Monday, November 30, 2009

Vace Replace


Last year, at the Dakotah Prairie Museum, one of the sales from this show was a slumped vase.
Sherri, a most helpful staff member of the museum, bought one similar to this for her brother, as a gift.
He liked the vase, so much that when it met with disaster, he wanted a replacement.
He has patiently waited for me to get to his work sheet.
From memory (a very poor memory)
I tried recreating the piece, hurriedly before Craig's surgery commenced, as he was visiting sister Sherri...would have been a nice surprise.
Except I fused up the wrong color...for some reason I was remembering a lavenderish color blue.
Well that wasn't going to work, so I did a different color, with the aide of a picture...(pictures help a lot ya know!)
I think I have it right now.
This one has a really nice draping, in my opinion perfect, sits well too.
A cathedral color blue and greens streaked together.
The picture isn't the best for capturing the piece...but the best I could do this morning.
If it isn't what they want, I will take a better picture and place it up on Ebay, along with the one I mistakenly produced.
It takes several days to produce a piece in the kiln...so 2 vases is just about 2 weeks worth of kiln work...yeah, lengthy process!
Thanks for visiting
:)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Thinking Outloud...

http://www.robenmarie.com/journal-prompts/
I saw a journal prompt on Roben's page (as I was looking at the cool new store stuff)
I really like:
What view would you like to see from your bedroom window?and why?

So I thought I would think about it a moment here
and then journal the page
and show it when I am finished...

Maybe some of you would like to join in the same question?
Let us know if you do with a link to your page...

Thinking out loud...I would love to see a waterfall
(not a huge roaring one...a trickling one with some action, but not tons of action)
out my window...not necessarily the bedroom...

Waterfalls mean peaceful to me...
and
at the same time are energetic!
they are lush...with craggy spaces and a lot of times a cave!

In my cave I would have cool stuff ...like a table and chair/probably rocking chair...a lantern
a shelf with some inspirational books to look through when i visit...
a few supplies to art with...
and maybe a hammock...for a neato nap!

The doggies would love the pool at the bottom of the falls...so I would take them out with me when I went...and they would have some quality bonding time with me...

It would be a terrific picnicking spot too...the little ones would enjoy going there with granma...
and in the winter when the falls might freeze...(cause I don't have a roaring one)
wouldn't all that frozen glory be a sight!

How about it...are we up to see what each other might come up with...

You might like a different prompt...do tell!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

An Award...:)


Anne http://gaalcreative.blogspot.com/ has awarded me this special sentiment award. Thank you Anne!
I am to mention 5 things about myself:
1. I grew up with the water at my backdoor, on the East coast of VA.
2. Married a 'waterman' his profession was like the series the most dangerous catch...only his harvest was hardshell clams...we have been married forever, 31 years
3. Have 2 adorable grandchildren from our son, boy and girl, and his lovely wife Jen who also brings to the family her 2 sons...so we are not a small family.
4. I don't have a favorite Holiday...I tend to think everyday is special...but important to be thankful for that day and what it brings...and remember what has been brought.
5. I had long looooong hair in my youth...I like it SHORT!
Okay...now I am supposed to pass this award along to 5 others...this is always hard
because I enjoy so many blogs and find so many of the people behind them, have become special to me...but
the idea of highlighting a few is to bring them into a spotlight of notice for those who may not have found their sites...
Take a few moments and visit these interesting ladies blogs and get to see what their work is all about.
Thank you Anne...you make me smile too
:)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Fix Fence




Gonna fix the rotten post in the fence today..this is one section.

Old poles removed and new poles set in.







Brace pole set in place.







Brace wire on and tightened...it is set left to right or right to left

depending on which way you want the fence to lean...like if on a hill
it is as shown here so the lean is running up the hill and the fence doesn't fall down. (technical aren't i)





Here the woven wire is set back around the post and the latch is in place the fence is repaired...took about an hour.

Did 2 sections today...then had to go to work...
it was a pretty day though, no wind! very important this time of year working outside...i wouldn't have helped if it was cold

We live in SD...see it isn't all flat like you might think when hearing about the plains...we have a creek just down this hill...it is full now...but not always.

Thanks for tagging along
:)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The 5th Draft..





Here is possibility number 5. I painted 1/2 all in mosaic, the center plum as well



And 1/2 with a mosaic surrounding the center rectangle plum
pieces.


To begin the conversation I painted random colors representing the glass tesserae. But there are many ways to place the glass...this is the easiest.
Should they choose this pattern possibility.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Glass Cross Commission



Follow me, we are going to go through the bones of a commission for glass.




The project is for a Cross that will be the form of the cross
mounted to the wall with back lighting.



Going in the Mont Funeral Home in Platte SD...

The cross is measuring 54 inches long...about 20 inches across each side.





In the initial meeting the discussion of colors for the glass begins the project..along with where it will go. How to place it where it goes and something about what they want to see.

Using a light box and color samples we begin the process of what colors are liked

Really all I got out of them in my initial meeting were some color choices.
She likes 5 colors and wants them in the project. 5 is a bit many to work into a decent design, so this was obstacle number 1.

number 2 is they have no idea what kind of design they want.

So, I have 4 designs. Shown are 4 designs and color schemes that may work for them. With 1 done in full pattern size.

A really pretty jeweled toned plum takes center stage in the full sized pattern. Flowing around the center are the other colors of fall she would like represented. Red, Navy, 2 choices of brown a light neutral shade and deeper brown.
Done in a kind of mosaic fashion.
An alternate mosaic border would be the true smaller version with a mixture of the color roaming around the center plum
this might be a nice pattern too
I was too tired to draw that today and may draw it this way tomorrow
although it is as easy to explain when presenting the patterns in conversation...
so i might be lazy and not draw that alternative...

This would also be well represented if she chooses just 2 of the 4 as well.

continued


I have lost the color pattern for this line drawing. The center is plum flanked with the deeper brown and the larger rectangles are blue







This line drawing has a mosaic in the center...this one represents the one I like best for using all the colors







Keeping the tone to a more neutral palette with pops of the other color

choices










Here is another example...






with the color...



The furnishings they chose are mission in style so I thought that using Frank Lloyd Wright for my inspiration in designs might look nice for the cross...

Keep in mind the colors I have represented do not need to be placed as I have them, nor do all of them need to be used...
This gets decided in the next meeting with clients..
Somewhere has to begin the process of elimination and with out a few examples we can't decide what we might like better or not at all...

I will keep you posted

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Carmen's Class Project



This represents the beginning of my background, I think I went a tad to dark.








Adding some more color and some shapes.









Transferred the image. (An old original drawing)










Adding color.


Adding more layers





Still I think I started too dark which makes my layers hard to see.



Torbus and Co's Carmen is offering "Spill It" a class in letting loose and smear that paint.

Such a personable lady. She gets you all excited to paint.
If you want to learn transferring image, she gives a great lesson.
She stimulates a body to get into the studio and paint...go paint...
Mostly she encourages you to use YOUR work in the projects you are going to use transfers in.
Sad,
but you know I never thought to use old sketches in this manner...EXCELLENT though for recycling
or bringing life to a sketch laying in a journal someplace...go search and resurrect those pieces!
Check her out!