Autumn Continues

For once, November is not holding us hostage with the typical chilly, overcast, pre-winter blahs as usual. As any Ohioan knows, if you don't like the weather today just wait 'til tomorrow. We are having balmy days with incredible clear blue skies.

Fall also brings us beautiful night skies. Living in the country away from town's bright lights allows us to enjoy the season's crisp, clear nights with awe-inspiring views of the constellations, and not often seen views of the Milky Way. If you live near town and don't get to enjoy the night skies, you really should make an effort to get "out of town" to relive your childhood, when the smaller towns and cities and their lights didn't impede enjoying the night sky.

I've attached a picture of a recent 16 inch bowl entitled "Autumn," made just prior to fall in anticipation of the turning of the leaves. One of my favorite times of year, making this bowl allows me to enjoy the fall colors all year long. The bowl is made by sifting and sprinkling powders & different sized frits over a clear base. The black edge is done by breaking out the ring from a larger round (the hardest part of making the bowl.) This piece has my favorite finish-a sandblasted look that gives the appearance of fine leather or eggshells.

I'm going to take a quick walk to enjoy the evening while the weather is so nice. December is just around the corner and I can't imagine there is any chance Ohio will give us gentle days like these!

New Family Addition!

Allow me to introduce you to Sophie, the newest member of our family. She joins Sam (black lab) and Hoover (stray that adopted us) to become the third dog in our pack.

Memorial Day weekend we lost our 11 year old lab, Reba. It took lots of coaxing before I was talked into a new puppy. Whoa! I'm eleven years older and not as fast as I used to be! This little girl can move-and getting up off the floor isn't as easy, either.

She has the bladder of a peanut and is going to be a little harder to train than Reba, but she is so cute that it makes up for it (at least for now!) In the picture she looks so innocent, but believe me, she has a little devil in her, too. Sam, being older, is somewhat leery of her but Hoover thinks she is great fun for playing chase. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll get back into a "groove" and life will be somewhat normal.

I'm putting the finishing touches on some glass projects for my last show of the year, which is a small show that benefits our local hospice. Work for now is during naptime:-)

And Now We Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

How could this much time pass so quickly?Ok, ok! I know I am remiss regarding my blog-I just can't seem to dedicate time to it like I should. I am running out of excuses! Yes, it was a busy summer, but a year?! (Well, almost a year.)

Due to the economy I didn't sign up for as many art shows for 2009 as I would usually. This was a good thing. The shows I've done have had fewer people buying less. I just completed the Pyramid Hill Art Fair and a combination of bad weather and the economy (I assume) kept the crowd non-existant on Saturday and light on Sunday. I love this show as it is in my hometown area and I enjoy visiting with relatives and old friends. The park is an amazing collection of modern sculptural art in a beautiful wooded setting. I did meet some great people and enjoyed explaining how I fuse glass.

I have been designing more large bowls lately. I still enjoy making strip bowls, but they can be labor intensive, so the one I have up today is somewhat simplified. This is part of my windows series. On this piece, behind the window is a painted "landscape" in companion colors that draws your eye to the center. I know it looks flat, but when trying to photograph it I found that the best part was lost when viewed from the side. The bowl is a little larger than 15 inches in diameter and stands about 4 inches high. If the black lines look crooked, I assure you they are not, it is just the slope of the bowl showing.