A Great New Hang-Out

Having been a patron of many all-day-breakfast food joints, I was overjoyed to find this little gem in Superior, WI. The prices are great (2 eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and toast for $3.65!), the food is yummy and the atmosphere is totally chummy. Seniors playing cards, everyone seems to at least be acquintances, and even a counter with stools! It's my new favorite eatery. But, come with cash, no credit taken. I wish it was open all night, too, as that seems to be the time I'm sitting with time between train runs. I still like it enough to share by taking a quick pic of the counter/kitchen area.

The Skinny

After a loooong break, I'm finally getting around to my internet presence again. Here's the skinny on what's new with me:

I now live in Duluth, MN! The Northland!
Nice town - although I'm a little fearful of the coming winter. Lots to do for outdoor enthusiasts, that's for sure.

I am back in the workforce. I drive as a railroad crew transporter. These conductor/engineer crews have to get taken by automobile from/to their yard offices to outlying areas where they can jump on their trains. So, I get a big ol' Suburban to keep with me, being on call pretty much all the time (round the clock), and I run around within a 500 mile radius to drive train crews to wherever they need to go.

It SO beats working in an office. Lots of alone time, interesting stories exchanged, etc. I have my Zune (mp3 player) which now gets oodles of use, a nifty AT&T Palm Centro mobile phone with internet/cameraphone/MMS that keeps me in contact with my family (teens love to text, even if it's just to Mum). I'm hoping to get the whole update the blog via the phone thing working, but I'm still painfully new at it all.

I hope to be taking some photos of the neat things I get to see, perhaps share some stories of this new adventure. Lots of ideas - but often I have big dreams when the reality is less kind. We'll see.

Sadly, this means I have about zero time for stained glass. I still have an inventory of finished pieces that I can relist on Etsy. But I've hardly any space in the box-filled garage (with no electricity) to actually work on the glass itself. BUMMER!

But, I am totally capable of continuing with my 2D artwork, and plan to get that going soon. My poor Etsy shops have been sitting desolate for months now. I've had to quit my Etsy Glass Group, which sucks. But, things are what they are.

So, now that I've lost ANY readership I may of gained ... back to square one.

moblog

Hi

Happy Father's Day Video

To Daddy from Maggie!

Podcasts: Pick of the Week #2

The podcast I'd like to bring attention to this week is an absolute MUST to download, featuring stories by regular folks, told to a live audience, and collected for your listening pleasure by a not-for-profit group. The stories range from the poignant to the hilarious, and while they aren't polished or perfect - which is part of the charm, in my opinion - they reach that common denominator in us all. Laughing at ourselves, empathizing with others and FEEL in a way that is amazing without being over-the-top with Big Money bells and whistles.




If you don't have an iPod or mp3 player, I still urge you to give it a listen via your computer. I can't gush enough about these storytellers or their stories. The only downside I have found so far is there aren't enough of them to greedily hoard - you have to be patient for the weekly additions after your first download. I don't regret listening to any of them, nor have I skipped even a part of one. They are all worthwhile, and some are truly gems. My favorite so far is "Richard Price: Fishing Hole on Delancey", but even by picking a favorite, I feel as though I'm doing all of them an injustice.

Go to the website (via the linked image above) and you can find out how to subscribe to the podcast and tons of other information - it's a whole Moth world.

LOLspeak: OMG teh fun timez 2 be havin wit dis ting

Tehre is beesin a nu langwajez in webtahn. Its be calling lolspeak. As a lovah of teh langwajez, I has 2 say dis shood buggin mez (I tewtully doan evun like it wan people cannutt speel oot "you") but, OMGROFL, sewmezthin bowt it tikklez mah funnehbone. I doan likey dem kewtzy pikturz of kittis, much lessins dem silly blurbs sewmez peepul be unjoyun pastin on tehm, but dis is where lolspeak wuz be startin at in teh first place. If youz takes a lookinz aroun teh internet, youz will find all sewrts of deez places dat talk bowt dis nu phenomeznon. Kthxbai!

more cat pictures

Goodbye, Rabbit

Out of the blue, with little to no earnest promotion by me - I sold two ACEOs in my Explexia shop today. One of a moon and bird - and the other was the 5th in the 2nd series of my rabbit.

I haven't been doing much with the art shop lately, due to my increased productivity with my stained glass. It's nice to see that people are still looking though - and even purchasing.

The other problem I'd been having with the art is that my stained glass mentor, a suberb artist in a few mediums, had mentioned that perhaps I should make artwork larger than the standard ACEO - she loves the art, but the size is just too small for her tastes. Which is something I had been considering myself. Perhaps I lack the confidence to use a bigger size, or perhaps I like the idea of art cards and feel comfortable with them. Regardless - I'm seriously considering expanding my repertoire to include larger pieces. It certainly wouldn't hurt, and if they don't sell - it's no worse/better than an ACEO selling or not, eh? Hrmmm.

