Busy, Busy, Busy

I wish that was an acceptable excuse for not being on the blog since summer. It's been an eventful fall. We lost our wonderful beach cottage to Hurricane Ike in September. As we wait for the insurance to settle, we are beginning to make plans to rebuild. It has been amazing to discover just how much that little place meant to me. Someday soon, I hope to share the fond memories I have of it.

In the meantime, I have been busy preparing for and attending 2 fall bazaars and a home jewelry party. They were a rousing success! There's something else for me to share!

But today, I just wanted to get back on track a bit with something new I am listing in my etsy shop: Simplicities. Simplicities Pendant and Earring Sets are designed for someone who just wants a simple splash of color to complete an outfit. So far, I have listed only one pink set, but more will be coming in the next couple of days. And, best of all, they are on sale during the December First Monday Sale! Be watching!

The Village Does Angel Fire!

From left to right: David, Sheryl (Daryl), Bruce, Jane (Brane), Cheri, Bill (Beri)

Over the past couple of years, my husband and I have become quite close to two other couples. One of the couples, Bruce and Jane, decided to go the route of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and create a unique name for themselves. They became Brane. That was quickly followed by the other two couples. David and Sheryl became Daryl, and Bill and Cheri became Beri. Soon after, came a brainstorming session to create a name for the entire sextet. Because we are all retired and have begun to rely on each other quite a bit, we have decided to call ourselves The Retirement Village People. Last week, The Retirement Village People traveled to a gorgeous log home in Angel Fire, New Mexico for almost a week. The home belongs to the brother of one of the Village's citizens. The owners, John and Beth (Bohn?...Jeth?), were gracious hosts and quickly became naturalized citizens of The Village. What a beautiful place to spend time with cherished friends!

Mint Chocolate Chip

No, it's not a green-eyed monster! Can't you just see a big scoop of ice cream, or a hot fudge sundae being served in this yummy bowl?

This is the first of a set of 4. Of course, with so many designs running through my head, there is no telling when I'll get the other 3 made! So many ideas...such a little kiln!

Success!!!!!!

It's about time! I just finished a set of sushi dishes that came out in one piece and look pretty good to boot! Success feels good!

I've decided to name the set Every Which Way because of the way the stripes appear to be woven through the center of the plate going left, right, up, and down. The colors are amazing, and the platter mold I used is very interesting. Just look at that vibrant blue, the bold yellow, the intense red. There is only the slightest curve on each of the sides, giving it just a bit of shape. The matching smaller plates have the same every which way stripes in a much smaller pattern.

Middle-Aged Crazy?????

What do you think????????? Here I am in my new toy! It's a 2004 40th anniversary Mustang convertible. I had a '65 black Mustang with leather pony interior when I was in high school. I'm reliving my youth! What a ride!

Black Sea Coral

This bowl gave me fits! It was only the beginning of a series of problems that proved, once again, that glass has a mind of its own and becomes what it wants to be! After problem after problem, it came out of the kiln in 2 very separate pieces. Superglue to the rescue! It may not be functional, but it does look good!

All I Need to Know, I Learned in "Kiln"dergarten!

I hope I have learned much of what I need to know about kilnformed glass over the past few weeks! Failure after failure has inspired feelings ranging from desperation to depression to determination. Yesterday may well have been the experience that put me over the edge. I had already begun wondering at what point I had invested too much to quit...or, conversely, too much not to! Last night, while tossing and turning, and reliving my frustration, I once again waffled back into determination. I decided that it was time to count my learnings just like I count my blessings. Here is what I have learned:

• DON'T peek!
• DO ramp up slowly on every subsequent firing...even if it is like counting the days until Christmas.
  
• DO anneal for a lot longer than you think. When a piece is multiple thicknesses, anneal for the thickest part...and then some.
• If you have different COEs of glass in your studio, you need to do more than keep them separate. Be sure you remember which one is in the kiln when you set the anneal temp.
  
• DON'T peek!
• All Superglues are not alike! Use the cheap stuff. It burns off. The gels do nothing but ruin an otherwise great-looking piece.
• DO take good care of your expensive tools.
  
