Silly Dog Art Glass

New Year - New Thoughts

I don't usually actually make New Year's resolutions.  I like to make goals for myself all of the time, so it seems sort of redundant.  

But, this year there are a couple of things that I really do "resolve" to do.

1.  I resolve to eat as "vegan" of a diet as I can.  This can be difficult when eating out or with friends.  And reading all of the ingredients on packages is quite tedious.  But I feel very strongly about this in my life and hope that I can make a difference in my health, the invironment and for farm animals everywhere.

2.  Secondly, and I just thought of this today, I resolve to try to live every day as if I am on vacation.  I thought about how I slow down my movements, my thoughts, my interactions when I am on vacation.  I tend to enjoy moments more on vacation.  That could be because I am away from regular surroundings where people and things become mundane chores, but I think it might have more to do with a state of mind. This one will be tough.  I think I am up for it. 

As for goals - those will start soon and continue throughout the year.  I am really looking forward to a very healthy, happy and fun 2012.  Hope you are, too!

New Year's Eve dinner with hubby.  :-)

Lighting My Life

Although I have built in some down time into the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012, I am not sure I will be able to stick to it.  

My dear husband has given me an LED light table for my glass painting.  I am forever having to lift up my glass pieces to get light to shine up through the glass.  It is the only way I can see that my colors are getting right up to the edge of the black outlines.  I am really looking forward to using the light table.  It will make the coloring and shading so much easier!

I have some new ideas to work on, also.  These rectangular sketches are a bit rough, but are just ideas for a new display I want to try.  If all goes well, they will be somewhat larger pieces - maybe about 10 x 12" and thicker - 1/4 to 3/8"??  I plan to do them in layers, fused together and bent over a stainless steel mold.  I can picture them being lit from behind, or just set into a sunny window.  

Itching to get started on some new things - like I said, not really sure my downtime is really going to go as long as I anticipated.

And isn't this little guy just a cutie?? He might pop up somewhere soon....

Trees, Trees, Glorious Trees!

I finished 9 more pieces last week, just before my last show of the season in Altadena, CA.  I made 7 trees, an owl and a hare.  

"Fall Moon"

I have discovered a new way to layer the background frit using transparent colors and creamy vanilla to make subtle, but vibrant skies and backgrounds.

"Serenity in Red"

Some of these were very hard to even put price tags on - I would love to keep them all!

"Harmony in Red"

"Nurturing"

"Simplicity"

"Windblown"

"Intensity"

"Wish Upon A Star"

 

Finally Pictures!

As promised, here are the pictures of my latest completed ornaments and Christmas lights.  We bought our first fresh cut tree in about 15 years yesterday.  It is sitting proudly in my living room.  We are expecting a snow storm today, so it will be just right for sipping cocoa (with Kalua?) and hanging lights and ornaments!  I am looking forward to it!

Flowers of the Season

We spent a little time this week putting up our Christmas lights outside.  We hung 6 strands of white icicle lights along our short fence that runs along our driveway and for the first time, we put our big colorful bulb strands along the front deck railing.  I just love coming home in the evening to the house lit up like that!

I also trimmed back my rose bushes.  For two reasons - I am hoping it makes them come back full in the spring, but also so that we would not get scratched to death while maneuvering around them to put up the lights.  There were a few gorgeous roses still in bloom, amazingly enough, and I cut those to bring inside.

The little owl card was a Thank You card from my nephew, Ryan.

A couple of months ago I repotted some of my older house plants.  They were quite root-bound and the Christmas Cactus hadn't bloomed in at least 2 years.  I ended up moving the cactus to a different window, also.  I understand they like the west facing sun, but I don't have any good window space on my west side, so they went into a north window.  I wasn't really sure how that was gonna work.  I was going around watering a couple of weeks ago and was so excited to see that it had big, juicy blooms on it again.  And then last week they all popped open!  

And on the glass front, I have sold quite a few of my ornaments at the Mountain Arts Network Gallery in Lake Arrowhead.  I really wasn't sure how well they would sell, so I only made 15 or 20 of the glass ornaments.  I had one woman come in and buy 13 of them in one day!  Well, I don't expect that to happen again, but I did make some more, different ones, and took them up to the gallery the other day.

Unfortunately, I took pictures of them after the clear glass was hand painted, but before firing, but forgot to get any finished pictures because I was in a hurry to take them to the store.  But, you can see the new images I painted - a Christmas tree, reindeer and snowflake.  They were all fired onto a vanilla colored background and I hung glass beads beneath each one.  I will have to get some photos for you. :-)

I like the reindeer, but the red ones are another example of how the red paint can be so tricky. During firing, the red blurred out and became very thin in spots.  I was not able to actually use them to sell.  I am planning to try to repaint and refire them, so we will see how that comes out.