Podcasts - Pick of the Week

Recently, I became the happy owner of a red 80GB Zune (don't snark at me that it's not an iPod, I had my reasons). After spending quite a bit of time packing it with as much music as I had to lay my hands on - I decided to play with the podcasts directory.

Knowing what podcasts were, and never being terribly interested, I decided to delve a bit deeper. And Holy Mother-of-Audio-Bliss, was I surprised and elated to find a whole world out there of great podcasts. I tend to like stories and commentary, and don't really care to hear the news, or how-to's, world music, interviews, etc.

I grew up in the 70's listening to people read me stories aloud, great radio programs - like NPR's "The Spider's Web" and "A Prairie Home Companion", and I also had a kick-arse collection of records, "Free to Be You and Me" with a ton of folks like Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda, and my prize collection of 12 (read 24 stories) "Let's Pretend" records, which I still own. The latter had stories and fairy tales like "Rumpelstiltskin", "The 12 Dancing Princesses", and "Faithful John". When I discovered that story-time was alive and well in podcasts - a new universe was opened through my Zune. One of cozy moments snuggled up listening to stories - as an ADULT! Okay, a lot of them so far have been cozied up to my glass workbench, but who can be choosey?

I've decided to share my joy by selecting my Podcast Pick-of-the-Week. This week, it's an old favorite:

Garrison Keillor's monologues - News from Lake Wobegon

(from radio show "A Prairie Home Companion)

Approx. 15 minutes each, and just like I remember them.

This seems too easy, but these monologues were just what I needed to start myself out. His perfect low radio voice, his amusing small town anecdotes that wander from here to there and back with perfect synchronicity ... Not to mention, there is some nostalgia in it for me. I didn't listen to PHC for the folksy music when I was a kid - it was to hear about Lake Wobegon.

Podcast training wheels, so to speak! Give it a try.

A little flowing champagne pink

When searching for more "affordable" and less time-consuming projects for my own designs - I opted for a lovely minipanel. At $20, it's certainly affordable and the colors are just beautiful. I often cringe at cutting up a piece of glass that is so pretty in it's entirety. Why not just go with the flow?
(Yes. That "flow" pun was intended. I'm a sucker for puns.)

Posting with Word

I recently got Microsoft Word 2007, and it has this nifty feature where you can publish from it to your blog.

So… this is a small test post.

It worked! (I'm editing/adding to it now in Blogger itself.) I also have a Wacom tablet to use with my nifty new pen tablet PC software. So, I can handwrite my posts - maybe I'll post more often.

Yes, I've been very lax in the whole posting bit. It's been a long, hard winter.

Not that I think I have any readers anymore - but if anyone does this remote posting thing with Blogger - how'd you set it up for pictures?? That part is troublesome.

Made the cover of VolumeOne!!!!

Made the cover of VolumeOne!!!!
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Explexia

I finally opened my art shop at explexia.etsy.com to house my ACEOs and other art. I still consider my stained glass my primary work - but in the winter it is SO hard to convince myself to go freeze in my workshop, that I don't get much done.

My art cards used to sell quite well, specifically my signature rabbit (see here), so it was kind of interesting to see if they would continue to do well. I also have included my other art ACEOs, such as watercolor and other subjects in various mediums.

Surprisingly, the first rabbit I put up sold within hours and so did the next. Lots of views for the others, but no sales as of yet.

It's gratifying, yet somehow intimidating. We'll see how it goes!

New Creation! Spirally Goodness ...

In my effort to find fun and chilly garage-avoiding items to make, I came up with this cool sphere:

It was quite the undertaking, considering every piece of wire was individually formed and shaped, placed together, new spirals made to fit and then finding the nuggets for placement. Considering it was my first one - I got pretty frustrated, but then figured some things out along the way. Like usual, I expect the next one to be easier.

I find I like it more just place randomly on a shelf or end table, rather than hanging. The tactile quality makes it hard not to pick up - and even harder to put down. And, like the pendants, it lends itself SO well to photographs that I took maybe 40 photos of it (then had to wade through the best ones, but there were so many that turned out well).

I already have ideas for other ones with a bit of a different twist to them. I can picture an entire basket full of these happy spheres sitting on my table, all different sizes. *happy sigh* Hard work ahead though - and I don't even know if people will like them! But I do, and that's what matters, eh?

Catsicle

This cat found me today:

It was about 2 degrees above zero and this little guy was wandering around outside. His fur had snowballs stuck in it and his lip was injured. I brought him in and fed him some milk and tuna, and let him warm up. He's Very Friendly.

We put some "Found Cat" signs around with our phone number on them, hopefully he belongs somewhere. He seems too pretty to be a stray. We'll see what happens.

Until something does - looks like we have unexpected company for the holidays!

