Fused Glass Snowflakes at the LUX

The fused glass holiday season has begun 

at the LUX Center for the Arts!

   My first group of students for the season was ready to jump right in! I got lots of great photos of them all working...Since all of the students are newbies and it's a short family class, the easiest way to get started is to use mosaic nippers and cut strips down to glue together in a snowflake pattern.

Getting started...

My favorite part of these classes is seeing the color combos that everyone chooses...

Glass Classes for my Trixie Kitty

"Glass for Trixie Kitty" Party - In this short workshop session, I invite you and a few friends over to play with glass. My poor kitty, Trixie has bad genetics, and nearly all of her teeth need to come out.
If the teeth don't come out, her jawbone may get infected. Then, there's risk that her jaw could break. Wish there was an easier fix. We even brushed her teeth for the last year. Didn't help. She's plaque free, but her gums are receding :(
It's expensive... Come have some fun and help me pay for my kitty's comfort.

My studio can accommodate 2-8 people comfortably. My kiln shelf is 20" x 20". $100 to fill it all up. $25 per quarter (10" x 10"). I provide all the fusible glass scrap you could need. 2-3 hour session depending on how long you decide to play! Contact me to find a time for your group!
Head on over to my website to select a date: My Classes Page.

I Do!

Well, it's official! We tied the knot. In a low key, almost spontaneous wedding ceremony at the "Silverado Tiki Bar" in Napa, CA, my wonderful, thoughtful, caring fiance, Todd, became my beloved husband! He is so eloquent with words that I am left almost speechless. I'm sure he knows how much I appreciate and depend upon him and the support that he gives in all of my endeavors. He puts up with all of my piles and loose organization and lately lacking housekeeping skills. He is just too wonderful for words and I love him dearly.

Kate Wolf Festival - Laytonville, CA

I had a fabulous mini-vacation this past week and a half, and it feels like I was gone for a month!
My dad's visiting my fiance and I in his RV, so we took a trip up north to Mendocino County to the Kate Wolf Folk Music Festival. My uncle was even able to make the trip out, and we picked him up in Santa Rosa on the way!
A few of my faves:






It was very smoky for the first few days, but thanks to some hard working volunteer firemen and cooperative coastal fog, Sunday was sunny and clear. I had tons of fun hanging out with family and friends, dancin' and hula-in' the days away!

Sharing Your Photos...and my new niece!

My new niece, Adi, sketched out with Adobe Photoshop Express.
There's a super cool and cheap, er...thrifty, way to upload, edit and share your photos!! Adobe, the creator of Photoshop, has put into beta a new photo editing tool that uses Flash. Simply sign up for an account, upload photos, and edit away! The tools aren't as exact, or as complicated as Photoshop, but the results are amazingly pleasing, for such a simple idea. Plus, you can play around with your photos, creating some more bizarre images, as well...
It also lets you link and upload directly to selected outside sites, such as Facebook, Picasa, and Photobucket. You get 2 GB of free space to show off your photos in galleries you create. (I've embedded these two photos into my blog post without putting them in my public gallery, for those concerned about privacy issues.)

A Family Affair

While my family was visiting, I was able to get them into the glass studio for a couple of projects. They weren't able to see their projects fully finished before they had to hit the road back to Nebraska (except, of course, for the plate that Uncle Jim is holding up), which means that I have their finished glass pieces. So, I told them that I had their Christmas shopping done already! I was only teasing, of course:)

Now for the Official Unveiling:

Dad's Fused Glass Plate

UJ's Fused Glass Plate

Dad's Kiln Cast Dog - without and then with lights behind it.

A little scary, huh?

UJ's Kiln Cast Sculptural Piece

Enjoy!

In the Beginning...

I've finally got hold of the photos to go along with my story, because we all know that a good story needs some accompanying photos...

As witnessed below, the classic Fall 2007 trip to California began similarly to the way it ended. Already, you've seen the poker night that ended it all. But now, the unveiling of the Laurel Street Boys' Club.

Smoking stogies and watching football in HD.
That's what life's all about, right?

I, of course, was at work. Seems to be a theme, huh?

Winding Down...

Working backwards...Dad and Uncle Jim were here most recently, and we accomplished quite a bit. It was definitely a jam packed vacation.
But now that life is getting closer to normal, I have a little time to blog about what's been happening in my personal life lately...

So without further ado, I give you "Winding Down"

Todd decided that Dad and UJ needed a little Guitar Hero.
I mean, come on, who doesn't?

Of course, as you can see, they had absolutely no fun whatsoever.
So, we decided to move on to Karaoke.

Again, no fun had here:)
Meanwhile, I had to rush off to work. Then, Todd, Dad, and UJ cracked open the first of our pale ale homebrew (Yummy-licious!), yanked out the muchies and totally rearranged the living room for Poker Night!
Let's see, so this round let's make Dr. Pepper wild, with Aces, Straights and Flushes, otherwise deuces, wait, I mean, fours, er, no... eights wild for everything else...
Okay, everyone got that?
Yeah, that's what I said!