Enjoy the Flowers of the Season!

Thankful

"Gold & Gray" 

10 Things Artists Should be Thankful For
Passed on from Sylvia White  via Kristin Shields at Stitching Hands Studio

1. I am thankful that I am not one of the majority of people in this world that wakes up every morning, goes to a job they hate, just to come home and do it all over again.

2.  I am thankful that when I am away from my studio, my ideas come with me, they keep me company everywhere I go.

3.  I am thankful for this passion that gives me so much joy (and angst) but mostly joy.

4.  I am thankful that when I have left this earth, I will leave something meaningful behind.

5.  I am thankful that I have a mind that can not sleep, I will never be bored.

6.  I am thankful that there is a part of my life that nobody can control, except me.

7.  I am thankful that no one in the world can ever take this gift from me.

8.  I am thankful that I am brave, it takes courage to pursue my gift.

9.  I am thankful that I am never satisfied, it forces me to move forward and grow.

10.  I am thankful I discovered this list!  Pass it on.

Happy Thanksgiving All!!

 

Greetings!

Like any artist, I try to remember to take pictures of all of my finished work. Sometimes when I am in a hurry, it doesn't happen.  Or, I don't look at the finished picture before I sell the piece and it turns out to be blurry, or too dark, or whatever.

I don't propose to say that I am any kind of professional photographer and I know I am not that great at setting up interesting layouts. 

But, I have always wanted to reproduce images of my glass work to sell as greeting cards.  I have a photographer friend, John Hummel, who told me about these fabulous folding cards that hold your 4 x 6" photo.   I printed out a bunch of candidates for potential cards and these are the ones I ended up using. 

I am considering selling them in sets as I have photographed them above.  That way I don't end up with "orphans".  Also, I think they have more impact and I can sell them at a better price that way.   We'll see if there is any interest.

 

Fall Shows

Just wanted to give you a quick update of my upcoming shows for this fall.  I am going to be a very busy little bee!

October 1st - I will have space at the Crestline Art-Tiques Walk from 4pm to 8pm.  This includes a wine walk put on by the Crestline Chamber of Commerce.

October 8th - Pine Cone Festival in Twin Peaks.  A wonderful mountain experience with Pine Cone art, music and contests!

October 15 & 16 - Big Bear Oktoberfest in Big Bear, CA.  Should be tons of fun with art, music and BEER!

November 4th - First Friday at The Lake House in Cedar Glen.  I am one of the featured artists for this event happening 4 to 7pm - come on down for Wine, Hors d’oeuvres, Friendship & Fine Art!  What a great way to start your weekend !

November 6th - Festival of Fine Art in Redlands.  This will be an all day Sunday show.  It is a fine event with wine, pianist and upscale art and artists.  It is being held in the old Fox Theatre in downtown Redlands.  I am really looking forward to seeing the old building and the history of it.

November 19 & 20 - Arts and Crafts show at the Oak Glen Retreat in Oak Glen, CA.  This is the heart of one of Southern California's apple orchard areas.  I expect lots of good apple foods and wonderful new artists.

November 25, 26, 27 - Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair at the San Moritz Lodge in Crestline, CA.  I did this show last year for the first time and had a lot of fun!  The lodge is large, warm and inviting and the variety of arts and crafts is just great!

December 10th - Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony and Winter Arts and Crafts Festival in Altadena, CA.  This one is fantastic.  There is one street overhanging with majestic deodars that are strung with over 10,000 holiday lights.  The festival has music, arts and crafts and of course, the trees are lit.  

I have been working on stuff like crazy and I don't think the pace will slow until around December 11th.  I look forward to seeing some of you at one or more of my shows.  Happy Fall!!

It's not too early.... Is it?

It's not too early to start planning for the holiday show season, is it?  Last year in the Lake Arrowhead Mountain Art's Co-Op Gallery that I belong to they set up a Christmas tree and artists were invited to hang their handmade ornaments for sale.

I hung some that I had made in previous years and sold a few of them, however I felt completely unprepared. 

This year, I had been rolling an idea around in my head and this is what I came up with.  Clear glass squares 2" wide, hand painted with my signature trees and liquid gold or white gold stars painted on each tree.  Each ornament has 2 squares of glass and in between is a combination of paint, frit and/or mica powders.  I fused in wire rings on the tops and bottoms and used a cotton cord for hanging and matching glass beads dangling off of the bottoms.

The glass catches the light and the sweet little trees show off the holiday spirit.

I think my favorite so far is this pale blue and silver one. (My hubby says it looks like the Crystaline Entity - from Star Trek - What does he know?)