Goodbye Winter

Wow! I just realized I haven’t posted anything since last March.  This year has flown by. I didn’t get much bead making done this winter. My studio is really a sectioned off part of my garage that heats with a space heater and it couldn’t keep up with this exceptionally cold winter.  So I pulled out my watercolors, pen and ink, and knitting to entertained myself with these this winter.  But my daffodils are starting to bloom and it warm enough that I can head out to start playing with glass again. Yea!

Goodbye Winter

Bouquet of the Beads

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, 

warm enough to spend eight hours in my unheated workshop making beads.  

So nice to get back to creating again.

Today a spring snow hit, 

there is a blanket of white covering everything!

I opened my kiln and made this bouquet from the beads made yesterday.
It's reminding me more warm spring days are just around the corner.

Monday Morning Artist

I am a member of a great group of artist who get together on the first Monday of each month to create art work and enjoy each others company. Oddly enough we call ourselves the "Monday Morning Artist". We each bring whatever project we happen to be working on that month and continue to work on it at our get together.  Sometimes I work on my beads, other times I paint with watercolors or draw with pen and ink. As an artist I often spend a lot of time working alone, which is usually good because it gives my brain a chance to go where it wants to go and lead me to find the energy that helps me create. But occasionally it is just plain fun to work in a group, chatting with other artist and getting input and freed back from them.  Our group decided to do a show together this month at the Yellow Springs Art Council’s new art space.  We picked the Theme “Exuberance” and we each are putting in a piece or two we created with this theme in the show.

“Exuberance” will be hung from June 15, 2012 through July 14, 2012.

There will be an opening reception with yummy treats and drinks on Friday June 16 from 6-9.

Here are two watercolor paintings I am entering:

Exuberance of the Galaxy

Exuberance of the South West

                                                         

The Kiln is Ready!!!!!

 The kiln is cool, finally!  

It is really time to  look!

They make a nice bouquet

Some good, some what was I thinking?
                      

Now time to soak the beads for a bit. It makes getting them of the mandrels a little easer.

        

Back to the Torch!

It has been a while since I have made beads but last night I fired up the torch, turned on the oxygen concentrator and started melting glass. Now I am not so patiently waiting for the kiln to cool to see how they turned out.

Glen Helen Nature Arts and Craft Show

Libby and I set up our booth at Glen Helen Nature Arts and Craft Show this afternoon, all ready for tomorrow at 9:00!

If you have the post card they sent out bring it with you for $2 off admission.

If you don't, go to The Glen website and it says you can print the page and bring it in for a discount also.

Here is what it says:

“The show is open to the public on November 19 (9am-5pm) and November 20 (11am-5pm).

$4 admission benefits Glen Helen. Print out this page to receive $2 off (for up to 4 people).”  http://antiochcollege.org/glen_helen/art/arts_crafts.html

The Beads Were Having A Party

I started making beads about 3:30 yesterday afternoon and finished about 4:00am. Of course I took several breaks for dinner, snacks (chocolate), and to lie on the floor to stretch out my aching back.  But I was on a roll and it was going well. I kept thinking of new color combinations and designs I wanted to try.  Right before I sat down at the computer to write this I went out to my workshop (garage) hoping to take my new treasures out of the kiln and see what I got but they were still a bit too hot to remove. I did sneak a pike and a photo though.

I used a new mandrel rack my husband, Jim, built for me for the first time.  It worked great! I could get a lot more mandrels into the space. When I peeked in the kiln there were so many beads it looked like the beads were having a party. Unfortunately it was to hot for me to attend, another couple hours of cooling I think before I can join in.