Snow, Pomegranate & Secret Santa

I was standing outside thinking how beautiful the snow is today - all sparkly and beautiful, when the idea hit me to grab a pomegranate I had bought and play with it in the snow! The ruby red of the fruit and the sparkly white snow turned out COOL:

It made me wish I was a photographer, and could just snap photos like this all day. Well - I guess I can, but for no purpose other than to please myself. Which is okay!

I also received a gift from a Secret Santa exchange we were doing within our EGA group:

My gift came from one of our administrators (and internet superstar among Etsyians), Lis Kidder! She totally made it personalized and looks like she put a ton of work into it. THANK YOU, LIS! How very cool. It's soup season for me, and I was just getting annoyed that I don't have a spoon rest for all my soup pot stirring spoons. And voila - one in the mail! How cool. My kids were all impressed, too. Happy dance!

It happened to come with 5 other packages of Etsy purchases I made recently, so it was a super happy mail day. I can't wait to show all the things I bought, but it will have to wait until after Christmas!

Horrible to Happy

This week has been hell. So many things went awry, that I was almost scared to wake up by Friday - and had been going to bed super early, just to be done with each day sooner.

But - through all the poo, I actually accomplished some things! YAY!!

I did some nifty pendants - but the above was great to finish. It is inspired by this awesome painting my mother has by E. Newman (that we know little about, except she was a friend of my aunt's in Oakland, CA). I have a similar woodcut I did of the same theme, so it was fun to get it into glass. YAY! I love it, it's bright and happy! The opposite of my week.

Perhaps I put all my happiness in the panel, making my life devoid of it for a period of time. Ah well, hopefully it's behind me. Happy December 1st!!

Big vocabulary? Feed people with your knowledge!

Check it out: FreeRice
For every word you correctly guess the meaning of, a sponsor donates 10 grains of rice. It sounds piddily, but it's fun. With folks like me, who are into words/definitions - it's a fun little game with serious results. Learn vocabulary for free while you are at it!!!

I donated 600 grains of rice before I finished. (Level 40)

What's your score??

Photo quandary

I recently made this candle holder, which is easy to take good pictures of when it's light out and the sun is streaming into the house. (And lots of white paper laying about for a "light box".)

But I figure people will want to know what the holder looks like when there is a lit candle in it! Try taking pictures of THAT.

The glass is dark, the candle flame very weak for photos, but a flash completely ruins the picture. It's been a problem of mine for a long time.



Here is one of the pictures I ended up using, with no flash, lots of light behind me but not directly shining at me or my dark corner and me balancing my camera on a broom handle for a tripod (since for some stupid reason, if you turn off the flash the anti-shake thing won't work).

If there is ANYONE out there with an idea or tips on how to take photos in these conditions, this would be a grand time to speak up! I figure I have about 4 or 5 candleholders sitting in boxes because I cannot, for the life of me, get a good picture, since the glass is just too dark to pick up in a picture. In person, they are beautiful. So sad.

Ah well, that's my dilemma of the day. :D

(WHY do I always think "dilemma" is spelled dil-e-m-N-a?)

Marvelous Maggie on Halloween!

This was first actual Halloween that the Magster got to go trick-or-treating out on the town, so I thought I'd share some pictures. I went for the standard easy costume for her first time. Ears and a tail, black clothes - easy mouse! She always plays pretend with "mousey" being her two fingers walking around on Legos or my arm and whatnot, so it was pretty easy to decide. It was that or a paper bag of groceries with arms and legs... which would have been funnier but no one liked it but me. Ah well, she liked the mouse costume.

This is before going out - lookin' a little worried, but ready to get some candy:


This is on the road with Dad:


Here's one that her oldest sister got of her once it got dark out - which is just a totally cool picture:

And here's the last one, home again with the horde. She mostly opened the candy, took a bite, then said "yucky" and handed it over to a sibling.

Maggie did pretty well, but was very tired when it was all over. Now she'll just be happy that she gets to play with her ears and tail whenever she wants.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(and I am going back to watching Ghost Hunters)

Iridescent Pink Box

Iridescent Pink Box
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

This actually was an old plain box I had done, and had forgotten about. I found it getting ready for the show, and thought it just needed a little something. So happy wire whirls and designs made it a bit more art deco. Yay!

First Art Show Lessons

*whew*

My show is over. I made it! My first art show and I survived intact, had fun, made sales and met cool people. Happily, the event was made even better by the fact that my brother (cbpottery) was there with me. I definitely learned a few things for next time, so in no particular order:

1. Do NOT forget calculator
~ Imperative for the math-challenged artist. Although everyone was kind and understanding, I still felt like an idiot taking so long trying to do simple math for change. And you can just forget about sales tax. Holy crap.

2. Do invest in a REALLY good tent
~ while I opted for el cheapo tent because it was the only show I'm doing til next year, I really understand now why a well-made tent is a must. I spent so much time putzing with it in the minimal wind (tent reacted as if it was a gale), reinforcing it, and taking the damn thing down again (un-reinforcing took forever) when I was tired from the day - that I almost started throwing pieces of it around. Forget THAT trash. E-Z Up, reserve one for me!!

