Ready, Set, Go!

We are firmly committed to our beach house rebuilding. We have tweaked the plans, met with the builders, and signed the papers. Now, all that is left before they can start is getting the building permit. Here is a basic look at what we want to do to the inside:

It's less than 1000 square feet, but it will easily fill our needs. There's still a bit of tweaking to do before they frame the inside, but the outside is planned perfectly. It will be set at least 19 feet above sea level. (That's a whopping 13 foot hike to the front door!) We are adding a landing about a third of the way up the steps for a place to rest and a nice sized sun deck. The draftsman even added a long window to the front where the dining table will be. Since we are situating the house sideways on the lot to face the beach, we will have a great grassy view from the dining room. (It appears that it will be a while before too many houses are rebuilt between ours and the beach.)


While I am waiting, I have decided to begin working on pieces for the inside. I have already begun collecting trash to treasure pieces, but right now they are still trash. One of my first projects will be to install a lighted glass panel in a mirror I picked up for a song! Here is a prototype of what I'd like to do. Fortunately, I ran across some of these nifty stands at the Goodwill store the other day.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

And They're Off!

I completed the 36 Swish pendants for the new bride. They turned out beautifully, except for the one that threw itself off the kiln shelf in the final firing! (I don't know what kind of party they were having in there, but I'm picturing a mosh pit.) Fortunately, the little buggers didn't know that I had made a couple of extras, and that I would still have enough to cover the order. ;-) I got them in the mail this morning, and they are on their way to their new owners. I sure hope the bride and her guests like them. It's exciting to think that I will have so many people wearing my art...

Swish! Am I an artist now???

I certainly HOPE I am! And a manufacturer, too! I just made my biggest sale ever. A customer who is getting married in April has asked me to make 36 pendants as gifts for her wedding guests. The name I had selected for it when I listed it on Etsy is "Swish" because of its cute little swoop it has at its base. It looks like a flag flying in the breeze...


Besides the tremendous sale, the good news is that she is also an artist! She appreciates the fact that no two of my pieces are ever exactly alike. Plus, there will be 36 people running around the countryside wearing one of my original pieces. SWEET! Now, comes the hard part...Gotta go cut glass! I definitely want to make this customer happy!

An Exciting New Day

"Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you'll ever have is your mind and what you put into it."
--Brian Tracy

Today I will learn something new, and I'm excited! This past Christmas I gave my lifelong friend a gift certificate for a wire-wrapping class. What better way to get myself a gift, as well?! We are going together to take the class today. I look forward to having tons of new designs to add to my jewelry pieces. I'll be sure to post pictures...The beginnings will probably be the bad and the ugly, but I hope it won't be long before I can post the good!


Update: I just got back from the wire-wrapping class. I enjoyed it, but it was not exactly what my friend nor I was looking for. The teacher was very nice and helpful, but apparently I will need to take the next class to get into the wire work that I had hoped to learn...

Rebuilding Bolivar

“Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.”
- Byrd Baggett

All last fall, I looked at life through the rear-view mirror, missing what I had had. The loss of my little cabin at the beach was more than the loss of a building. It was the loss of all of the good times we had shared with new and old friends, the special times spent with family, the closeness David and I had nurtured there, my own little sanctuary where I could get away from everything... But now it is time to move forward. We have been meeting with builders in Crystal Beach who can help us start over. We looked at several different builders, but I feel very strongly about keeping the work close to home and hiring Crystal Beach people to build our next cabin. Fortunately for us, we learned of a pair of builders who will fit the bill, Casa Mare Builders. One of them lives in a nearby community on the mainland, but has a very nice home on a canal across the highway from our neighborhood. His partner grew up coming to Crystal Beach in the summers as a child. The house he spent so much time in, his grandmother's house, was also a casualty of Ike's. We recently had a chance to tour a home they had built right before Hurricane Ike. It withstood the storm just fine. We have met with them several times, and had numerous phone visits. We just feel good about them. And, they are just nice people.

Here is a picture of the house we saw:
If you look closely, you can see a broken window on the front of the house. A man who had been stranded on the peninsula because of the rapidly rising water swam to their deck, and tried to break the window. The window held, and he had to ride the storm out on the deck...That is some strong window. I'm sure he was highly motivated! They are still awaiting its replacement. I feel really secure in their product!

So now, it is time to look through the windshield and let the rear-view mirror start recording new memories!

Bringing the Sun

"In our lives there is bound to come some pain, surely as there are storms and falling rain; just believe that the one who holds the storms will bring the sun"

I ran across this quote recently while looking for inspiration for some new glass projects. I haven't been able to attribute it to a named source, but it rang so true with what has happened in my life the past 6 months, or so. After suffering the affects of Hurricane Ike and a busy fall preparing and attending art shows, I am finally able to get back to my art. I am just now realizing how much the loss of our precious beach cabin has affected me. But, now we are happily on our way to rebuilding, and I hope to document the whole process here on my blog. In the meantime, I am back at work in my glass studio. Here is a picture of the origami slumped plate that resulted from the inspiration of that quote, a tribute to the knowledge that things are improving after the pain and storms of the fall. The orange, yellow, and red rays of the sun appear to beam across a rain-dripped black sky. He is now bringing back the sun. Now, I can look ahead and see only bright, cheery projects...