World Quilt Show

This weekend I had the opportunity to go with a friend to the World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach, FL.  It was incredible and totally overwhelming.  We had to take several long breaks just to refocus on really appreciating the wonderful workmanship.  There were quilts from all over the world as well as quilts from Florida quilting groups and other states in the US.  Many of the quilts in the show had won numerous awards.  There were also alot of vendors there with every type, color, texture of fabric, threads, quilting accessories and tools, quilting machines, etc.  Just to watch the demonstrations alone was worth the entrance fee.

I took several photos which I will attempt to post here and it may be a futile attempt since I am still learning how to use certain aspects of the computer.  Keep your fingers crossed.  If I am successful and you see the large quilt with the circles at the top and the black and white checkered border, just know that it has 55,000 (yes, 55,0000) swarovski crystals sewed into it.  It was made by a woman in Germany and if I remember correctly it is 92" x 92".  The photo definitely does not do this one justice nor any of them for that matter.

Some of the photo shots of the quilts were taken because they were favorites but some were to show  variety or certain techniques used which I found interesting.  As a former quilter who had to give it up years ago, I can truly appreciate the skill and creativity that went in to every single quilt at the show..  My apologies also to all the artists who designed and made these quilts.  There wasn't enough time to get names or even titles (and some of these were delightful) to give each one of you credit for your fabulous work.  I just wanted to be able to share some of your work with my friends and fans.

 
 
 
 

World Quilt Show

 

 

 

 

Not Enough Hours.

I'm at a loss as to know how to do everything I want or need to do in a 24 hour time period.  It just doesn't happen.  I resolve daily to (1) become better organized, (2) to spend a certain amount of time catching up on computer work including making a blog post,more frequently than once evey six months, (3) to spend some quality time in the studio actually creating and working on my fused glass, (4)  to keep the house half way clean and orderly, (5) to catch up on some of the weeding so my flower beds don't resemble corn fields, (6)  to groom the dog and take her for walks - I actually do better with this one than the others and (7) to get the laundry done and fix my husband an actual meal at least once a week.  In addition to this I also want to talk with my kids and grandkids, visit with friends, wash my hair and do my nails and read a few paragraphs in my book for our book club.  There just aren't enough hours.  I read all these great articles full of helpful hints on how to do all these things and I read about women who do all this and hold down a full time job and raise four kids and carpool and volunteer 10 hours a week and take long walks to reenergize.  It's exhausting just to think about it.  Maybe if I were 20 years, no make that 30 years younger - no, I didn't do it then so why think I might now.  I just need to whine and get overwhelmed and shut down and then get up, get some things done and do it all over again.  However, life goes on and I have the luxury of being able to whine and fuss and complain and occasionally pitch a "hissy fit" as my mother used to call it so I will stop now, go watch some TV,  play with "Zoe" (the dog), get a decent night's sleep (hopefully) and tomorrow after coffee with my husband, I am going to go see the "World Quilt Show" with a friend and spend the day marveling at the wonderful quilts and then the weekend ends and there's MONDAY!

Here are three of my favorite shops.  I hope to make this a regular feature.  Please check these out - you won't be disappointed.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kerijoy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PolkaDotSundays

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GigisDesigns

Handmade Spark - eccentricityglass

Handmade Spark - eccentricityglass

Dining Room Remodel

As many of you know, I have been in somewhat of a creative slump lately wth my glass work. Since I am very "project" oriented and like to do a variety of things, that slump has extended to other areas as well. Then we had a minor catastrophe here at home and everthing changed. The ice maker on our refrigerator sprang a leak behind the wall and damaged a portion of the floor and the dry wall in one area of the dining room had to be replaced. Since I had already knocked a hole in the wall to let it start drying out I decided to experiment with painting it. I tried stripes and that didn't work. I considered stenciling and decided against that. Then I got the bright idea to texture the bottom half of the short walls and paint them a different color from the top. I theorized that the texturing would also save a day or two of the drywaller's time to come back and apply another coat of "mud" and that would be more economical for us. After our repairman had applied one initial heavy coat and it had dried for 24 hours, I applied joint compound in random swirls. I let that dry for another day before I painted it. It looked nice but it still needed something else. I went to Lowe's and found a nice unfinished wood chair rail strip with a design I liked. I stained it a medium oak stain and we put it on the wall. I love the end result and guess what? I now have glass in the kiln, have painted a chair, made a new chair cushion and hopefully am on my way out of my creative slump.

