Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Important points!


I have started acupuncture treatments in hopes of relieving the discomfort of failing thumbs, what an interesting journey. The couple that run The People's Acupuncture Clinic are delightful, I have another appointment New Years Day. I find it to be a good reminder to consider the whole organism.... body, mind and spirit and the necessary balance.

I have been enjoying time in the studio, doing some preparatory work for upcoming events, teaching at Heritage Glass where I will be teaching two days of Intro to Borosilicate Glass and a day of Sculptural Feltmaking, followed up by traveling down to Baltimore (anyone coming to D.C. for the inaguration???) for the Baltimore Bead Society show.

And then......Tucson bound!!! Anne Mitchell and I will be teaching a wonderful metals workshop on both the 2nd and 11th of February. These classes will be held at her studio in Tucson on either side of The Whole Bead Show which is at the Windmill Inn and will run from Feb. 4-9 (where we will both be exhibiting). I will be debuting some great new kits!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Pods and potential....


I think that this is why I find the pod form so intriguing, it is the absolute potential therein that I can consider.

I hope everyone has a special day.

From my house to yours...let there be love, wisdom and clarity in all of your encounters!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

This day....




This pretty much sums it up, this is my house this time of year. It has climbed out of the single digits and is quite beautiful outside...if you like it like this, that is. Sunny, cold, white, insulated, quiet.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

more weather!


As I opened my front door this site awaited me, and then I opened this door to find plenty of snow. My husband, Michael, has headed out to try out his new/old plow. He has always used an antique tractor that we have but had to go in reverse the whole time, inevitably harboring a crink in his back. Looks good so far.

I was just checking in with my friend Dustin. He had been working on a flameworking tutorial. It is now finished and so well done, I might add. He offers clear, concise directions with beautiful pictures to accompany each step. Hop on over to his site and order up a copy!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Ornaments~Pendants?



so much fun is being had in my studio!!!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Who will be in Texas?




Let's start the year off right! Come explore a whole new material.

I will be at Heritage Glass in Texas January 9,10 and 11. The 9th and 10th will be single day classes each will be slightly different, both an introduction to Borosilicate glass. The Saturday class still has open seats. If you have the time and inclination go to Mollys site and sign up! I seldom teach glass classes so if you are in the area or want an introduction to this fine material , come join us!

Sunday will be an overview of the many ways that you can manipulate wool fleece into a sculptural vehicle, we will use several wet felting techniques and then needle felt the surface for maximum control. Results varying according to students motivations!

Monday, December 15, 2008

It was fun for awhile.....


The ice encapsulated my world.

And kept electricity at bay on and off...and the internet up until now was unavailable.

It is amazing what a critical and particular temperature can do. As affected as we were there are so many people that have been affected much more significantly. My friend Louise will be w/o electricity at least until Thursday, she said that 5 utility poles were down on her road. Every tree had lost at least 1 branch.

As I watched the rain come down and freeze all around I knew we were in for trouble but I also knew that if conditions were shifted ever so slightly the ice would have been thicker and more damaging.

now I try to get back 'in the groove'. My email program has gone kaput. frustrating.

Think I'll go to the movies to see 'Slumdog Millionaire"......AGAIN, catch it if you can, really.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The weather will always win.

Weather conditions here in the northeast are less than ideal. Fun though. went to the sweet party next door last night as the storm started to pick up a pattern and awoke to the trees covered in ice, occasionally dropping their load on the house making way for more. A weather day with no power! All bets are off when your day is altered so drastically. Can't tell you how many times I flipped a dead switch or thought about what I was going to do next only to be foiled with the reality of the situation. Michael and I have trundled off to gather up water, grab a Mellita so there is coffee in the morning and log on for a few minutes.

The candles are out and will be accessible upon returning home. It might be awhile before we get power again. There were many trees down and wires across roads, etc.

For today I've thoroughly enjoyed the 'interruption' in my daily, 'take it for granted' world.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

I had a lovely time yesterday....


