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!)

Hmmm. Did I Sound a Wee Bit Self-Rightous?

About returning the bracelet? Just so that you know that I do love me some nice stuff; I gotta tell you that while in Belgium I did buy myself a wicked handbag from this company in France:

http://www.jlfoures.fr/pages/jlfoures_en.html

It's one of the red ones *ahem* actually the biggest red one....and it was worth every penny. My friend Leo helped me pick it out, she said that it was right for me, and I trust her exquisite taste.

So there. Feet of clay....etc.

Off to Ikea!!

So....we took the bracelet back to Tiffanys. It was so gorgeous, but I felt a bit weird about it. I guess it come down to this; I so appreciate the thought and love that David put into the purchase, but I'm not comfortable owning something so expensive, just because it's branded "Tiffany".

I'd rather we use the money for something that we can enjoy together, and I'd rather wear jewelry made by artists that I know and admire.

So having said all that....the Tiffany store....holy shit. It's just fabulous, filled with incredible items, and I'd highly recommend it as a place to window shop and drool. I saw a ring with a 5 carat (!!) diamond, the price tag was.....wait for it.....









$416,000.00





Maybe next year, LOL!!!

Definition of "Spoiled"

Um...that would be me.

Badly, seriously spoiled this Christmas by my beloved David and family and friends. I won't go into details, so as not to sound greedy, but a Tiffany bracelet....the Bose Wave II that I've been craving, (with the iPod dock; OH MY GOD!! My poor eardrums may not survive!), cool stuff from my kid from her trip to Turkey, lots of books, including the ElBulli book and piles of other wonderful gifts; ....I am a blessed and lucky and good karma'd and just plain happy girl.

Thanks everyone, it's too much.