Home From Fantastic Moscow, a Short Post

I arrived home from Moscow last night, and I'm still a bit jet-lagged, so only one picture for now. This wonderful statue is one of 76 statues in the Moscow Metro station "Ploschad Revolutsii". The Metro is simply unbelievable. The stations are like museums; each has a theme, and some of them are simply filled with astonishingly lovely works of art. 

This statue of a soldier and his dog is one of four similar statues in this station, you will notice that the dog's nose is shiny....because almost everyone gives it a gentle touch as they pass by; this is for good luck.

Moscow is an incredible city, and I was privileged to have a wonderful and thoughtful guide to show me so much in such a short time, (Thank you, Julia!!) I have lots of pictures that I'll be posting, but this is one of my favorites; a little Moscow doggy that everyone who passes by touches, and maybe loves a little bit.

My Second Day of Teaching in Moscow!

Today was my second day of teaching, (this is me with today's students), this has been such an incredible experience, with a very talented and patient group of students. For some reason, today I was a walking disaster...dropping hot beads on the floor, etc. Fortunately, no damage was done, and no one was hurt, at least not badly hurt, thank goodness.These wonderful people have a good sense of humor, and I'm grateful for that! One more day, and then I'll so some sightseeing and *ahem* shopping. Just a bit of shopping.

I'm in Moscow!!

I arrived last night, safe and sound. It's very different here, and I'm a bit jet-lagged, but it's pretty incredible.

Just one picture for now; the view from my room.

More later!

A Really Great Weekend

Just had an incredible weekend of teaching. Seriously incredible. I'm beat, but man...I'm happy.  Thanks to:

Bev, Melanie, Pam, Earlyn, Andrea, and Sue for being such a great (and fun, and friendly), group, you guys did difficult stuff, and you ROCKED it!!  It doesn't get any better, seriously.

And Joanne, as always....you and your studio are a joy.

Now I'm going to have a beer and start packing for Russia. Have a great week, everyone!!

Teaching in Vancouver Tomorrow!

As always, it's a joy to be teaching at Joanne Andrighetti's studio in Vancouver.  It's the kickoff of a busy month for me, but since I adore teaching, I'm a pretty happy gal.

Next Wednesday I'm off to Moscow, home on the 11th, and then off to (Warm!!) and sunny California on the 20th.

Have a great weekend, everyone....I'm going to do my best to stay in touch.  

Heading For Russia (!!) Next Month!

Yep, I'm excited.  Teaching in Moscow... ( with a spare day..or two, for shopping, WooHoo!!). 

In other news: The recliner has arrived. I propose a metaphor regarding the recliner:

"A room filled with carefully selected, reasonably intelligent people (this would be my existing furniture...work with me here, okay??)  has been invaded by a stranger.(The recliner.) He's big and burly, doesn't really fit in...yet he's handsome in a kind of Russell Crowe/unshaved yet, incredibly sexy fashion. (Like in "3:10 To Yuma". Swoon.). You think that you could love him, or at least 'pretend to love him',  given time. A dirty job, but someone has to do it."

Needless to say, I'm going to have to change the carpets. I'm okay with that.

Gourmet Magazine is Closing

I have mixed feelings about this. I bought this magazine faithfully for at least 20 years, the writing was wonderful, the recipes dependable. Even when I lived in Frobisher Bay (as it was known when I lived there) on Baffin Island, I read Gourmet.

When Ruth Reichl took over as editor I was cautiously optimistic; I hoped that she'd update the magazine while keeping it's spirit intact. Instead she created a messy hodgepodge of a publication that I just couldn't warm up to, and I ceased regularly purchasing the magazine several years ago. (Except for the Christmas edition, always worth buying.)

I have dozens of copies of Gourmet from the 1940s to the 1960s, and I'll continue to treasure them.....but as for what Gourmet magazine has become, I can't say that I'll miss it. I feel for the staff, though; this must be dreadful for them.

