City Lights

When I was a kid, we lived out in the middle of nowhere. It was a farming area that would, in about 20 years, become over priced housing with as many houses crammed into a subdivision as possible. As a kid, I longed to live in a city where there would be lots of people (all dressed in Victorian garb) and lots of lights (all street lights would be gas) and life would be so exciting. Even as an adult, when I took Jim to New York City, I took him up on top of the Empire State Building at night so we could see the city lights. We danced on top of the world. 

And so I made this cuff with those magical memories in mind. 

Yes, that's one of my ceramic buttons on the cuff. 

My latest piece on etsy

Here's my latest tile on etsy. This is my original design using slips and glazes. The tile is about 6" square. 

Getting the DVR to Record

I have Direct TV, but my DVR is a stand alone unit and I was told it was simple to use. Hah! I can set it to record, but when I try to play back, I get fuzz. 

What am I doing wrong? Better yet - send me a 12-year-old. I wonder if today's kids have any idea how much money they could make hiring themselves out as tech advisors to the folks like me. 

Tile

Not the greatest shot - but it's my version, rendered in tile, of the mountains out back of my house. I moved the sun from the east to the north to rise over the mountains. I believe that's called artistic license.  

Latest Tile Listed on Etsy

I've listed this tile on my etsy site. Click on the I (heart) etsy logo at the top of the page, and you will be magically transported to my etsy store. 

Terra Sig Doesn't Seem to Like Me

I tried using Terra Sig on two of the bead bowls. While I like the color and the semi-gloss of the finish, I don't like the white edges. No matter how many layers of terra sig I put on the dishes, the white edges  remained. The rest of the bead bowls will have regular glaze on them. I'm done with this experiment. 

I should put a 12-year-old on retainer

I joined Handmade Artists' Forum. I'm trying to put a "badge" on my blog. I'm not sure how to do that. I really should put a 12-year-old on retainer for these "high tech" things.

BTW - anyone know how to get my DVR to record? I know - just send the 12-year-old over.

Hand Made Artists Forum

I'm putting more effort into selling my art. So... I've joined one of the etsy groups - Hand Made Artists Forum. If I did this right, there should be a link from the title of this post to the forum. In case I did it wrong, here's the address: http://handmadeartistsforum.com/forum/index.php

I'd like to hear from any of you who have had success promoting your art. All suggestions and thoughts are welcome.

Finished the necklace

Finally got the beaded cabochon turned into a necklace.

Finishing touches

I used one of my hand made ceramic buttons for the clasp.

It's Not Art, But It Sure Was Fun

The antenna thing for my broad band has worn out. So... time to get a new one. Not wanting the new one to get all banged up in my rolling case or my purse, I decided to take some of the fabric I had experimented with markers and rubbing alcohol and use that for a pouch for my antenna. It's not great art. It's not even mediocre art. But it sure was fun and it's functional.

More beaded bracelets

Finished these up today and they will be added to my etsy store during the week. I've been adding no more than one item a day so that my work stays on the first page or two when someone does a search.

Been Beading Again

This one is inspired by what the desert sky looks like just before a storm. Sometimes, the sky turns wonderful shades of purple. If that happens in the early summer and the yuccas are in bloom, the contrast of the creamy yucca flower and the sky is incredible. This bracelet is available at my etsy store.

Latest Cuff

I need to do a clasp for this one, and then it's finished. I had fun playing with the colors and the design.

I need suggestions

These are the pajamas I made for Jim when we took the South American Cruise. This winter, we're taking a Caribbean cruise. I want to make special jammies for Jim. I've been looking for Caribbean fabric, but can't seem to find anything that speaks to me. I'm open to all suggestions for fabric. Fabric needs to be cotton. Thanks for the input.

Latest Cuff

I love the combination of Caribbean blue and copper. Here's the latest project. I need to think a bit about what I'm going to use for a clasp.

By Popular Request

Okay, so only one person asked. I dearly love the Astronomy Photo of the Day site. Lots of wonderful shots of space by professional astronomers, amateur astronomers and the Hubble telescope. This is a beaded quilt I made showing my interpretation of three of the galaxies.

Bead Bowls In Use

They work even better than I thought! They are 4" square and not deep at all. I've got to make more of these.

Bead Bowls

I have been doing some beading lately, and I needed some shallow bowls for my beads. I'm not fond of chasing seed beads around the table and a custard cup is a little too deep to use comfortable.

So I made my own bead dishes. These are coated with terra sig and bisque fired. I'm not all that happy with how I put the terra sig on the red bowls, but I do like the black. I figured I'd need black for the clear, white and silver beads. The red would work for all the other colors. I'll have to give them a test drive a little later.

Who Needs Art?

Me for one.

I was awarded a scholarship for a two-day pottery workshop. I learned lots - much of which wasn't on the syllabus. I've got all sorts of ideas and things flying through my head.

One question came up about art education. People put enormous emphasis on "traditional" areas of learning, math, science, reading and such. Art is often looked at as frivolous. Really? Consider what you are wearing right now. Why did you chose those clothes? Why did you chose those colors? That's art.

Suppose you want to open a store and sell wrenches. You have the best wrenches in town and you can't wait to sell them. What about a sign for your store? What about a window display? That's art.

Suppose you want some flowers planted around the house. You want them to look nice, right? That's art.

In the morning, I put granola in a hand-made bowl and drink my tea from a hand-made mug. Some of the peace and talent of the artist is in the bowl and the mug. I need to feel and connect to that peace and that talent.