter pots.

Textured plates by Mary Barringer.

Textured flower brick vases by Bill Gossman.

 

Textured vase by RIchard Vincent and some “glaze magic” by Steven Hill.

More painted accents on Kyle Carpenter pots.

Perky petals by Karin Kraemer and textured slip tray by Suze Lindsay.

Dinnerware by Kent McLaughlin in a cool dish rack.

Sgraffito flower by Matthew Metz and a textured plate by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson.

Large glazed bowl and pottery display by Steven Hill.

Small vase by Suze Lindsay and teapot by Kyle Carpenter.

Incredible dinnerware by Ikuzi Teraki & Jeanne Bisson.

Textured platter by Richard Vincent and a textured plate ^ vase by Mary Barringer.

Planter by Suze Lindsay.

Textured jar by George Lowe.

Glazed platter by Steven Hill and sgraffito flower by Matthew Metz.

Textured sphere vase by Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish.

Of course there were SO MANY MORE pots to see. I feel based that I missed getting photos of a lot of them! Maybe because I was too swept up in the moment. Too busy admiring pots. Too busy enjoying the eye candy. Too busy shopping!

Sometimes timing is everything. It was great to capture the “courting ritual” moment of two bugs on a Karin Kraemer pot. Too funny.

And speaking of funny… here’s a quick pic of my friend Steven Hill posting on his phone. We had just had the discussion a few moments earlier that he needs to post something about the Pottery Tour. Apparently he took my advice… but was a little frightened of what I was going to post about him!!! All good Steven… good photo, nice booth shot and look, you’re posting online!!! Well played my friend.

 

So it’s been a VERY busy year! And hard for me to believe that I’ve now been on Instagram for a full year! Of course I was dragging my heels, avoiding the trend to hop on the Instagram bandwagon! Like I really needed yet one more social networking outlet and recurring obligation in my life?!

A lot has changed over the last year.. including the Instagram logo!

And now I’m out on the St. Croix Pottery Tour again… and I realized that it marks my one-year anniversary on Instagram. So I’m celebrating with by re-visiting the “scene of the crime.” Here’s this year’s version of my first Instagram post…

And here’s my VERY FIRST post to Instagram a year ago! Look familiar?…

Click here to go to my Instagram page… then click FOLLOW.
Or, use the QR Code for immediate access…

 

Pulling together some class demo bowls to donate for tonight’s EMPTY BOWLS event at Lillstreet Art Center. Stop by tonight from 5:00-8:00pm for some great pottery at a great price… great soup… and a great cause! Now I’m sure there are more bowls somewhere around here…

Click here for more information about tonight’s EMPTY BOWLS event at Lillstreet.

Last night we had our final pottery class of the Winter session. Always a bittersweet night. Fun to see what my students have made and how they’ve grown over the 10-week class. Sad to see some of them leaving… some of them moving on… one of them just plain moving! Luckily, I believe many of them will be coming back again next session to play some more in my class!

As part of our last class, I always challenge them to a trading-exchange White Elephant sort of game. They have the 10-week class to make a specified item, and then we do a big trading game on the final night. This session it was plates. 12″ or smaller for my new beginners, 12″ or larger for my returning beginners! Let me just say we didn’t quite pull out the ruler, but most of them gave it a great effort. So much fun with so many great students.

And then you see this kind of a post on Facebook the next day…

Direct from Katie’s post on Facebook…
“Latest pottery… plate from Patty via our end-of-term exchange and bowl by me! As always, massive thanks to and adoration of Gary Jackson!”

Aw shucks… warm fuzzies all around. And some pretty sweet pots too!!!

After The Greeks, I was tap dancing on being visually overstimulated… but not quite.
So I continued my tour of old pots in the China Exhibit. And again, I was impressed by the pots in the exhibit… keeping in mind how old these pots are. Taken out of context of the museum exhibit, I think you could find most of these forms at any art fair nowadays!

A beautiful celadon teapot…

And a few examples of early sgrafitto… in graphic black & white…

And again, saved my favorite for last… love the pattern, the design, the colors…
and the “rusty-ness” look of it.

So Nancy and I finally made it to The Greeks exhibit… after a not-so-quick lunch and fun conversation. The Greeks exhibit is set up chronologically. So it starts “in the beginning” way, way, way back before time. Seemingly forever ago. But it was interesting to see when the potter’s wheel was “introduced” to the world. And for the record, we found it interesting to see that not much has changed to the kick-wheel design!!! But look at that date… WOW!!!

The exhibit is pretty amazing. So many artifacts and remnants. But what REALLY caught my attention were these adorable little boys and their sketch books. Turned out to be an entire family spending the day with The Greeks. The boys were adorable, with Dad hovering but never getting in their way, and SO into their sketch books. They were drawing pictures of the artifacts and labeling them with words from the displays. The little guys were adorable… sketch books, LED light-up sneakers and a fidgety little sister sitting on the bench with Mom.

Okay, enough about the kids... now onto the POTS!!!
Sure there were weapons, buttons, adornments, sculptures and more.  Yet not surprisingly, I focused primarily on the pots. Considering how long ago they were created, it’s kind of amazing how great they still look. Sure, there has been some “refurbishing” along the way, but really. Beautifully formed, beautifully decorated, and really with very few tools. And given the test of time, these pots still stand up really well.

Love the surface decoration… the swirls, the colors…
Keep in mind they had no “real” glazes or chemicals.
Just things they dug up, ground up or found.

Beautiful brushwork & design…

A quick diversion…. made me laugh... and then back to the pots…

And then as we made it further down the chronology, we finally made it to the Grecian Urns that most people are familiar with. Gotta love the designs, the brushwork and graphic color contrasts.

And of course, I saved my favorite for last…

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.

A lot of people commented that they missed out on the last online mug sale
back in early December 2015. So I thought it might be a good idea to do another one…
this time, in time for Valentine’s Day Gifts!!!

So the plan is much like the last online sale…
I will post photos of all the mugs here on my blog. Both sides of each mug for comparison.
Then next Saturday, January 30th at Noon CST, I will post the “official” Photo Album on my Facebook pottery page. Once posted on Facebook, it’s gonna be a first come, first served race to the end. The first person to post a Comment on a photo in the Facebook Photo Album with “claim” their prize.

Feel free to post comments here on the mugs, but keep in mind that
ONLY the first person to Comment on Facebook will get the mug!
Good luck!!!

Click here to go to my pottery Facebook page.
Be sure to click LIKE so you’re ready for the big sale next Saturday!

Fire When Ready Pottery : Voted #1 Pottery Blog for 2015.

So excited to be chosen again this year as the Top Pottery Blog… again!!!
I was honored last year in the Number One position as well… yeah me!
Special Thanks to Clay Blog Review and Pottery Making Info online for the honor.
They’ve been following my blog, and thankfully linking to my posts throughout the year.
A hundred and nineteen times apparently!!! It’s so exciting to part of a wonderful ceramic community that is so willing to share such wonderful stories, photos and useful information.

Click here to see the rest of the list for some other Top Pottery Blogs for 2015.
There’s a LOT of great information out there… stories, photos, pottery & more!!!

Thanks again to Clay Blog Review and Pottery Making Info.
And here’s to another year of sharing… let’s all keep it up.

Sign up for my new wheelthrowing class and I PROMISE to not play “Unchained Melody”, make any bad “Ghost” references or even do any of these crazy antics. So much fun to watch… but I guarantee not to re-create any of these awkward “hidden camera” moments. I’d rather create my own awkward moments!!! Kidding. Kinda.

Click here for the “unchained” video on YouTube.