Restored Access to Blog

I am feeling so relieved tonight. I accidentally deleted my ability to post to my own blog day before yesterday and I have tried everything to correct it. My dashboard would come up "Create New Blog" and I couldn't even do that with my Eccentricity name because it was not available (since I already had it.) It has been a "Catch 22" and I have been so stressed out about this. Both my husband and I have tried to restore my computer to correct this and haven't been able to do so. Finally a few moments ago by some miracle I was able to restore my computer back to the 10th and now have regained access to my blog. Miracles do happen. Keep your fingers crossed it is still working tomorrow,

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Updating Blog Settings

It has been forever since I have posted anything. My life has just gotten too overwhelming I guess. I am even having trouble keeping up with my e-mails and spent several hours last night catching up with FB fans. Today I realized I had several of my blog settings wrong so am correcting those. I am not the most computer savvy person in the world and have so much to learn about blogging. For those of you not familiar with http://www.handmadespark.com/, this is a great source of "how to" for blogging, marketing, showcasing and selling your work. It also features other artists and their work along with things they have learned along the way. Be sure and check it out.

Speaking of the environment, I just found this on Etsy. Check out this very unique recycled bird feeder at http://www.etsy.com/listing/34748542/bird-feeder-recycled-street-lights-2

The Environment

I just got home from volunteering at the annual "Fishnic" fund raiser for our local Environmental Studies Center. This is a yearly event with food, music, auction, raffles, and tons of activities for the kids. The money raised (and it is substantial thank goodness) goes to pay the salary of a teacher at the Center and to help with the expenses of maintaining the facility.
The Environmental Studies Center is part of the county school system and is open all year with numerous activities, classes and field trips for students of all ages. They maintain several animal habitats and have a number of nature exhibits on display. Summer camp there is a "must". It is a wonderful facility and is open to the public when school is not in session. It isn't at all unusual to find two or three generations in a family who have attended the ESC.
This is my fourth year of volunteering and I am honored to do so.

My daughter posted this to her FB page and I thought it was so appropriate that I decided to pass it on.
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~Native American Proverb.....HAPPY EARTH DAY! :-)

Gourd Masks

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. Only excuse I have is that I have been visiting family out of town, planning a birthday celebration for my husband and trying to get some structure back in my life. Anyway, as I was going through old photographs on the computer, I found these of some gourd masks I made a number of years ago in pre-fused glass days. They are made from dried gourd pieces, recycled and found objects and fiber work. Fun, funky but not forgotten.

Gourd Masks

 

Gourd Masks

 

Gourd Masks

 

I have been toying with the idea of starting a jewelry line using recycled items. I have so many odds and ends around the studio and I need to do something with them. I am also feeling the need to do something a bit different with my fused glass work. This brooch was my first effort combining recycled items with a fused glass cabochon. I rather like the combination of the flat metal look with the bright dichroic glass. I made two more brooches like this only on one I used an old turquoise earring of my mother's and on the other one an antique button. I wore the turquoise one to the gallery today when I was making a delivery and a lady saw it and asked where she could buy one. I took it off and said right here and made a sale. Wow! that made my day.

Sometimes the more we strive to get something perfect, the less perfect it turns out. There comes a time when your best efforts are just not sufficient and you have to stop. This dish is a perfect example of that. In a futile effort to get it to slump evenly on all four sides, I have fused & slumped it, flattened it and reslumped it, ground the edges and refused and reslumped it and nothing worked. It continued to be not only uneven but also the glass was losing some of its dimensional look. It has been a very frustrating project and I am now willing to put it aside and go on to something else. Admittedly, there were a few moments when I considered throwing it across the studio but then I would have had to clean it up. I am thinking that part of the problem was the white strip of glass I added to the design thus creating a thickness on the edge that was different from the other two sides,

 

Repairing Fused Glass Wall Mirror

I recently had an accident at home where a large fused glass mirror fell off the wall and broke. One of the hangers had come loose. This mirror was one of two large mirrors that I made several years when I was first starting out. I had to make it in sections due to the size and then use adhesives to put it all together. I made one for my daughter and one for myself and then decided to focus on smaller mirrors and items that would fit my 15" kiln shelf.
I salvaged some of the sections of the mirror and fortunately one side and the mirror itself were in good condition. I then had to add some new pieces, refire others when I could and a few rough edges just had to remain. Naturally I no longer had some of the matching glass so new colors had to be added. This is one of those projects that doesn't look to bad from a distance but on closer examination you can see the many flaws. I just didn't want to have to do without it.
When you view the photographs, keep in mind that I am not adept at photographing a mirror so the reflections you see are part of other walls or rooms in my home. You can get the general idea of how the project turned out though.

