Featured Artist

Here it is. The announcement of my month long show at Boulder Arts & Crafts in Boulder, Colorado. I've known about this for a while now and sometimes the reality of it just hasn't sunk in yet. I don't want anyone to pinch me and wake me up from this dream. It's so exciting and such a great opportunity. As I look at our kitchen table, filled with my bowls and plates, I do know it is a reality.

The opening reception will be Friday, August 6th from 6 - 8 PM. Dan & I will be there, of course!

I think one of the things I like best is how my work has grown and several new series have evolved as a result of my pushing myself to prepare for this show. I think my favorite is my Colorado Wildflowers from my Flower Garden Series, followed by my Sky-Scapes.

And I'm in great company, as a silk painter, Yelena Sidorova, will be co-exhibiting during August. I definitely admire the works of silk painters and one of my online friends, Deborah Younglao, is one of my favorites!

If you live close to Boulder, I hope you'll be able to stop in during the exhibit dates to see my new works and this exhibit.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Colorado Wildflowers ~ The Flower Garden Series

Colorado Wildflowers
The Flower Garden Series
Photograph Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

I would like to debut my new glass series I am calling The Flower Garden Series. This bowl is called Colorado Wildflowers as it reminds me of some of the open meadows we can see in Colorado that are filled with beautiful wildflowers.

Ever since I lived in Texas, I fell in love with the wildflowers that would bloom in spring. Bluebonnets and Indian Paint Brush filled fields and the shoulders of the Texas highways. They were beautiful, especially in the hill country close to Austin. It's a must see in my book, if you've never visited Texas in March to see nature's splendor.

Lately I tend to experience something I can visualize in my mind's eye and this bowl is the first of many where I see glass shards creating a wildflower scene. Please don't take this the wrong way, but this is one of my favorite bowls. I hate the thoughts of parting with it, but if it is meant to find another home, that is its path. This one will be one of my glass works that will be on exhibit during the month of August at Boulder Arts & Crafts in Boulder, Colorado.

I think the highest compliment I've received on this piece is from my husband Dan. He said it looks like an impressionistic painting. And that reminds me of another comment a fellow artist recently left on my blog, that some of my glass bowls look like I'm painting with glass. I was truly flattered by Deborah Younglao's comment, given her talents as a silk painter, that was a high compliment. Please check out her work on her blog and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

So I'm debuting a series that will be dedicated to the delicate beauty of wildflowers. Some of the ones I've completed in this series are bold and dramatic. Others a bit more subtle like this one.

For each of these, I start out with a blank of clear Bullseye Glass as the base. The I start adding glass shards and frit to create the look of grasses, stems, flowers and sky. I've really enjoyed experimenting with this process and I have definitely enjoyed the results.

I hope you like it. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

A Lemonade Award!

I have been nominated by Kristin, of K S Jewellery Designs, for A Lemonade Award! First let me say thank you to Kristin for this honor; she is a gifted jewelry designer and a admire her talent. And let me add that I am in great company, as Kristin nominated 9 other bloggers for this award.

What is a Lemonade Award? It is awarded to bloggers that show a positive attitude and gratitude. Now it's my turn to share....

Here are the rules for the award:
1.Put the logo on your blog or post
2.Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
3.Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.
4.Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.
5.Nominate your favorites and link to your post.

My Choices for the Award:
Karen Phipps, A Visual Journey
Tracey Clarke, Brainworks
Daily Silk Painting with Deborah Younglao
Sandy Cahill Johnson, SCJ Jewelry Design
Luann Udell
Linda Steider, Steider Studio Blog
Sharmon Davidson, True Adventures of an Art Addict
Sophie, Life & Jewelry
Becca, Notes From Smelly Rhino Studio
Iona Drozda, Drozda's Art Life

All of these talented people have inspired and helped me in my artistic journey. They have provided advice, positive support, and great inspiration. My heartfelt thanks to all of you. And yes, there are more I would add to this list, for now I will leave it at the 10 I've nominated. Let's enjoy the lemonade! Cheers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Greetings and here's wishing all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day.

This morning I prepared the blue bowl for its second fusing. Here it is, in the kiln, ready for firing. Taking it back up to full fuse temperature may mean that I will not be able to see the results until later tomorrow afternoon.

I had great fun arranging all the curls on top of it. I believe I have made the right decision and I want to thank Deborah and Karen for their words of encouragement as I re-work this piece to become (hopefully) even better than the original design.

I took a profile view to show how these curls 'stand up' on top of the surface. During the fusing process they will drop and become part of the glass surface. They will retain their circles and curls, but become part of the piece in the fusing process.



The dam, to maintain its 3/8" thickness, is held in place with steel pins. A technique I picked up in Patty Gray's November class at D & L. I couldn't believe that I could use steel pins in my kiln, but I can. As an added safeguard I used some kiln blocks as additional reinforcements to the dam.

Last, but certainly not least, is a picture of two of our three bassets. As I worked on this piece this morning, they kept me company....sleeping on their beds. Newton is on the left, Bueller is the one on the right. As an added bonus, today we went to the big dog show up in Denver and saw lots of our basset friends. Couldn't ask for a better day.

Happy Valentine's Day!