3. Make firm lunch plans OR get more reliable husband
~ My brother and I waited around, albeit with snacks and water, from 8:30am to 3:00pm waiting for my husband to show up with the lunch we asked for before he left ... Meanwhile, he was taking a day-long nap at home thinking we'd call when we were ready or had figured it out ourselves. By the time we got a hold of him, my brother decided since the show was over in a few hours - we would just eat afterwards. Heh - who knew between our evil tents, and repacking glass and earthenware inventory (and various lengthy convos with other folks), it took us almost two hours to leave. There was a happily-ever-after though, as my mom took us for a celebratory "first sibling show" dinner at a swanky restaurant (read prices that were high enough that I thought they were the meal "numbers" for ordering) because we were famished.

4. Do NOT (even if there are conflicting end times) try to get out the minute it's "over"
~ People showed up late - looking to spend, and spent it mostly on the one guy who hadn't gotten around to packing his stuff up yet because he was gabbing. Meanwhile, my inventory was mostly in boxes - which I did take out to show a few pieces but got no sales. Not that it would have been a "for sure" thing - but I do regret being hasty, and can understand why my brother was for holding off packing up for a bit.

5. Do NOT expect people to watch their children around your breakable valuables
~ I was reminded heavily of my lifeguarding days when some parents assumed that since you would save their children from drowning, you were also their babysitter for the day. *grrr* I learned that perhaps my glass boxes with the fun hinged lids should go a BIT out of reach of the 6 and under crowd - because some parents are perpetually oblivious to what their little ones are doing at any given moment.
*slam slam slam "this is fun, Mommy! I want one!" slam, slam*

6. Do STRESS LESS about fingerprints on glass - people just have to TOUCH everything
~ I've never really paid much attention to people's need to touch what they are looking at - there were fingerprints and smudges all over every piece of glass! I finally just gave up trying to buff them out, and started joking with folks about it. Because, y'know, *chuckle* it is always the other people that do it, not us.

So - what did I do right??? Here's a tiny list:

1. Invite your FRIENDS to visit! Do the show with FAMILY!
~ Having my wonderful big brother there was ... wonderful! It made the whole experience just all around better and more fun. We even started using it to our advantage when hobnobbing with the people, like a little comedy team. It was super nifty having my first show be along with him, because HE is super nifty.
~ What bright points in the day to have people I knew coming through here and there! It's hard to be "on" all day with strangers, it's nice to get a hug and a moment to nudge and wink with some bosom buddies (who know enough to fade politely away when necessary).

2. Coupons, cool business cards, group sale announcements, t-shirt with familiar arty place!
~ I made up some 20% off coupons good for one item at my online store. My mother advised to only give them out to people who bought something, but this show turned out to be more promotion than sales, so I handed them out to the serious browsers. I figure if they wanted my business card - an added incentive to actually look up my online store was a happy coupon!
~I also gave away EGA sale announcements and info to serious browsers AND to people I noticed wearing pretty jewelry or arty clothes (yea yea - snap judgements, but those I deemed would be interested in EGA goods - why not hand out a 1/2 sheet flyer??) Those flyers and coupons were sitting there for anyone to grab if they wanted, but only a few took them - so I did a lot of handing of my own accord.
~My brother and my MOO cards were a big hit! Definitely more so than a regular business card.
~ I happened to be wearing a t-shirt with a bright logo of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and got quite a few comments on it, even a few conversations. Which might have possibly sparked a sale or two. Who knows? But, I do so love the MIA, so who cares?

There is probably more things I did right or wrong, but my well of thought has run dry. Needless to say, I had fun, sold enough to more than cover my expenses to be in the show - and hopefully drummed up some traffic to my Etsy store. (Which, of course, I'll be able to track through my ingenious coupon codes!) Oh, and everything I didn't sell - is happy extra inventory! WOO

Bold! Bright! Wonderful Treasury

Thanks to Clairigami for including my glasswork in her great treasury! Her shop is pretty darn nifty - I used to do quite a bit of origami, so it's always interesting to see others' work.

Alright, alright - I'm getting back to work.

THE wedding & industrial efforts

Putting a spit-shine on my best pair of Chucks for a 3-day event! People potentially coming from Italy and Budapest!

I am *not* the grand wedding lover, but even I'm anxious to see how my cousin's wedding will turn out. I'm so thankful my kids and brother will be there to hide behind. I loathe mingling and all that heavy-duty social stuff, but she's worth it - to me and my kids. Heh, here's me acting as if it's tomorrow, no no - not til the 6th of Oct. I'm just THAT stressy over it. Did I mention I am mingle-challenged? Small talk ... eep.

And I'm not just going because she has chosen my glasswork for some presents she will be giving out to some key people. I am pretty damn flattered ... kind of overwhelmed by it all, to be honest. (Hence the half-empty Etsy shop.) Delivery date: the 16th. This weekend. Oy.
Lots to doublecheck, polish up and package.