Pot Melt Pendant

I can't help myself - I love making these "pot melts". I like the way the dichroic came out in a very dimensional way at the bottom of this pendant. After I shaped the pendant I added the colored opaque dots which I had previously fused and refired the piece.

"Pot Melt" Pendants

I just finished this "pot melt" pendant and decided to add embellishments to it. For those of you not familiar with "pot melt" - it is a term used to describe a technique where pieces of glass are placed in a container or pot with a hole in the bottom. The pot is then elevated above a tray or container. As the kiln heats up, the glass begins to melt and flow through the hole in the bottom of the pot and onto the tray below. The resulting design of the glass is determined by the melting glass itself. It is always a surprise to open the kiln and see what awaits. I use a wire frame instead of a pot but the technique is still the same.
These "pot melt" pendants are my personal favorites. I love the randomness of the designs and it is a great way to recycle and/or use small pieces of glass you could not otherwise use.

Glass Stuck in Mold

I am not having a very good studio day. I was fusing this neat heart shaped pendant and the glass got stuck in the mold - mainly due to my neglecting to put kiln paper in the bottom of the mold even though I had kiln washed it. Now I can't get the darn thing out. I have pried and prodded and tapped but no luck. I now have it in the kiln upside down reheating it and hoping for the best. At this point I just want to save the mold. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can do, please let me know. I have never had this happen before.

What Type Are You?

What Type Are You?

Hearts for Haiti

"Hearts for Haiti" is a collective formed by a number of Etsy artists who have donated items to be sold for the Haiti earthquake relief effort. One hundred percent of each sale minus the Etsy fee and PayPal fee will go directly to "Doctors Without Borders" for the victims of the disaster in Haiti. This is truly a worthwhile effort. Please consider donating or purchasing an item from this shop. You may visit the shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeartsforHaiti.

Just in time for Valentine's Day but can be worn all year. You can view this pendant in my Etsy Shop.

I belong to the Handmade Artists Forum (HAF) and each week we are spotlighting one of our members. Our HAF Etsy Street Team member spotlight this week is on LauraDaGoddess. For more information go to: http://www.facebook.com/LauraDaGoddess

This has been a special day. I got to meet for the first time, an internet friend and fellow glass artist from Washington State. LaWatha Wisehart and her husband were camping in south FL along with their cairn terrier named Bailey and their golden retriver named Casey. They stopped by to visit and Bailey and Casey met Zoe, my cairn terrier. It was so nice to be able to meet in person after getting to know one another online. This is one of the true rewards of social networking.

To see more of LaWatha's glass work, visit her at http://www.lawatha.etsy.com

I just listed this "Kandinsky" inspired pendant in my Etsy shop this weekend. It is much more striking than my photographs show - I have the darnest time trying to photograph glass and have never had any luck using a "light box". I use natural light and hope for the best.

My daughter, Ann Scott, and I have collaborated on the necklaces shown in both of my shops. She designs and does the beaded work and I do the fused glass pendants/brooches. This "pot melt" style pendant necklace is one of my favorites click here

Frazzle Broochs

I have made a series of brooches/pins that were designed to bring a smile to the face of all those who wear or see them. They are made from bits and pieces of leftover dichroic and opaque glass and are all properly fused and annealed in the kiln. After cooling, various threads, yarns and fibers are added to make the "and you think you have a bad hair day". I have named these broochs "Frazzles" and hopefully they will make a frazzled day much less stressful.

Thoughts on 2010

I have been spending alot of time lately thinking about what I want to do as an aspiring artist in this next year. Some of them are pretty clear cut such as learning to drill a hole in glass and doing more work with glass frit. These will no doubt be challenging but the real challenge comes in learning how to market my work much more effectively.
One of my key problems is not knowing how to use the computer that well. I will try to do one thing only to discover that not only do I not know how to do it but I also don't know how to do several other things which would allow me to do the initial thing. Confused? Well now you have some idea how I feel. I get so frustrated and tired of trying to do something on the computer and not getting it to work that I just throw up my hands and quit. A case in point is how to get a mini-artfire set up and how to get various links and photographs on my blog. I want to make a special effort to get a blog up and going on a regular basis and I want to learn more about social networking in general. There is so much helpful information out there on how to do all of these things and I need to figure out a way to read and learn and experiment without throwing up my hands, pulling my hair out and quitting.
Another thing I would like to focus on is spending more time familiarizing myself with the work of other artists. There are so many talented and creative artists whose work interests and fascinates me. I try to post items of interest periodically on my FB pages but I would like to learn the mechanics of featuring other sellers on my blog. Again computer literacy is required.
Like everyone else I am faced with time constraints so becoming more focused, better organized and learning new skills needs to be addressed. It's going to be a busy year.