Yesterday I had visitors...out in my studio, not a frequent event. I so enjoyed sharing my space with two fabulous and like minded artists. Soni said to me when I asked her if she had trouble reconciling the 'state of whirlwind' that accompanies a particularly fertile and productive time, she said, 'no, I just use a yardstick and push back the margins so I can keep on working'. This was referring to the mountains and piles that accrue as I (we) ransack my (our) space(s) to pull out more, different, and varied materials!

As different and separate as I sometimes feel it is touching to realize that we as artists face a unique set of challenges, over and over I hear , 'if I can't see it I forget that I have it to work with'. So, The piles get higher, they start to tumble and I need to remind myself to say... "so what"!, and clean up when that need outweighs the need to create.

This picture is one in a series of ornaments or pendants that I am making, what fun. This one will come along this evening as we go to a holiday party and will live on our neighbors tree.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

When you can't get what you want.....







I can't stop messing with my images. In trying to do something I have been doing a whole lot of nothing other than gathering pleasure with the alteration of some images. Simple pasttimes...just my speed.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

I'm always amazed....



The array of wonder that overtakes me when I get lost in the vastness on the internet. So cool.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

When limitations prevail......





Doesn't it seem as though when limitations strike you just want to use what is being limited???? I am speaking of my hands.....
when they are the sorest and I wonder what I am going to do about their limited mobility I am flooded with ideas, the more intricate, the more exciting! Anybody out there with a successful plan, strategy, solution to arthritic thumbs?

On a more hopeful note......and an exciting prospect...these pictures are just one possibility in the realm of infinite possibilities of what you might choose to do in the class that Anne Mitchell and I have cooked up in Tucson, with two dates surrounding the Whole Bead Show. This link will take you right to a full description and a way to sign up for a day of fun and ways to bend and stretch metal into what you might want to say!

I am having a delightful time altering the shape of pre-existing stampings and adding pigments, throwing in some seed beads and sequins, fusing some fine silver and wah-la, a pendant from another world. In these times of creative abundance I must take the time to record my ideas as they happen much faster than my hands can keep up!

Friday, November 28, 2008

The Day After, letting the tides take me...



The colors of this sea anemone are incredible. I am just giving in to the feeling of letting the day take me where it leads......hope you can, too.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Lets Give Thanks.....


My own version of "Cornucopia".

With thanks for all of the good...and the bad....and all the in-between. It is all necessary, to realize that the pendulum just keeps on swinging!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Victory, Yes!!!!! Lots new on the horizon.





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In the mean time......we have an awesome new president!

My trip to California was lovely. I had an absolutely sweet time, great classes, good times spent with new and old friends, I laughed until I wet my pants. The show was good, given what we've all got on our plate. This was directly followed by flying into Philadelphia where I just had time to do my laundry and meet up with my husband who brought 'the big booth' from Massachusetts and we proceeded to set up for the always lovely Philadelphia Museum Show. In these times of financial insecurity it really felt like we all have this group knowledge and people were doing what they could to support each other. My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you!

In the midst of gearing up for my departure, election day to be precise, my Mac Powerbook, gave a last gasp and went black. Conspiracy theories danced in my head. Thankfully it was only MY computer that died. I now have a new computer, have put most of the pieces back together from a few weeks gone, and am entering my first post on this new computer!

The four images chosen to start this post off are indicative of the inspiration I've been perusing with Karen Flowers. We are going to enter 4 necklaces in the upcoming ISGB competition, "Convergence", Earth, Water, Air, Fire. Some good ideas are rolling around.

Collaboration in my world is at an all time high. I just love what happens when more than one mind is put to the task. A richness results that wasn't dreamed of singlehandedly.

early February I will go out to Tucson to be a part of The Whole Bead Show and be a part of two one day workshops at the home and studio of Anne Mitchell. While in California I asked Anne to join me in one of my classes to do a guest appearance, to demo rivets and show ways of cold connecting the vintage findings that we were working with. She agreed and everybody had a fine time and learned lots. A new class was born! Come join us, with two choices on either side of the Whole Bead Show , hopefully some of you can attend!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

May we have a taste...of Victory that is!