No, I'm going because she's the cousin I giggled with the most as a kid. And everytime I see her, I remember that. She's infectiously enthusiastic and also miraculously accepting, honest and open. I really don't ever remember her being any different. I suppose there are precious few people like that - so to me and my kids - she's worth getting swanky for and celebrating alongside. (As if we'll see more than a glimpse of her here and there.) And no again, I'm not kissing arse - she'll never read this because she's got more to do than I could ever even imagine (and voluntarily!!!) I just needed to say it somewhere.

Between getting her stuff out the door, and furiously working to get my inventory up for a brand new local apple orchard/art show/studio tour I'm involved in next weekend, there will be little time for worrying about what's happening online. If you see me online, I'm either taking a break or (more likely) procrastinating ... and you should shoo me back to my glass cave.

baubles

My newest creation: Baubles!

I get to combine my love of working with wire and my enjoyment of glasswork. Although, in a way, these are my "easy" item to stock up on for shows and whatnot. The glass nuggets are easier to prepare than glass, so it cuts the time down quite a bit.

But, I'm quite pleased with them - they can even be worn as pendants!

WEEE!

Nifty Treasury

Thanks to ShiningDesigns for including me in her nifty "Bamboozled" treasury :D
I'm actually in two other treasuries at the moment, but I like this one a lot!

My brother's shop is finally open!

After spending two gruelling days teaching my brother and his wife their way around the computer and digital camera so they could maintain his shop (she's the official photographer), it's finally up and running!! YAYAY!



I never realized just how much about computers becomes second nature, having used them for a long time. The questions they asked were really surprising, but happily - they caught on quickly and were excited the whole time. My brother is a great potter, (his wife should really sell her photos, but is content with having photo duty for his shop) and I think this will be great for them both. It was tough going, but lovely to spend time with them - and be excited with them.

They learned how to manipulate their photos (she even got a pro Flickr account, yay!), list in their shop, and a few bonus tutorials on filing, GIMP, instant messaging, email, Paypal, Flickr, Outlook Express, photo editing, and general Etsy community guidelines. My broke-legged daughter came up with me (3 hr. drive) and helped watch their kidlets while we pounded away at our daunting task. We even got scrumptious chili and lovely bisquit and gravy breakfast. Hehe, the biscuits even made it into one of their item photos. :D

Next week? More of the same, plus blogging, Flickr, widgets, organization, net etiquette, and anything else that may come up. I expect quite a bit will.


I wish him and her ALL the best and hope they don't get too overwhelmed with all the things they had to learn in such a short amount of time.

The Big One

I loooooove this, it's my newest creation. I could not resist doing a large one, even though I will have to get a special box to ship it.

Featured :D

Featured :D
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Here it is!!!

whirligig

Yes. Another one, but this one is in silver (never done before) AND has a nifty kind of pear-shape thing going on with it. Woo!!

Green Flow Pendant

Green Flow Pendant
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

another little pendant

Finally, a panel!

On this particular panel, I drew up the design then muddled over colors for quite awhile. Different ideas for colors kept running through my head, whether it would be a sun or moon, whether to use color for the bamboo or not... it was tough. I decided I'd go with my original idea for the most part and if I felt like it - do a similar panel in other colors another time. For now, I'm pretty pleased with these results.

a lucky break (ha! pun intended)

The article has been pushed back a bit (wasn't time-sensitive), I just found out last night. It sucks that I told everyone to look for it in this issue - BUT, I am so relieved to have been granted more time to build up my inventory.

With this broken arm -I'm going to need it!!

AAARGH

I broke my damn arm last night. Tripped on a hose, and fractured my left forearm by the elbow.

What timing. A mention in a local magazine tomorrow, and two shows coming up - and me without finished work (or very little, anyhow.) On the verge of tears, I went out to my shop to snivel, and gave grinding with one hand a shot. Slooooow, but it can be done.

Kind of like typing this. *sigh* Look for a couple new pieces in the shop in the next few days though.

Eye of the Beholder

I've been pretty busy lately, working on glass in preparation for a local Arts & Culture article I will be in soon (which will hopefully direct some traffic my way!) I also have a few shows I need to prepare for coming up in September and October.

I went from having to be away from glass, due to other circumstances, to having to get really busy with and quickly! My gears switched so quickly - I'm still reeling.

This piece didn't even have time to be part of my big push this coming Thursday, before a friend fell in love with it. I had set it aside 4 months ago because while I loved the design, I wasn't too hip on the color combination. Then when they came to take some photos of me working, I pulled it out because I could do some soldering on the backside. I decided just to finish it and from lots of peer pressure, and the need to get pieces done - I figured I'd go ahead and sell it.

My family and friends kept saying how much they liked it and thought I was just being too fussy about it. But, it turns out I didn't need to worry about it. The opposite happened! Another friend really liked it, and agreed to letting me put it up in my shop (adding to the gallery!) til she was ready for it. So, YAY Sharlene!!!