• DON'T peak!
• Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your glass isn't going to do its magic very fast either. It's going to take all day, and some of the next to run through an entire firing and cool down of a sizable piece.
• When an element pin falls into your piece while firing face down, pry it out and just hope that it will smooth out on the flip and fire. Don't try to fuse something decorative on the back. Believe me, it could get worse!
• Go slowly, VERY slowly from the annealing temp to the strain point.
• DON'T peek!
• DON'T challenge yourself on BIG projects that take LOTS of expensive glass. Increase the sizes of your pieces and the degree of difficulty gradually. Give yourself time to learn each step of the way. (And, on this point, maybe you should consider not telling your husband how much you're spending!) And...
• DON'T expect great things when you've put yourself under a deadline!
  
• Scrub, scrub, scrub anything that was ground or cut on your glass saw.
• DON'T learn to cut 12" circles on a $30 piece of fusible glass...or a $28 piece...or even, a $14 piece.
  
• DO measure, and measure, and measure. A 9" circle is not the best size for an 8" slump mold no matter how proud you are of that circle!
• DON'T try to cut an 8" circle out of an already cut 9" circle.
  
• DON'T peek!
• DON'T expect that crack or break to heal and stay stable through 2 or 3 more firings.
  
• DO check your kiln temps. (I'm doing that right now!)
• DO put in a good long bubble squeeze at the proper temperature.
  
• Keep good notes...Okay, I did that, but didn't always trust them! It's bad when you think you're smarter than yourself!
• DON'T peek!
  

Above all, laugh about it, keep your chin up, research, ask questions of your friends at Stained Glass Source (It's really hard not got embarrassed after a while, though.), and whine to your husband...The glass of wine, the hugs, and the words encouragement may make it all worthwhile...That and ending up with a masterpiece!

Finally Back at Glass Work

After taking my mom and her friend to the beach house for Mother's Day weekend and being sick for the better part of the next week, I am finally back at glass fusing. I have really missed it. When I am involved in projects like I have been recently (getting ready to submit to the gallery show), I wake up thinking about them, go to sleep thinking about them, toss and turn all night thinking about them...They positively consume my thoughts. Now with the deadline for the submission looming, I am finally able to try to put my ideas into action. I have had a few successes, but as usual, the more pressure the more inconsistencies in the work. I know there are lessons to be learned in this process, I just wish I would learn them NOW! (I'm sure patience is one of them...) I hope to be back soon with scads of pictures! (Now I just have to get my camera back from my youngest son. SIGH.)

Dirty Dancing?!

My husband and I had a dance lesson last night and learned a new rumba step. It involves a cross body lead into a spin out then in, at which point I must cross my left foot over my right, shift my weight, extend my right foot out to my left, spread my arms like an airplane and...DROP! (Of course at this point, there is no gentle way to get down.) Talk about faith in your partner! He must hold his hands right under my arms (which by now are disgustingly sweaty), control the drop, and lift me back up. Upon rising from this graceful position, I must cross my arms take his left hand with my right, spin back out and in. Finally, I plant my hands strongly on his chest, do a backbend and swerve in a giant circle...just like dirty dancing. I am so proud of my 59 year old husband. Never once did he falter, although I faltered plenty. We practiced it quite a bit at our mall/ballroom this morning...Pretty soon, we are going to start drawing a crowd!

A Field Trip and a New Friend

I had a chance to go to a glass wholesaler here in Houston with a fellow glass artist yesterday. She and I have conversed through bulletin boards and emails for about a year, but only met today. What a dear person. We had a great time talking about glass, families, teaching classes, and much more as she showed me around the Hollander Glass wholesale warehouse. They are mostly a stained glass supplier, but they did have quite a bit of fusible glass, mostly System 96. Because of my recent cutting disasters, I was in need of several large coe90 pieces to replace all that I have wasted. She graciously volunteered to allow me to buy what I needed on her account with just a small upcharge. As usual, I came back with much more than I had intended. At wholesale prices I was able to dip my toe into a bit of Spectrum 96. I now have more to experiment and learn with. My black and white coral bowl went through its fourth firing yesterday. It's in the kiln right now approaching slump temps. Most of the offending haze did seem to be removed by the etching cream. That's a good thing! Once I have it out of the way, I can go onto other pieces I have rumbling about in my head.

So many ideas...so little time!

Fiddle-dee-two-three-four!