Who will be out celebrating this week???? Come on over to the Civic Center Marriott in Oakland this coming weekend to the ever wonderful B.A.B.E. show. I will be there, teaching Thursday and Friday (come and take a class!) and exhibiting Saturday and Sunday. Then I fly into Philadelphia on Monday and set up for the The Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (what a mouthful!) This show is always so beautiful. The Women's Committee do such a beautiful job of making it lovely, importing all kinds of foliage and flowers and such.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pods and retreat pods....


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It's time to get your very own 'Roger Dean's Retreat Pod' in case the going gets too tough!!!!! We're standing on the precipice and I am on the edge of my seat, what will we choose?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

So Eloquently Put....



If this election 'goes wrong' we might have to head to the Outer Hebrides...if they'd have us...

Commentary: Republicans summon ugly old ghosts

By Joseph L. Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers

This is an autumn of great discontent as not just the United States, but the entire world trembles on the brink of an economic recession that may bring the kind of pain that's known only to the oldest among us.

With days to go before Election Day, the nation watches as a presidential candidate and his political party unravel, frantically dragging every ugly ghost out of the closet in an attempt not only to fool everyone, but also to scare everyone.

They appeal to the worst remnants of racism that cling like kudzu to a dying magnolia. Their robot phone dialers intrude on millions of uneasy citizens with messages of hate and fear and envy and greed.

They try to paper their opponent with guilt by association: He associated with a man who, decades before they ever met, belonged to a group of wild-eyed student revolutionaries.

They and their forces of darkness falsely claim that he's a Muslim at the same time they attack him for belonging to a Christian church whose black minister aimed angry sermons at white America.

They have presided for the last eight years over a stunning redistribution of wealth: They've turned Robin Hood upside down, taking from the poor and the middle class and giving to the very rich.

Yet they tar their opponent for daring to suggest that it's time to turn the tables and redirect some of that wealth to those who are jobless, homeless and hopeless, and to the millions of other hard-working Americans who are likely to join those growing ranks in the months and years to come.

They call him a socialist for embracing a principle that's rooted deeply in the teachings of the Christianity that they wear on their sleeves but cannot find room for in their hearts.

They promise to "correct the mistakes" of their own president, their own members of Congress, their own appointed overseers and regulators, if only we give them another chance.

They promise to punish the Wall Street tycoons and the big bankers who in their greed built this house of cards that's crashing down onto Main Street. Yes they will. Surely they will smite the robber barons who brushed a few crumbs from their groaning tables of riches into the laps of the very people who now vow to punish their benefactors of great wealth.

They say this even as the barons, fat with bonuses and commissions, pick over the carcass of a fallen economy, carving out another tasty morsel or two for themselves.

Is it any wonder that Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin and the Republican Party are sinking like the Titanic? Do they take us all for complete morons?

Granted, they may have reason to think that. After all, not only did we (with some help from the Supreme Court) elect George W. Bush our president, we also re-elected him to a second term. Fooled us twice, they think, so maybe the third time is charmed.

That, however, doesn't seem likely as a cold, hard winter looms this November. Not likely at all.

Here's a prediction for you, for them: McCain and Palin will go down to defeat by 15 to 20 points, and they'll take a heap of Republicans down with them.

The financial collapse and the painful fallout that's stalking the nation won't be righted overnight, however. Putting Barack Obama in the White House and giving the Democrats a veto-proof majority in Congress won't mean that happy days are here again.

Hard work, sacrifice and suffering lie ahead. It could take a decade or more to repair all the damage that Bush, Dick Cheney and all their henchmen in prison, out of prison and on their way to prison have done to our economy, our military, our standing in the world, our Constitution and to civil discourse, common decency and competent governance.

In the meantime, we Americans would do well to try to remember all those things that our grandmothers told us about how to get by in hard times.

How to get by on a lot less.

How to grow a vegetable garden.

How to squeeze a nickel till the buffalo bellows.

How to appreciate the small joys of family and friends.

How to share what you have, no matter how little you have, with those who have nothing.

Someday we may be able to tell our grandchildren about the Election of '08 when we, the people, turned away from anger, hate and greed and once again embraced the better angels of our nature.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Natures Bounty....



