On Friday I unloaded a kiln load of glazed pieces. It contained a large customer order as well as this square plate I'm donating to Dakota Woodlands for an upcoming fundraiser. 
I love how the leaf slip design turned out. The glaze breaks over the raised leaf design creating a toasty brown color. Hopefully, those attending the fundraiser will also like this piece and it will fetch a great price for this deserving organization. 
The weather this weekend was perfect for the Rochester Artigras event on Saturday. Overall the show was good for its first year. Mayo Park is a nice venue for this type of event however there was a run going on at the same time vendors were arriving to set up which caused some difficulties for both groups. Otherwise, they had a great showing of wonderful artists and pretty steady traffic all day.
My next couple shows are at the Farmington Farmer’s Market on August 27th and Sept 3rd. It’s another first time event for me, so we’ll see how they go. If you’re around either of those days stop by and shop the many local food vendors and crafter/artisans.
Yesterday, my husband and I declared a "no work day". We work full-time jobs during the week, and on weekends have pottery and two properties to care for so we always seem to have some work that needs to get done. It's been months since we had a nothing planned day, so we decided to go on a road trip.
We drove south to visit an instructor from a past wood fire workshop I'd taken who is setting up a new studio. Mike Knox has moved his studio from the LaCrescent Minnesota area to Strawberry Point Iowa and was busy this weekend rebuilding his wood fired kiln on the new site. Here's a picture of the kiln at his previous studio. We were stupid and left home without either of our cameras so we didn't get any new photos of his studio. His new kiln is larger than the one shown so it will be easier to load and unload without having to crawl into it. Very important as we age.
Mike's was just one of the many places we stopped on our drive. We had a great dinner at a fun historic tavern in Fountain City Wisconsin called The Monarch Tavern. I'd highly recommend stopping there for some fine Irish cuisine, a brew and a great atmosphere.
Our "no work day" is over so now I'm off to the studio to glaze.
Be well.
This past weekend we had a party at the farm/studio in SE Minnesota. The weather was a little hot and humid, but the breeze made the weather tolerable. Otherwise it was all about good friends, good food and some adult beverages. On Friday morning my husband and I along with one of the 1st of the guest went to a little restaurant/store just a mile or so from the farm called the Highland Store.It was established in 1892 and has been operated by several different families since that time. The current owner Vicky serves great organic breakfast and lunch every Sunday through Friday. This particular Friday morning I was enjoying my multi-grain waffle and visiting with Iris our server. I mentioned to Iris that I was a potter and her reply surprised me. "I've been praying to meet a potter." Not world peace or saving the starving children, but meeting a potter. Wow, I don't get that kind of reception very often.Turns out, Iris makes great deep dish pies and her deep dish pie plate she had custom made for her in Washington many years ago had developed a crack. She's been looking for someone to make a new one. I was happy to help out (especially knowing it was going to be used to make deep dish pies that I would eventually enjoy at the Highland Store). On Friday afternoon I made two pie dishes for Iris. I hope she likes them and makes some delicious pies. 
It's kinda funny how things happen like that. Deep dish blackberry pie - can you taste it?? I can't wait.
Well, mostly it's been throw, trim, dry, fire, glaze, fire and repeat. But between all that, I made some time yesterday to get this new tattoo. My daughter is an apprentice tattoo artist at Monster Ink in St. Paul and she spent yesterday evening doing this tattoo on my ankle. I've very pleased with it which is really good for her. Could you imagine your mom not being pleased with the tattoo job you did on her? That's not an issue here, I love it. Thanks Gabby.
Earlier in the day, I unloaded a glaze load from the kiln. There were a couple pieces that were a customer order wedding gift for a wedding this weekend. Cutting it a little close on that order. There were also several other pieces that turned out nice. Check these out. Soon they will make their way to my Etsy shop.
