Give Thanks ~

Thanksgiving ~

For each new morning with its light,

For rest & shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love & friends,

For everything Thy Goddess sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ (1803-1882

Inspiring words & new work

Before a show I usually take an inventory of what I have in stock, what I need to make, & what new work I think I should have to round out my booth for the best sales. The Arts Emporium was a great show sales-wise. I had a list of new pieces that I wanted to made but time & life are also factors so as the show got closer the list got shorter.

I decided to experiment with "liquid stringer." Basically, very fine frit mixed with a suspension medium so the glass is a liquid. I mix equal parts of glass & medium in a small squeeze bottle & then write on a scrap piece of glass until the consistency will hold up. Not too runny & not too stiff.

These were kitchy but colorful & fun! I strung the hangers with colorful coordinating beads for a finished look. I sold all I had so I think people liked them & the price was right! Good feedback!

Show Talk ~

Today was the first day of the Arts Emporium at the convention center. My booth is next to a person who has just started "doing" fused glass. I say "doing" because after 15 years of working with glass I feel like I've seen & tried about every technique invented & reinvented. This person is re-doing glass designs & not really creating anything unique or inspired (only IMHO!!)

Anyway, every once in awhile I'd hear something really interesting & totally bogus about glass work but the best quote today was "oh, that's my favorite...you really should buy it because it was a full moon when I fired the kiln."

OK, I might fall for that line if I was young (I'm old), naive' (sorry, but I've been around the block), or gullible ( OK ~ I'm old, cynical & well traveled).

However, since I'm basically a production artist & I make my living with my work, I'd be seriously out of business if I only fired the kiln during a full moon cycle! :) But wait...maybe the kiln fires itself during a full moon? Gotta love the sales talk when the work can't do it on it's own!

I had a great day of sales & it wasn't even a full moon!! Thanks to all my friends & great customers who stopped bye to shop & visit. I really appreciate your feedback, support & business.

Here's to a happy holiday season!

Arts & Crafts Emporium

The "Arts & Crafts Emporium" is this weekend at the Dena'ina Convention Center. It's a fabulous show with work from Alaskan Artists. I'll be there with lots of new work & larger pieces!
Hope to see you there for all your holiday shopping! Saturday 10 to 6pm & Sunday 11 to 5pm.

Alaska Metal Arts Guild ~ Metal Etching Workshop

I'm a member of the Alaska Metal Arts Guild. It's a fairly active group of metal smiths from all over the state of Alaska. We've had some fabulous workshops & this past weekend was no exception. Gary Kaulitz at the University of Alaska taught a two day class on techniques to etch metal. Gary is a print maker extraordinaire so he was able to tie in some cool lithography techniques. I was excited to take this class as I've been researching chemical metal etching for some time but have never had the time to pull it all together.

The class focused on copper etching using ferric chloride. A film positive was made using "Imagon," a photosensitive film, after exposing it to ultraviolet light. A soda ash wash rinses out the film which is attached to the copper & then the copper is ready for the etching. All in all, a fairly simple process but one that has many steps.

The picture above shows my design on my acetate film prior to the etching & the finished copper plate after it was etched in the ferric chloride. I love the mermaid image & I planned to use the spirals at the bottom for jewelry items ~ or not, because after the etching it looks like cool border art. The detail is fabulous!

Do you know "List of the Day?"

"List of the Day" is one of my new favorite sites. It's edgy & sort of naughty in a nice way. I like it!

Check it out ~

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! It was a day to party! I played the accordion at the Pioneer Home's Halloween Party early in the day with Jill (Big Bird) & Joyce (Scarecrow). Let me tell you those old folks know how to throw a swinging party. It was fun! They are so appreciative of the music & the accordion as an instrument its heartwarming.

Later, family & friends met up at my home downtown & we had a big Halloween Monster Mash! Lots of food, play for the kids & then trick or treating in the neighborhood. The streets were full of ghouls & it was a warm evening. Temperatures in the 50's, no snow, lots of leaves & Halloween lights & decorations. It felt just like an old fashioned Halloween from my childhood :)

Pictures to follow of the little ghouls on their sugar high ~