As I was driving down the road, looking at both thumbs in splints (as it appears I have come down with a case of arthritis) I realized my ever present option of choosing the proverbial 'glass half full or empty'. This choice is always out there for me. I started to laugh as I thought about my 'brokenness' vs. the other peoples 'brokenness' that were in the 'Extremity Clinic'. There was a young man that had the middle finger of his left hand bandaged up to be 3 " longer than his other fingers....I am sure that he has been relentlessly teased...and then the man that had his left arm in a sling and needed to retrieve something out of his left rear pocket as he totally twisted his right arm around his body to get whatever he needed out.

I am hopeful that with vigilance I will be able to build the muscles up around the joint in order to support the problem, it is not easy when your most important tools go 'on the blink'.....and aging becomes more evident. I need to readjust and proceed, what else am I to do?

Early this morning as I was having my coffee a pack of coyotes started their howl. It sounded like there were 20 of them. There is something so haunting about their call, so predatorily gleeful. Like some circus gone mad, sure wish I understood coyotese.

These vegetables came out of one our last CSA boxes from the Farm School, hail to the farmers! What is this most beautiful and intriguing broccoli/cauliflower/floret? Anybody know?

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Art and Animals and Education....




Yesterday was a heartening look at a positive and holistic approach to education. The Putney School, its director and all of the educators and support staff are doing a remarkable job of indoctrinating the schools worth of 9th-12th grade students into a thoughtful and progressive approach to 21st century life. I love the context and format of the school. Our daughter is thriving....pretty much finished with her need for parents, which I have to adjust to...but my day at the school was lovely, the surroundings beautiful, the reports totally favorable. It is a weekend of family activities. Today I will travel to Cape Cod to visit with my brother and his wife and my father and tomorrow back up to Putney to spend the day and bring Lily home for a few days.

I love this quote, it is in the art gallery which has a faculty exhibit up presently. Art abounds on the Putney campus, 10 ft. iron centipedes climbing trees!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Autumning around.....


I was headed out to the studio early this morning to take pictures and was struck at the angle of the sun and the color all around me. 'Decided to take a walk on an abandoned road where I took this picture, it is perfection outside, the smell, the temperature, the color, the sound.

Shortly I will take a trip up to The Putney School where my youngest daughter has been since the first of September. We'll meet with her teachers and get a more complete taste of her experiences than we can get through email and phone calls, this 'Harvest Festival' goes on through the weekend and then we will bring her home for a few days, I am so excited!

All is well here, I don't have any long trips planned for a few weeks, Oakland, CA is the next big junket out. I will be teaching a feltmaking class, a light blossom bracelet class and faux enameling on metals.B.A.B.E. is where it is at! Come on over and take a class, it is sure to be fun! I love the bay area and the Marriot is one of my favorite hotels, the view from the high floors is unsurpassed!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Leaves and turtles....




So here it is, Fall already. Such a lovely time of year, made more so by it's brevity here in the Northeast. Yesterday I helped two baby turtles across the road to safety, one a small snapper like this one, the other a cute and colorful painted turtle.

The days snowball, one into the next leaving no time for blog type reflection. I am hoping upon returning home from Portland... which I leave for in a few hours..... I will have a bit more time to smell the leaves decaying. I find it remarkable how time slips by....there she goes again.....but I truly do find it astonishing how a day happens so quickly. Enough said.

I am headed out to lovely Portland for the second time in two weeks, this time to be part of the Art and Soul Retreat. I will be sharing two days of feltmaking, one entitled 'Felt as a Sculptural Vehicle". I have taught many things in the course of my life. Exposing new people to feltmaking is the best. So forgiving a material, you cannot ruin it, there is always a way to fix it!

Saturday night is a show and sale featuring many of the teachers and vendors coming in to share their lovely wares. It proves to be exciting for people like me that tend to mostly vend at bead shows and craft fairs, a whole new group! If you are available Saturday come on over to the Embassy Suites Hotel at the airport in Portland, the vendor list can be found at the Art and Soul website at the bottom of the page under activities.

I spent last Saturday in a one day workshop with Valerie Hector in Lexington, MA. What fun, she is a great teacher....and I am more than obsessed with volumetric beads. What a diversion from what is truly at hand....sort of like solitaire or sudoku, say? It was fun, though, and if you get a chance to join her at one of her workshops, treat yourself!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

So long gone.....





