fire and glass

My husband and I have been living out of hotels and suitcases for 7 months now..and while its been very very enjoyable ~ full of new sights and food and people, of course there are some things I'm missing. Yes, my children and my family top this list...but the surprise to me is this: I MISS cleaning and cooking. [ ...I swear I can hear my sister laughing~ ] Granted. It is the sweetest thing to leave an untidy room and come back to clean towels and a freshly made bed, all the garbage mysteriously whisked away and the counters clean and neat. It is joyous . :=) But. There is something therapeutic to squirting sweet smelling dish detergent under a flowing tap and scrubbing your dishes in a sink full of warm sudsy water. It is satisfying to polish the taps in the bathroom until they gleam..it's even somewhat pleasant to cook supper. Ugh. okay scratch that one..but, there have been moments in my life as a mommy and wife when baking something..usually bread...just hits the sp

because I'm enjoying the sun and sand in January. :-) Believe me, I know how blessed I am~

I have a love for organic works of art..movement, line and color that mimic nature or are earth inspired... A push or subtle exaggeration of textures, color and movement ..all of those elements play a role in organics. Sometimes it's simply a matter of getting out of the way... Provide the right atomosphere.. The correct ratio of oxygen to fuel, that perfect combination of glasses and metals, the right temperature in your kiln for that particular glass.. don't forget to check the alignment of the stars ~ and then get out of the way..stop pushing and pulling with the form. Listen and see. ..allow the glass to be the star. Gravity, the glass itself, temperature and serendipity ...all combine to create an 'organic' piece of art~

I've been discovering the benefits of practicing meditation...most especially visual meditation . Along with this my daughter is taking some massage therapy courses which involve some fairly graphic textbooks detailing the bodys anatomy . Her precocious 4 year old... [and aren't they all?] ..has been fascinated and listens with great interest when my daughter talks about the things she's learned in class. I'm certain she's doctor material. I knew she'd been sitting in while my daughter practiced her own meditation techniques so I asked my grand-daughter to do some yoga with me. With great seriousness,she positioned herself in the classic Indian seated yoga pose, carefully placed her little fingers in an 0 position and looking at me with complete composure began to intone...with a slight lisp, since ' r's are a little difficult at that age; " Bweathe in.... bweathe out.... bweathe in... bweathe out..." I'm trying very hard to keep my

I need to stay somewhat focused today since I want to work on an order.. these x 5..but I like to net surf a bit during my breakfast. So while I was enjoying my morning meal of left over bread sticks from Domino's and [ahhh yes .] diet coke [ Susan would be very disappointed in me..] I stumbled onto a tutorial site which led to another one and then one more and... and well, we all know how that goes ~ so forget about it. I am in a billion different directions now. I know Kanzashi flowers are probably old hat by now but I never did know how to do these.. taken from ' Thoughts from the Bus Stop ' and they have so many possibilities, don't they? We've all seen these in a little girls hair, on head bands and barrets, but smaller versions in jewelry applications would be fabulous...the use of fabrics and different materials would result in a different outcome every time. Addictive no doubt. of course they all need a lampworked glass center bead~ Instructables show

Yep..there are lots of us out there hand crafting each tiny work of art by hand and we all like to share our passions. The possibilities are endless...there are glass beads, porcelain beads, ceramic beads, seeded beads, clay beads, metal beads, felted beads... and each componant adds a unique flavor to your final creation. Brew yourself up a cup of tea and cuddle up to your laptop because I've gathered up a selection of interesting artisan blogs that focus on the art of beads...enjoy! Denise Yezbak Moore ~Bling it On! ceramic beads Painting with Fire ceramic beads by Barbara Lewis Mamacita Beadworks by D'Arsie Manzella works with stoneware clay, polymer clay and lead free pewter. Most bead artists have heard of this lady...Joan Miller..she makes the sweetest little porcelain doll and shoe beads. See her work here, Joan Miller Porcelain Beads One of my all time favorite glass bead artists..Ellen Dooley. See her work on her site, Ellen Dooley Lampwork~ Art from the Flame

It's a very very long drive to my home in northern British Columbia from Lompoc, California. There was close t0 5000 miles put on our very gutsy 4WD suberban! [superb winter vehicle btw] and we enjoyed every moment of it. We took our time and saw some beautiful country.. lots of beautiful country. This video clip was taken on Christmas day ~thus the reason for the old skool Christmas music playing ..we were trying to inject a wee bit of traditional Christmas spirit on a day we had celebrated much much differently every other year. We are somewhere in Montana very close to the Canadian border. It was definitely a treasured experience for us and we won't forget how we spent our first Christmas together, that's for sure. The weather was cold and the road was long, but the trip was sweet ~and most importantly I have my torch and my glass back in my hot little hands! and we are now back enjoying the warmth of sunny California. ..whew. we won't be driving that road again f