I am now on the fourth firing of the bowl I had so many problems cutting out. As I mentioned in my Fiddle-dee-dee post, I couldn't cut a 12" circle for the life of me! In trying to make lemonade out of lemons, I have cut, fused, cut, ground, fused, ground, etched, ground, fused....on and on and on... Once I decided to use this project as yet another learning experience, I designed a white coral design to fuse on the black base before slumping into my bowl mold. (I'm a sucker for anything to do with the beach!) In order to keep the crisp lines of the coral, I full fused the design face down to do a flip and fire. Since I am kilnwash challenged, I fired it on thinfire. So, now the question is: Is that why it turned out hazy and dull? And what can I do to salvage it? I don't have a sandblaster, so I coated it with etching cream to etch the surface and now I am waiting for kiln time to run it through one more time. At what point do I give up????? I sure hope the next time I mention this project, it is to declare success and post a picture!

Dancing in the Mall

This week my husband and I began practicing our ballroom dancing at the mall. Our teacher, Flo, has recruited us to demonstrate a waltz routine at some of the local community centers. The routine requires tons of space...space we certainly don't have in our house! We have searched every available place we could think of to practice. We even entertained the thought of joining the local YMCA fitness center and reserving one of their exercise rooms. We took a tour of the facility last week. It's quite nice but, because of liability concerns, they will not allow anyone to use the rooms without an employee in there. We consulted the city community center and were told that we could rent one of their empty rooms for $75 an hour...I THINK NOT! So, one morning it dawned on us. People go to the mall early every morning before the stores open up, and do their daily walk out of the heat , rain, or cold. Why couldn't we just stake a spot in the center where no one walks? Once that decision was made, it was just a matter of organizing music to dance to and mustering up some courage. That's really putting yourself out there! An MP3 player with two sets of headphones-- one wired and one Bluetooth--took care of the music, so all that was left was a self-peptalk to get me out there and dance to music that no one else could hear. The first day we went, I spent the entire time waiting for mall security to come tell us we had to walk or leave. But by today, the third day, we are having people come ask us if we are teaching lessons or who our teacher is. We have even had the 20 year old who works getting the cookie stand ready every morning make a point to tell us how well we're doing. Now we start every morning with dance. What could be better?!

Fiddle-dee-dee!

Today has been a supremely trying...and expensive...day! I built up my courage and decided to enter a juried show at a local gallery. In August, they will be presenting a show called "For the Table" that will feature Texas and Louisiana artists and their handcrafted work. As the title of the show suggests, every item must be something that belongs on a table...from plates and bowls to candle holders and silverware. Fused glass work will fit right in, and since I have been wanting to branch out from so much jewelry making, this was the perfect catalyst. I have tons of ideas, and the slumping molds to go with them. Unfortunately, I don't have the glass cutting skills. I have spent the DAY trying to cut a 12" circle!

My first effort was near perfect...Off to a GREAT start! Talk about a false sense of security! Sadly, since cutting that first circle, every one of them has split somewhere through the center. AARRRGGGGHHHHHH! (I confess that my New Year's Resolution of cleaning up my language has had a bit of a set-back today.) Not only has the circle cutting been frustrating, I have ruined 3 half sheets of fusible glass. THAT'S NOT CHEAP! But, I have discovered something about myself over the past few months of glass fusing disasters and ballroom dancing challenges: I don't like to admit I can't do something. So, I WILL NOT give up. Right now, I'm relaxing with a glass of wine thinking about tomorrow...To quote Scarlett O'Hara,

"As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me."

Fiddle-dee-dee...Tomorrow is another day!

A Step Back in Time

My husband and I recently went to Los Angeles to visit our son. While there, we had the most unique evening! We attended the 80th Anniversary Party of the Oviatt Building that has been transformed into a gorgeous 1920's night club. Here is a blurb from its website:

With the grandeur of a classic Hollywood musical from the thirties, famed showman and impresario Maxwell DeMille's Cicada Club is a most unique experience that transports you back in time to the glamorous days of Hollywood's golden age of nightclubs.

And, wow, does it do that! With live music from the 20's performed by a big band, the beautifully art deco decorated interior, and patrons dressed in formal and vintage attire, it is easy to imagine yourself at a 1920's speakeasy. The dance floor was quite crowded, but I did have a chance to teach my handsome son a few foxtrot steps. My husband and our son's girlfriend managed a trip around the floor with the foxtrot and then enjoyed a lively swing. For that evening, they even offered absinthe, a liquor that was commonly served back then. I have to admit that that is where my trek to the past ended. I much preferred my glass of wine!

To learn more about this amazing building visit the Cicada Club site. There are some tremendous pictures and it is regularly updated with upcoming events.