HA!

I forced myself to go out to my workshop and clean it up and get ready to finally do some glasswork - and guess what!

The grinder bit screw is stripped and I can't get it back on tightly. The supply shop isn't open til Monday.

This is becoming sort of ridiculous. I'm actually chuckling about it, which I suppose is a good sign. Or - I'm just slowly being driven insane.

Hmmm. :D

if it's not one thing ...

Amidst numerous other setbacks in the last month or so, now my 2nd daughter (12 yrs) has not only fractured her poor leg, she fractured it in such a way that required surgery. She slipped on some wet grass while playing with Maggie (2 1/2 yrs), and fractured the base of both her bones in the right leg. The fracture went right through the fibula (smaller bone) and on her tibia (large one), it was a tri-plane fracture that looked a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

The worry was that it went right through the growth plate which would cause that leg to stop growing. We lived with that bit of information for almost 2 days! Talk about stress. Luckily, the orthopedist we were sent to said she has pretty much finished growing as the plate was starting to fuse together anyhow. Whew! Sadly though, the break was bad enough to require surgery ...

4 screws and one wire later and an overnighter in the hospital, Kate is now in a soft cast and having to keep the leg elevated as much as possible, no weight-bearing allowed. The incision is a few inches long, according to the surgeon, but none of us has seen it. The concern now is for the long run - she will almost definitely have arthritis in that joint as an adult, even though the doctor was able to get the joint and bone area as smooth as possible.

Next Wednesday, we will go back in and get a hard cast put on from toes to above her knee for 3-4 weeks, then hopefully she will be able to have it removed and start to bear weight on it with a boot & air cast. Just in time for school starting. Poor thing. She's being a trooper, although manuevering on the crutches is tough for her - especially steps - but she is already able to decline a few of her stronger pain meds.

She is my most active child, best helper with Maggie and doesn't have patience for sedentary hobbies. Only laid up since Sunday (when the break occured, and Tuesday was the surgery), she's already getting a bit bored. She's started to make tiny laps around our house to keep her butt and legs from falling asleep. Kate says that when it falls asleep, that's when the most pain occurs.

So far, this summer is not conducive to any creativity on my part, with the anxiety of my child and a few other problems going on. On the bright side, I was interviewed for a possible article about Etsy in our local culture/entertainment magazine. That means I need to get going on stocking my shop. I can't decide if that's the cherries or the pits.

Basically, I just need to vent and felt it important to let folks know where I've been lately.

Iridescent Leaves Spinner

Iridescent Leaves Spinner
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Newest in a small series of spinny glass!

Back!

After a month of taking care of some other responsibilities, I'm back! YAY!

What's new? Not much to bother talking about. I'm excited to get busy with glass again and have finished a few items to break back in easily after my hiatus. I have plans for a few different items, but - heh - it's been harder than I thought getting back into the swing of things.

This was a lovely item that came up while I was away: Star of David

So bear with me, it may be awhile before I'm completely up and running.

Initiation Stitches

*warning - this post may cause cringing and general feelings of ick to readers*

Well, I guess I have been fully initiated into being a stained glass artisan. I got my first stitches today from an accident during glass cutting.

Heh, I debated showing a picture of my embroidered knuckle - but decided there's enough ooky stuff on the web without my adding to it. Besides, it's only two little stitches (I know, 17 would have sounded cooler, eh?), so it looks more like a little splatted bug than a wound. The doctor, who was especially nifty, said she only wanted to stitch it because it was right on my knuckle and would be smarter to keep it stitched shut. That, and you could see the actual joint!

I actually feel kind of alright about it - not too much pain so far (just when the anesthetic was administered via FOUR shots - two between my fingers). I wonder if my work will change any. I wonder if my consciousness of safety will be enhanced. I wonder if it will be a noticeable scar.

I wonder if there's something dysfuntional about me that makes me feel slightly inadequate, as if two stitches are somehow not good/bad enough to be Noteworthy. Hrmmm.

Long Blue Pendant

This one uses my first favorite glass. I truly fell in love with this particular glass, with it's beautiful color, striations and naturally occuring bubbles. *sigh* It's been good to me.

Little Mug

Little Mug
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

I've dubbed my bro's pottery "Brotherware" ... he's got his computer! Next is internet connection - although he could have gotten that taken care of first. *grumble*

Oh well, he's moving right along. Next? Kiln needs to be built at his house (so he doesn't have to go anywhere to fire his pottery).

tick tock tick tock

Iridescent Circle Pendant

Next up, my 2nd daughter's personal favorite so far:

Deep Blue Glass Pendant

Here's the next pendant! I'm definitely having a lot of fun with the pictures. Luckily, so many of my flowers seem to be in bloom right now which makes for fun photos. My girls even helped out with the picture taking. They love doing it too - as a matter of fact, my eldest is now interested in maybe taking a photography class. :D

We've taken so many pictures, we don't even know whose is whose any more.

