No spoilers here… except that I just finished THE GREAT POTTERY THROW DOWN on HBO Max!!! Binged… and done!!!

I just wish there were more episodes… or a U.S. version I could compete & play on?! So many great projects. So many challenges. So much fun!!!

Time to get some glaze going… luckily, I’m getting ready for a soda kiln firing, so it’s more about liner glazes, inlays & accents… and not fully glazing things. So it “might” go a little quicker?… but everything needs to be wadded too, so maybe not so much?!

Time to mark your calendars… we’re just nine weeks away from the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR! I will be playing with my pottery friend Cory McCrory at her studio location in Sandwich, Illinois… along with fellow ceramicists Linda Kiepke, Nancy Gardner, Kenyon Hansen & Lindsay Heiden. Put us on your calendar for a fun weekend road trip for some pottery fun!!!

Feeling a little ROUGE inspired… and painting some RED accents on these pots tonight for my next soda firing!!!

A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT!!!
Here’s a great story… follow along…

So I made some plain vases for my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class for their Glazing Challenge. I had an extra one, so my friend & fellow teacher Chelsea glazed it during the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class. It came out beautiful. And then Chelsea gifted it to Clara for her birthday… and Clara is in my THROWDOWN class. So what started in THROWDOWN is now back for good with a THROWDOWN for good!

Happy Birthday Clara!!!

Always a great day when THIS arrives in my mailbox!!!

After two years of pandemic virtual tours, it’s so exciting to see that the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour will once again be going live & in-person this Spring. So much fun to see so much beautiful pottery over the course of a weekend… driving from studio location to studio location… chatting with over 60 talented potters… picking up a few pieces for my own collection along the way… and forever daydreaming that I might one day be invited to be part of the “Pottery Tour” instead of just a patron! Dare to dream, right…

Who knew that retro Valentine Cards had so much pottery in them?! Lots of teapots, bowls & cups to brighten your day with some really bad puns!!! You know I like a good “Dad Joke” as much as the next… but seriously?!

I needed to make a pie and didn’t have any apples in the house. So I decided to go with a retro flashback recipe thanks to the folks at Ritz Crackers! It’s a great recipe for an “apple” pie that uses no apples, no applesauce, no apple juice… nothing apple related. And yet somehow it’s YUMMY and tastes just like an apple pie?! Looks like it tasted pretty good… not much left!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!Last night my students took on “The Pottery Olympics” as part of the LILLSTREET THROWDOWN! I mean, the Winter Olympics are starting in Beijing, so we kinda “had to” get the games started at Lillstreet too! Luckily, my students were up for the challenge… and eager to put up with my silly games!

Looks like my friend Rosene has been in the kitchen again…
using her stamped & glazed pie plate… this time for MEATLOAF!!!

And I quote…“Yep, meatloaf… with some new light orange squash… yummy… I really don’t like to cook!!!! But I love playing with my pottery!”