Fine Art and A Bicycle Event

Thunderbird Artists Fine Art Festival

Last weekend was the Triple Bypass Bike Event. This is the second year that Dan has participated. It involves road bike riders, who travel 120 miles, over 3 mountain passes. Makes me tired just writing about it.

Dan Coming Into Georgetown

I am Dan's support person for the event as I drop him off at the starting point in Evergreen Colorado....meeting him past one of the aid stations so he can drop off unneeded gear and meet him at the finish in Avon Colorado.

Dan heading out on the road again

This year, Dan found a Fine Art Festival for me and unfortunately the weather was a little ominous so I was unable to spend a great deal of time lingering there. However, I did manage to get some pictures of the type of work that was on display.



One of my stopping points before the festival was at the outlet shops as they have a nice stream and seating areas where I could just hang out and read. That was very relaxing.

Set up to read and relax

Pretty Columbines where I was Reading.

So I thought I would take a diversion from posting about my work and share with you some of the pictures from this past weekend. I hope you enjoy! You can see those dark storm clouds heading toward the festival in some of these shots.

Look at that GLASS!

That's my virtual tour of the festival.

Here's Dan coming in at the finish! My fast action picture taking needs improvement, but I've preserved the moment as he's heading in.


A satisfied smile for a job well done and a great ride!


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

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.

Clearing Skies ~ Sky-Scape Series

Clearing Skies
Sky-Scape Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Growing up in the Midwest, I have a fondness for thunderstorms. I think there is a real beauty in the lightening shows they produce. And then there is that moment as the stormy skies are clearing and the sunlight emerges. That moment is what I tried to capture in this piece, which I call Clearing Skies.

Working on the pieces in my Sky-Scape Series has its challenges. Trying to combine the right glass colors, create the effect I'm hoping for once the pieces fuse together. The picture below is this piece as it's ready to go into the kiln. The glass at the top and bottom is one of Bullseye's Blue Steel that shifts from the deep blue you see in this picture to a silver when fused at a certain temperature. You can see this color shift in the finished bowl pictured at the top of this post.



When I took this to full fuse temp, around 1525 degrees Fahrenheit, it remained that deep blue shade you see in the pre-fuse picture. After I completed the coldworking phase to finish the edge, I put it back in the kiln to slump into its final shape. That slumping temperature I used took it to about 1125 degrees and that is when the color shift to that silver took place. Fascinating! I truly love opening my kiln and seeing what awaits.

That's exactly what I wanted and thanks to that shift, it created the stormy sky clearing effect I wanted. Dark stormy grey/silver edges with the clouds dissipating after the storm and the light shining through.

If you'd like to see this one in person, it will be part of my exhibit at the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery in August. Stay tuned for more details on that show.

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

Blog-Anniversary 2 Years

Who would have thought? Not me.... My blog had its 2 year blog-anniversary on Friday June 25th. I'm a couple of days late with the announcement. This year I wanted to commemorate the anniversary of my blog start date because I have met so many wonderful people in this land of cyberspace. Wonderful artists. Great stories. Amazing journeys.

I've learned so much from so many of you who have been kind enough to leave comments, share your adventures on your blogs too. I've even had the pleasure of meeting a few of you and I look forward to meeting more of you in person one of these days. Don ~ Dan & I are definitely meeting you the next time we are in Vegas! My friends in the Chicago area, Karen, Janelle...gotta meet you guys. Deborah, Elizabeth, Tracey, Sharmon, Kristin, Sheila, Janice, R, Pam, Tom, Donna, Susanne, Linda, Sandy, Susan....all of you and more. I haven't intentionally left out names, there are so many of you who have touched my life through the blogging we all do. Thank you!

All of you have been very kind and giving. I look forward to more growth and sharing our experiences. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, read my posts, and leave your comments.

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

A Bloom ~ The Flower Garden Series

A Bloom
The Flower Garden Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Another experiment that turned out to be a nice surprise for me. I was playing with the larger glass shards from another piece when I came up with this flower. It looks like it's getting ready to bloom, at least that's what I see.

I was playing with glass mixtures and for whatever reason, the crystal clear powder I use, from Bullseye, tends to produce a bit of a cloudy effect in the fused glass. I'm fairly certain I'm not doing something right when I use this, but in this case, I thought the effect it created was pretty unique.

So I have another piece that fits in my Flower Garden Series. It's about 8" square and can be decorative or functional. Some folks are comfortable putting these in the dishwasher, but I think it's best to hand wash just to make sure it doesn't have a chance to break in the dishwasher.

I love the colors for the bloom. All are in my Bullseye palette. I never thought I would delve into the world of abstraction, but in a number of my pieces, I seem to be leaning in that direction.

This will be one my works on display at the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery in Boulder Colorado during the month of August.

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.

Scenes from the Opening Reception

Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts

I thought I would share some of the photos from the opening reception on Friday night at the Palmer Lake Artist Group's Fine Art Show at Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts.

As I have mentioned, I do like this venue. The turn out for the opening receptions continues to be good.

The Krucoff Clan fared well as each of us won ribbons for our works. Dan won first place in the Photography category.

Daniel Krucoff ~ First Place Photography

Mary received second place for her watercolor.

Mary Krucoff's Watercolor ~ 2nd Place in the category

I received a second place for my wire wrapped glass jewelry.

Bling Wire Wrapped Glass Jewelry by Kathleen Krucoff

And I also had the good fortune of receiving 3rd place for one of my glass bowls, Summer Days.

Summer Days ~ 3rd Place ~ Fused Glass Bowl by Kathleen Krucoff

Suzanne Jenne, a gifted artist, was the MC for the silent auction. I'm happy that I won one of the items in the auction. The proceeds from the auction go toward the scholarship fund to help art students from the area go on to pursue their studies in college.



Here are a few more shots of the variety of work at this show.







And here are a few of the Krucoffs. You will notice a photo of Dan in front of his work is noticeably absent....hmmmmmm he does like being the photographer!

Mary and her painting.

Me with my jewelry.

A girl and her glass..... bowl that is, with ... a glass of wine!

Oh yes, those are 'adult beverages' that Mary & I have. What's an opening reception without a little wine or beer?

We had a fun evening. Hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of the surroundings.

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