Words I Never, Ever Thought I Would Write; or, I Bought a Recliner

A bit of history; I have an abiding loathing for all things "recliner".  I just think that they're horrid in general, and if they're made of leather, well then they're actual demonic abominations.  No, seriously. Really not digging the recliner genre of furniture.

That's why I went out and purchased a leather recliner today, I guess. I'm a rebel against my own prejudices...a salmon swimming upstream straight to decorating hell. I'm a picky person when it comes to furniture, and I have a definite idea of what I want. (My style is eclectic; very personal and comfortable for both of us....our only ongoing issues have been my need to paint every single bit of visible wood a nice cream color...and my hatred of recliners. Other than that, we're cool.)

But here's the thing....my beloved has always wanted a recliner. He's pined for one; every year or so making a (plaintive, almost but not quite whiny) request. Somewhat bitchily, I've always denied him.  Not that I don't adore him, but I didn't like the idea of having to projectile vomit every time that I viewed my living room. (Although from a weight-loss perspective....hmmm. Oh, well, too late.)

So in the past week or so, I've looked at at least a hundred recliners. God, some of them are awful. But I did find one that was actually....okay. It's bit contemporary for the room, but the colors are good, and I can make it work. Most important though, David loves it; it's really comfortable, and that's the most important thing, especially for a guy who works so hard, for such a horrible, incompetently run,  soul-destroying corporation. (I'll say no more on that subject.)

The recliner that we ended up buying is the "Carlyle" from Lazy Boy. The picture above is the stock picture from the website....our chair will be buttercream leather, with very dark, almost black arms. It's ridiculously comfortable, and with a throw pillow or two, and/or a nice throw, it will look really good in the room, I think.  So we're both happy, and I think that I've lessened my karmic load a bit, hopefully. (Doesn't really look like a recliner, huh?)

Oh, For Crying Out Loud

I'm supposed to be working. I AM working, but some things need to be done.

Holidays are Winding Down...

But I'm anxious to get back into my "normal" routine. I'm working hard on my new tutorial, still trying to figure out how to get such a huge amount of information into a document that's not too unwieldy! I'm going to actually do a couple of mini-tutorials that will be attached to the larger one, we'll see how that goes. It's a labor of love, and I can't wait to have it done! (Target date: August 30th.)

I'm excited about seeing my brother and his family tomorrow, I'm planning a feast! I love cooking for people, and for me it's a treat to be cooking for seven instead of just two.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Had a nice vacation at the cottage on Lac De Roches, but it's lovely to be home. Just a few pictures for you from around the cottage.....

Important Notice!

Just a fast note to let everyone know that I will be out of touch, off the grid, no email, no internet access etc. from

Friday August 7   -  Monday August 17th

I may be back sooner, but I'm not sure. I'm going to suspend my listing on Etsy for the Chaos tutorial starting Friday morning, and I'll re-list as soon as I'm home.

Have a great August, everyone, see you in a few weeks!

Beads, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Taxes.

I had a bit of a beady slump last week; in fact I spent most of the week on the couch reading Patrick O'Brian. I was a bit fluey, so that's my excuse. Anyway. This week I just felt like breaking loose and playing, so I made a crazily eccentric set of clear beads with touches of gold "Aurae" glass.  We'll see how they do, they're headed for eBay later today.

I'm starting tomatoes and peppers from seed this year, and I've got a nice group of husky young plants, I think I'll put them out in the sun tomorrow for an hour or so. 

I've finally got my taxes back from the accountant, and I dragged myself kicking and cursing to the bank to pay; today being the last day.....and I'm damned if I'll give Stephen Harper one penny of interest....grrrr. I'm in a suprisingly good mood, though, I've got a nice busy summer coming up, and then plenty of travel coming this fall and next year, woohoo!! I'm going to Moscow to teach, so that's pretty cool. Here's a few pictures for you....

What a Nice Day, Did my Taxes!!