1st Pendant! (well, 2nd really)

I did it.

I wasn't going to do it, but I did it.

Yes... I made a pendant and listed it for sale in my shop.

I did not want to get into jewelry, but I had this little square of glass that I made into a pendant for myself. It was such a cool little pattern of color that I couldn't throw it in the scrap box, or add it to innumerable other squares in a whirligig - so I made it into jewelry.

It was kind of interesting to try ... bit of a pain to get the solder looking right, but rewarding to finish - and super fun to photograph. But the most addicting part was looking for pieces of glass that were right for a pendant. It was like a treasure hunt! Sorting through my glass, holding it up to my hand to see what it would look like against skin, checking it against different light strengths, finding the perfect little wisp or wave or color combo ... yep, I like that part. I made a small handful of varying pendants and will be listing them throughout the week. Wonder how they will fare? They were fun to do, but I will just be adding it to my list of things that are nice to attempt now and again. I wouldn't want to do them ALL the time.

UFC & Chuck Liddell

Okay, this isn't about glass or art, just one of my interests.

I've been watching UFC since the late 1990's and have had a lot of favorite fighters. But Chuck Liddell has been my all-time favorite, hands down. He is so unorthodox and exciting to watch when fighting, and so laid back when not fighting, that I can't help but like him ... Even when he loses - which isn't often. Chuck even soothed my insane need to see Tito Ortiz get the piss beat out of him - not once, but twice.

But, he lost the belt last night after a nice long run of keeping it all for himself. I'm not worried about Chuck's loss of the belt last night though, he's a scrapper and will be back. I hope he bounces back with ease, and truth be told - I'm excited to see him brawl his way back up to the top. It's more fun watching them go for a belt than it is waiting for them to lose it (which they always will, sooner or later).

Alright. I feel better now. :D

Love ya, Mr. Liddell!

EGA Showcase

Here are all the items I made for the EGA showcase* that ran today (and will again - though I'm not in it - on the 31st of May, I believe). Boy, nothing like whirligigs and boxes to get those hard won hours eaten up. They take a lot of time, but are small enough I can't charge too much for them or no one would buy them! That's alright, it's not intricate work, just time consuming. The whirligigs are both sold (one to a happy repeat customer), but none of the boxes have yet. They will eventually, I'm sure. It'll be a nice surprise some other day.

Of course, I finished the whirligigs today and it rained all day until about 6pm. So much for good pictures I thought. But, I think the pictures I got of them turned out better than other ones before. The grass and trees were pretty against the copper ... made for very eye-catching photos and all done from my front porch. Yay!

I am happy I made a few sales and participated in another EGA event. I don't know how everyone else did yet. There's talk of a sale coming up too. I might opt out of that one, not sure though. We shall see!

My new tools arrived today - ironic they didn't get here in time for my massive production push, but all's well - I need to figure out a few things with them first. I also experimented with some jewelry (something I didn't want to get into, for various reasons, but it's fun to try something new after boxes and mobiles). Perhaps I'll list it, but I haven't decided if I want to go down that road yet. Time will tell, so will patience and talent. :D

*I'd link to it, but it's always changing. The showcase is only for May 24th and is linked to on the home page of Etsy.

Gearing up

Heh, my mother stopped by to pick up her Mother's Day present and ended up with two presents! Turns out the little whirligig I made her was a bit too small for the stand, so she got the funky abstract piece shown in the last post (May 17th). It fit her stand perfectly - like it was meant to go on there. There was a little strangeness going on with the solder, so it's probably best I pulled it from my shop. Now my mom can keep her eye on it after I fixed it up a bit.

I have a few things in production now, but nothing I haven't done a similar item of before. Knowing there's this EGA showcase coming up, I figure I better have some pieces that seem to sell better than my large abstracts or designed panels. Trinket boxes and whirligigs will be my stock "seller" it seems, until I come up with something new that's popular.

Today has mostly been spent outside cleaning the back patio and outdoor rugs, corralling the kid and fixing some windchimes (although I may have picked too windy of a day for that little project). Next? Foiling the above mentioned items. *sigh* Where's a bon-bon when I need one? Or a margarita?

a little bit o' fun

Okay - now, THIS one is special. It's a total whim piece that just happened. I let my fingers do the work and shut my brain off. Wheeeeeeeeeee! Is it a seahorse? A plant frond? Funky DNA? Who knows! All I know is I love it, my kids love it, and I had a total blast making it and can't quit looking at it.

Oh yes - it's fun with glass!

My brother's next item ...

Here is the next piece from my brother - a small bowl with a poured glaze pattern. It's gorgeous and I love the size (smallish).

Along with that - he got his computer and a digital camera ordered, YAY! One step closer to getting my big brother into the 21st century. He's pretty excited, too.

