Greenbuild Expo 2007 sprang to life yesterday, making its presence known all throughout Chicago. Signs cover the city welcoming the show and, with over 20,000 attendees, Chicago seems to be solely inhabited by people wanting to make the world greener.

Greenbuild is surpassing many attendees’ expectations. The sheer volume of information available is simply astounding. And, with keynote speaker Bill Clinton starting off the show in front of 7,000 people, inspiration is in the air. Some are comparing it to Woodstock 1969, “when the fences came down and everyone was welcome. But in this case, we really can change the world (or at least transform the market),” wrote Lauren Kuritz on Greenbuild’s online journal.

American Clay is in the thick of it, with Carol Baumgartel, Croft Elsaesser and John Day manning our new and beautiful booth. Its creation was a collaborative effort and quite different from anything American Clay has ever made for a show. Each surface shows a different application technique—everything from a simple sandy-finished Loma to the more advanced hard-trowel-polished Loma topped with a pigmented Mud Glue atomized through a stencil.

In addition to the booth, is a board of six different stencil techniques, including “proud stenciling”—where the stencil is raised—and “embedded stenciling”—where the stencil is covered with Porcelina, sponged to reveal it, then burnished.

The show runs through today and concludes tomorrow. For up-to-date happenings, go to Greenbuild 365 to watch filmed speeches and to read the online journal. Also, watch here for a final review of the show.