Who 'out there' has experienced the 'time warp' that I speak of? It is as if time speeds up, the clock spins and I am left hanging on as if attached, flying out to the side, of a fast moving merry-go-round. Thank goodness it has slowed down, I think it happens every Labor Day/early Fall. It is totally disconcerting, always leaves me pondering the theory of relativity.

At any rate, in this somewhat normal perception I need to take stock of upcoming events! Next week I head out to Portland, OR where I will be giving a talk to the Portland Bead Society, followed up by 4 fun classes! If you will be in the area and would like to experience some felted embellished jewelry scale classes please let Carol Perrenaud know at carol@beadcats.com.

The pictures here are examples of some ideas that Kate Mckinnon and I are working on as offerings in our two 2009 classes together. The first of which will be at the lovely Hacienda Mosaico in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico to start the year off right. Come spend the first week of the new year with us dabbling with both familiar and new materials!!!! Sign ups can be processed at Kate''s site, also the home of a new 'shop' page for her, check it out! The second opportunity to spend some time exploring a multi media blast will be at Bead Daze in Detroit in February, the weather probably not as sweet but the energy and offerings guaranteed to please.

In my newly slowed down perception I am looking forward to a day at the torch, listening to my newfound gift of a library of books on tape, THANK YOU ANNIE!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

home again.....






Each year the big show in Sunapee shifts my gears from wearing the hat of maker, marketer, mother and everything else that is called for in this life to that of a 9 day shop keeper. It is kind of fun. At that point all of the work is done and you just have to show up to man your 'shop', visit with people and show and sell your work. I do enjoy that part. I want to extend my thanks for all of the fairgoers' support, my lovely neighbors at the show and to the weather gods that kept us coolish. There was no 90 degree high humidity in sight, plenty of moisture but I thought that that was pretty well planned. Sporadic thunder and rain storms, but brief with the exception of a washout Wednesday . So....home again, putting the League show to bed, looking towards Beadfest in Philadelphia. Can you come?

I will be offering three classes, all on Thursday the 21st of August. These pictures represent the projects we will be working on. After the day of classes I will set up a booth and sell my wares, come on by.

After Beadfest I will come home just in time to get my youngest daughter Lily ready to go off to school and my eldest ready for her first college classes, a sort of peri~empty nest! Time marches on.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Orange is screaming at me...





It is amazing what happens when my head is down...other than a neck ache.

Orange has been screaming at me...in a good way.

Excellent books on tape have been filling my mind with expansive and loving thought. 'Water for Elephants', and 'Eat, Pray, Love' have had me in their grips, what a lovely place to be. Have you read either/both of these? Clearly the key is love.

Samples of the fruit of my labor. Earrings in tandem with the incomparable Meesh.

My nine day yearly pilgrimage to the base of Sunapee Mountain to be a part of the mighty and ancient (75 years old this year) League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Fair commences a week from today. It is always a challenge and feels daunting preparing for this event. Truth be told, when I am 'in' it and 'going to work everyday' I find it enjoyable. It is just the thought of setting up in a new spot every time and on uneven terrain that fill me with trepidation, once that is all worked out and I am just greeting fairgoers and being the social being that I can often be, it is fun!

Come on up !

Saturday, July 19, 2008

July...Flies....



The dressing up of Tacoma is a wonderful thing!

I love that a city has gotten behind one of its treasured jewels and built a museum to celebrate glass. The hotel that we stayed in, The Murano, has taken a glass artist on each floor and purchased a piece, presenting it upon exiting the elevator, and runs photo essays up and down the halls of each artists process. What a cool thing!

The view from our room was exquisite. Mt. Rainier and all of Tacoma in full view. Great to see all of my friends and customers and students....and the farmers market.....nowhere in the world could I find such opulent bouquets and succulent berries!

I often think of the indigenous people that inhabited the pacific northwest and the fact that food and shelter was so bountiful they had time and materials to express themselves artistically. I had wanted to visit the art Museum in Seattle but was foiled due to the 'Monday Museum Rule'. I have been there in the past and was overwhelmed by the scale of the native gallery, full sized totem poles, such cool masks and tools.