Holding a Cat by the Tail

It's time to clean out my studio. This is not a chore I look forward to. It inevitably leads to more project ideas, more need for supplies, and more mess. It seems that the cleaner the studio gets, the more I want to work in it...go figure! But, it had to be done, and I discovered I gained more than just a longer list of to-dos and a cleaner workspace. I found a bit of affirmation, as well.

Deep in the back of a cabinet, I found my very first glass piece. Starting this journey about 1 1/2 years ago, I remember how proud I was of this first endeavor. I had researched the Internet, read books, and talked to other fusers before beginning, so I knew the learning curve was steep. To me, this red bowl was a true work of art. I showed it to my family and friends who oohed and ahhhed over it...Bless their hearts! I posted it on fused glass bulletin boards and the members there did little to burst my bubble, thank goodness. Little did I know how much more I would learn over the next year and a half.

"If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way."

--Mark Twain

HOW TRUE! There have been times during this journey that I have felt like I was holding the tail of a very unhappy cat....the hazy finishes, the gigantic bubbles, the cracked masterpiece... The list is long and I'm sure it will get much longer. The cat still gets upset, but I am beginning to learn how to protect myself when I grab its tail thanks to the many loved ones who have encouraged me, and my new friends in the Creative Glass Guild of Etsy and on the Fused Glass Source bulletin board. Look how far I've come! Three Peas in a Pod
Thank you all and ...Bless your hearts!

My Dog Has Fleas...

Not really, bless his heart! But I do have a new ukelele thanks to a good friend who just returned from an extended visit to Hawaii to take care of her mother. I have been wanting a ukelele to hang on the wall at our beach house, and she found the cutest one! It is a beautiful honey colored wood with natural colored wood palm tree cutouts on it. As I said, I really planned to display it on the wall, but I couldn't resist taking it out and trying to play it. The first hurdle was to tune it. I dug deep back into my memory banks and remembered that the strings of a ukelele are tuned to the familiar "my dog has fleas" melody. Let's just say, it's been a while since I had to match pitch! I could hum the tune, but for the life of me, I could not tighten or loosen the strings to match what I was humming. There were times I couldn't even tell whether the instrument was sharp or flat...but I could tell it was W-A-Y off! Once I got it reasonably tuned, I did a quick search of the Internet to find a chord chart. I felt like I was well on my way to playing Home on the Range, I've Been Working on the Railroad, or In the Good Ole Summertime...WRONG! Not only had I lost all ability I once had to make my fingers go where I wanted them, I discovered that I would have to cut my nails. That's a deal breaker. So, I guess it's back to plan A. The uke goes on the wall, awaiting a wandering minstrel who may come by for a visit.

Today's a GOOD Day!

Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a condition called Barrett's Esophagus quite by accident. I had had no symptoms, but while checking the cause of some chest pains I was having, it showed up during an upper endoscopy. Apparently only about 1 in 10 develop the condition and about 10% of those develop esophageal cancer. While those sound like positive odds, just knowing that the threat is there causes a bit of concern every 2 years when I have to have the test run again. Yesterday was the day of my biannual test...Good news! No pre-cancerous changes so I am in the clear for another 2 years.

Now I'm off to a dance tonight to celebrate!

So...THIS is Ridiculous!

WHY can't I find time to keep this blog up-to-date?! Well, let's see...There's work, glass, traveling, dancing....so much to do, so little time! But, I'm back, at least for today. Maybe, over the next couple of weeks, I can do some catching up. Oh, wait...there's work glass, traveling, dancing...

I finally have something new in the kiln, and I can't wait to see how it came out. I recently started experimenting with 96 coe glass instead of 90. The local glass supplier doesn't carry the 90, and I am tired of having to order small pieces that are affordably shipped. So, here we go. I hope to have a picture to boast about soon.

In the meantime, let's talk about DANCE! A little over a year ago, my husband and I started ballroom dancing. It has become another passion. Like, I needed more addictions in my life! We have started dancing almost once a week, and have discovered quite an underground of people who love big bands and traditional ballroom dancing. It has increased my social circle by leaps and bounds. We have met some wonderful new friends, and introduced lifelong friends to it, as well. Joining a local Lords and Ladies dance club has also increased my formal wardrobe. It is so much fun to dress up and enjoy a sophisticated evening out with friends...so Sinatra-ish! We've become so comfortable with dancing that our teacher is using us to demonstrate at some of the tea dances in our area! Our first one was a combination rumba/tango. VERY PASSIONATE!
And the best part is, my husband is as addicted as I am!