So can you sense the absolutely dripping sarcasm in my title? Seriously though, the anticipation of tax stuff is usually much worse than the actual job. David was working this weekend covering the Junos, so it seemed like a good time for me to get some long-delayed paperwork done.

Thus endeth the most boring blog post of anyone, at any time.

Back From California, and Back to Work!

I had a fantastic time at Scarab Glass Works in Fresno, and I was made to feel so at home with Susanne and Brad! (And Boris and Natasha, the lovely German Shepherds!). A delightful experience and a fantastic group of talented students!

Yesterday I had a great day on the torch, and I'm heading back today to try out some new ideas that have been percolating in my brain for a while now.

My back is improving, but I still have almost no feeling in my left foot....not good. I'm going to give it a week or so and see if it improves, it's not painful, but I can't walk normally.

Two Really Good Days

I love it when melting glass is just fun, when I can just play. (Without third degree burns!) I'm putting some new work on eBay tomorrow, but I'm concentrating on gallery orders, and building some inventory.

Also....I'm getting REALLY excited about my trip to Scarab Glass in California next month!! I've never been to California....I can't wait. This will be fun!

I'm doing really cool stuff with metal in my beads; I'm not sure why I'm so obsessed with this, but it's what I have to do right now, so I'm following my muse...or spirit guide....or whatever critter is influencing me. My studio is so organized....so tidy, it's a good feeling to work in an orderly environment. Next project: My study.

Peace.

When you don't feel like making beads....

Clean your studio! Seriously, it was getting so bad, "stuff" was encroaching on my floor space slowly but surely; so I'm having what my Mom used to call a cleaning "blitz". I've bundled up all of the glass that I'm not using these days....POUNDS of Satake, at least a pound of boro, several pounds of reichenbach....geez.

It's actually fun, right now I'm going through my books and magazines....that's a tough one for me, because I'm loath to get rid of written material, but space is an issue. I think I'll have an evening of magazine clipping, and just keep the bits that I need.

So I'm having a productive day at least, and tomorrow I'll be back to bead making with a clean studio.

Peace, everyone!

Clear Glass. 104 COE. Nope, not happening.

I posted a rant on a lampwork forum today, because I was really badly burned by a chunk of molten glass that attached itself to my 'upper' chest area. I mean really attached, in that I had to pluck the glass away from my flesh, and tear the skin.

I can't tell you how much this hurts....you sort of have to be there. The thing is; there is, at the present time, not ONE reliable clear glass in the 104 COE line. Not one.

Most soft glass artists get it....we've been fighting this battle for years. Just how hard is it to give us clear glass??? Suppliers give us endless "odd lot" garbage, (otherwise known as 'mistakes' that they suck artists into paying huge $$$ for), but they just can't seem to manage the one thing that we want, a dependable, compatible, non scummy/seeded with crap/bubbles clear glass.

Back on eBay, WooHoo!!

I think that it's a good thing to take a break from the 'Bay once and a while, but it's a great feeling to be back!

I've had some of my wonderful customers emailing me just to see if all is well in Sherry-land and I can't tell you what a nice feeling it is to know that I've made so many friends in so many places. I'm pretty much back to 'normal' now, and looking forward to my upcoming trip to Edmonton to teach at Bedrock Supply. (Jan 22 - 27)

Email me for information about classes, and I'll send you a link to Kathy at Bedrock!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Finally, Back To The Torch!

Yep, yesterday was the first time that I've melted glass since November! Ack! And I gotta tell you, it felt fantastic! (Actually, it felt fantastic after the first ten minutes or so, when I had to sort of remember how it's done!)

I made focals only, and in fact I'm making focals today as well. I want to get at least a couple up on eBay, and I'll likely put one on Etsy as well. I'm continuing to play with metals, and I've got so many ideas to try out....metal in beads will be a continuing love affair for me for some time, I'm thinking.

Have a great, creative day, everyone!!

(Pictures on Thursday!)