Star of David

Star of David
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Here is the first, of I hope many, Judaica pieces. While I'm not Jewish, I have studied many religions and love aspects of all of them. Hopefully, this piece will bring pleasure to someone - offered with all due respect.

Ol' Friend gets New Home

One of the first few pieces I put up for sale on Etsy has finally found a new home. I sure hope the buyer likes it as much in person as I do. Of course, I will miss this one - it's a lovely free form panel. I will probably be making more along these lines in the future. There's just something about it that is very pleasing to me.

Love this glass!

Oooooh - I really like this piece more than I thought I would. The new blue glass is beeeyoootiful. I cannot believe how lovely it turned out. No one will buy it for awhile, so it will definitely be hanging in my home gallery so I can enjoy it! WOOO!

late night

Today, Maggie and I planted flowers along the fence that faces the people across the street. We seem to be spending a lot of money on beautifying a section of the yard that we rarely see ourselves. Of course, one of my neighbors (whose house faces that stretch of fence) laughingly thanked me. Apparently, she has a bunch of flowers that faces one of her neighbors, which she herself can't see from her windows. I told her it was like a domino effect. Which made me think of the neighbors I can see, and except for the state trooper that lives across the street who insists on mowing his yard in tiny nylon running shorts and nothing else (luckily he's very fit, but still), there's really not much except my own yard to gaze upon. And boy, does it need some work.

Beds ranging from a couple of feet to 5-6 feet surround the house, every tree has it's own little bed, both sides of the fence that encloses our back yard, even the fence that hides the trash cans has little beds surrounding it. I thought I'd be smart this year and buy perennials - but holy cow - are they pricey. Oh, and not to mention, the man that lives behind us is a retired professor of botany from the local university. (No pressure!) *sigh*

I'd MUCH rather be thinking about stained glass.

So tonight, I did a piece that I'll take pictures of and post tomorrow (or today rather - when it's light). It's an abstract, using gorgeous colors, but I'm really itching to do something more design intensive. Some of my ACEO cards strike me as possibly being good jumping points, but I'm still mentally working out the logistics.

I just don't feel as though I have any time lately. Or rather, any time to be working on my glass anyhow. I have all kinds of time to do anything involving a toddler, cleaning, running the older kids places, and being generally available to everyone else. Ever feel like that? I know it could be worse. I could have all that AND a job outside the home. Which is probably next on the list of things people want me to do. (Did I say probably? That could be omitted, I'm sure.)

To sum up? I better enjoy what time I get to work with glass while I can. Even if it's after dark.

supplies

Today was supply day. My favorite day! I got more foil, solder, chain - and, of course - GLASS! Woo! I picked out some standard colors like red and green. Another couple of new blues in varying shades and textures ( I can't help it, the blue glass just screams at me for attention!), and some nifty other stuff that doesn't really fit a category other than ... something I didn't have before.

My supplier, Jean, is a great lady - I think we really click on tastes and style. She's very into free form and "art" type glass over traditional works. I try very hard not to go into her look, but if there was a person I'd be inclined to copy - it'd be her. Luckily, we're both open to sharing new ideas, but also very respectful of each other's art and try hard not to overstep stylistic boundaries. (Would that the whole world was like that.) She pointed out that she really loves my tea panel and how I did it, which made me feel great, considering how much I value her talent and time involved in stained glass.

We had a lot of fun today (2 hrs worth) just shooting the breeze, talking about techniques, selling, art fairs, business cards (she loves my new MOO cards), mosaics, and lots of other things. We even tried an experiment with some glass cutting. It failed, but I guarantee we'll be trying it on our own time - hoping to come up with a solution for each other. It's really always a treat to not only get supplies, but to also have someone I respect and enjoy being there. Well, of course she's there - she owns the joint. But, y'know what I mean.

Abstract Squares Freeform Panel

Abstract Squares Freeform Panel
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

This is an older piece - but it's one of my favorites. I realized that the photos I had of it were really crappy, so I took some new ones today. There's something about this panel that just makes me feel good, and I can't really put my finger on it.

Regardless, it's still for sale and maybe the nicer photos will convince someone to nab it. I will be sad to see it go, but happy for the new owner. I truly love this one.

Park People Original ACEO

Park People Original ACEO
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Okay, I've got 6 ACEO cards sitting on Etsy. While I'll be kosher with the ACETSY group's listing requirements, I suddenly find myself wondering if perhaps my art card selling spree has come to an end.

Careful what you wish for, eh?

*posted a bit later*

Okay. That one sold! I feel redeemed. :D

Seafoam Glass Trinket Box

Seafoam Glass Trinket Box
Originally uploaded by hojpoj.

Here's the latest box. This one is really beautiful. (Gave me all kinds of trouble though, but I think working late at night - at some point, you should expect trouble and just be smart enough to go to bed.)

The glass on this is kind of a seafoam, blue, light green and the lightest green all kind of smoky together. It reminds me of a Monet painting (especially the inside).