Chalcedony

Nummy! Here are my first experiments with Chalcedony from the wonderful women at Gaffer Girls USA. I buy my frit from JameyLynn at Howaco, which reminds me that I need to get an order together so I can swing by her place after my hair appt Wednesday...

I have another idea for a base under the Chalcedony, but I was an idiot and forgot to put sunblock on yesterday; I am too sunburnt to torch today.

Space, the final frontier

Spent some time on the torch yesterday, and played with silver foil, rubino, and some blue transparents. I was a little heavy-handed with the rubino on the lower one, but I love the outer space feel to these.

Crazy week

It's been a crazy-busy week but I'm getting back in the groove, I made some beads today, and hopefully some of them turned out. I am doing my first outdoor show in September, just 2 weeks before the West Michigan Bead Expo. I have no idea how I am going to have enough product without quitting my job. :)

Joy

I stumbled across Kate Leiper's work the other day, and I am just enamored with her art. Her animals have the most wonderful expressions, and the details are simplay amazing. I've made her web site my home page at work, and I keep changing my desktop wallpaper. I am definitely a dog person; this guy's been up a whole day. :) I love this quote from her profile, "Whenever I read words, an image comes to mind; yet images offer a glimpse of what can’t be expressed in words."

Take a look around her site, and enjoy!

20 years ago tonight

On June 5, 1989, one day after the Chinese army's deadly crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, a single, unarmed young man stood his ground before a column of tanks on the Avenue of Eternal Peace. Captured on film and video by Western journalists, this extraordinary confrontation became an icon of the struggle for freedom around the world.

{body of snipped article here}

In the end, his identity remains a mystery, but the symbolism of his act of defiance continues to have power. "That story ... is not getting weaker because of time. Because we don't know who he is, it's actually getting stronger," says Xiao Qiang of the China Internet Project at the University of California at Berkeley. "In the long frame of history ... human freedom, courage, dignity will stay and prevail, and that's what that picture will testify [to] forever."

Destashing for a sick kitty

My friend Jamey's cat ate part of her grandson's sippy cup and had to have it surgically removed. The bill is over $600, so she will be destashing some of her lampwork beads, stones, and other jewelry-making supplies over the next couple of weeks. For her destash and Bowser's story, please click here.

Thank you for looking.

Another creation

My favorite bracelet, made with my favorite glass, Psyche.

The drought is over

Ok, not my beads, but still had fun making this set.

Several pendants...

A couple of bookmarks

Today's Word of the Day

Compassion.

Pimpin' my friends' work

Check out Melissa Selmon's art. She is a wonderful person and has simply beautiful paintings.

Pit Bull Lady Designs is a local librarian (support your local libraries!) and makes fun felted wool items, like this dragon eye.

No post would be complete without some glass goodness. This is a sample of Sandra's work. Lovely colors, and a fun person to hang around (but don't tell her I said that)

Thank you

Not ready to give it (or you) up

Last weekend, I spend three wonderful days up near Big Rapids with some wonderful and crazy women. We made beads, exchanged techniques, ate, drank, and were merry. Shortly after I arrived home, I made the comment tomy husband that I need to sersiously figure out where I am going with my beads, or just quit.

Quit? What the Hell was I thinking? After a couple of days of contemplation, I realized that I can't stop making beads. Not only would I miss playing with molten glass which often saves my sanity, the loss of my friends would create a huge hole in my life.

We'll see what the rest of the year brings; hopefully I can stick to my resoultions to develop and grow my endeavors.

Respond & Rework

I got this from Julia/Art of the Firebird, who got it from Kandice Seeber, who got it from the BeadedLily’s Sketchbook blog — sounds like a fun meme!

THE RULES:
Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your own blog; replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention; add one more question of your own.

THE QUESTIONS:
What is your current obsession?
Glass

Which item from your closet are you wearing most lately?
It's al about the Ts.

What was the last thing you bought?
An organizer for my studio.

What are you listening to right now?
Heavy Metal: Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Pantera, Metallica, and the list goes on...

What are you reading?
Sadly, nothing at the moment.

What 4 words would you use to describe yourself?
Impulsive, kind, funny, caring

What is your current guilty pleasure?
Icanhascheezburger.com

What would you do if the internet was irreparably damaged and you had to find another way to connect?
My brain would explode.

Where would you go if you could travel anywhere right now?
Ireland or Spain.

What flower are you most anxious to see bloom this spring?
My poppies.

What are you most happy doing?
Reading.

Care to share some wisdom?
It can't rain all the time.

If I walked into your work space today what would you want to show me? What would you want to hide?
The few finished pieces I've made.

What makes you laugh out loud?
My dogs.

How many pets do you have, and what kind?
2 dogs: a 10 month-old lab and a 10 year-old cocker.

What are you looking forward to doing in the next 24 hours?
Seeing the Red Wings at the Joe tonight. Our seats are ON. THE. GLASS.

Link back to me if you do this meme yourself!

Burn, baby, burn!

I made beads tonight! It felt good to sit at the torch and just crank a few out. I made some pandoras last week, but this felt different. I felt creative. :)

Post-n-Run

Wow. I haven't posted since April 7th. I still have nothing much to say, so here is one of my favorite paintings.

Sometimes, I just don't get it

Art, like many things, is in the eye of the beholder. I went to Meijer Gardens this weekend to see the Butterflies are Blooming. There was also an exhibit by Jonathan Borofsky. Well, I just don't get it. I understand what he's trying to say, but it just doesn't move me.

You're gonna need a bigger boat...

Shark! We visited the Aquarium in Key West. Very cool.

Cult, Coven, Guild, Gathering

I would say when we get together at our monthly meeting it's all about the glass, but I'd be lying. It's really all about the food. The glass is a close second, but it comes in second nonetheless.

We had nearly 20 people at my house yesterday! I had a blast, and I am grateful to have so many friends in the glass world.

More vacation pictures

Yes, I have plenty of typical touristy-type pictures of our trip to Florida. But, I do love the macabre, and I love old cemeteries.

Vacation

This is the view from our hotel room in Marathon, Florida. We had a spectacular time and wonderful weather. It did rain every day, but only at dinner or even later at night. The only thing we didn't get to do was snorkel, as it was very windy and the waves were too high.