Snooooooowwing

It is snooowing big time.

I was talking to momma, in VA, and thanking her for thinking of me sending such a generous gift fund for supplies...She is a big fan of my art. when it began to snow. Just about the time Jen called to say the children were up.
Off to present time.

Everyone had a nice morning and enjoyed their presents.

I received the best present of all though.

A gorgeous shawl presented from Jr and Jen(my good daughter) that Jen had knitted.
This is so very much appreciated and I will enjoy this so much.
I do not know where she found the time to knit it for me. With 2 small children and beginning her accounting business.
Plus, I do not know HOW she hid it from me!

Love it!!
and her....

Merry Christmas

It is Christmas eve.

This is the time that we enjoy spending time with friends and family.
Although that should take place all year.

It is a time for cleaning up our act and making the new year plans for resolution.
Although we should stay focused all the year.

It is a time for giving thanks and appreciation for all we have and remember those special to us.
Although we should be appreciative all through the year.

I think it is time for everyone to take notice and get back to the basics of enjoying family and making them the focus of life.

I noticed this season how so many people coming into the gallery were glum and bah humbuggy.
Feeling so pressured to be giving the "right" gift. Feeling rushed and exhausted.
To exhausted to go to the Christmas pageant at school and watch the children perform for us. Begrudgingly getting the tree and feeling resentful to have to decorate it.

I am saddened that people have forgotten to enjoy their lives.

I can recognize the symptoms.

I have been just like them in my not so distant past self.
And it is struggle to move past the rut of being this kind of despondent, grouchy, gnarly person that no one wants to be around.
Especially when we are supposed to be rejoicing and giving thanks and being appreciative.

Times are rough and I think it is only going to be getting rougher.
We (as a nation, a population, whatever...) need to make what is available satisfying.
Make it work, even if it isn't so grand and posh.
Learn to enjoy each other, not things.

I sound as if I live in a fantasy world, this will never happen. Well I know it won't never happen for everyone.

Only for the smart ones.

Have a safe season.
Best to all in the New Year.

ArtCamp

A client (whom shall not be named in case I spoil the surprise) bought 3 gift certificates to ArtCamp!!!!!

How exciting that they are selling.

2 of the recipients she wasn't sure they would want class.

There is the beauty of gift certificates from Emerald Artworks...the denomination can go towards artwork too.

:-)

ATC size

I have gotten to know and enjoy the stories of Cindy, my Gallery buddy from Mitchell. In another life and definitely another world, she gave tours. Her touring ground were the swamps and watering holes of the Florida alligators.

Floridians pretty much do not fear an alligator. I am not from Florida, I am from Virginia. I respect an alligator.

Living and working with the alligator Cindy befriended the beasts. On off time she and her girl pals would get the raft and cooler and hang out with the critters. Chillin and enjoying the musics beat, talking to the alligator.

The most foreboding alligator of the pack in the day was "Pappa". He would snort and huff and everyone pretty much gave him his due, but Cindy.

Our girl would tell him what for and hold her ground, and sip her beer or margarita and call him down to reckon with the little spitfire slip of female...and win.

Pappa, would give her the berth and she would chill down and relax.

Being out of the "meadows" of the salt ponds and currently residing up here among the cows and pheasants she gives us a glimpse of days gone by, wistfully sighing on the memory.

I did this card for her in honor of her favorite story to tell. I didn't eliminate the glare very well from the hand reaching for her glass, you can see Pappa up to the top of the piece.

I NEED to get back to "doing" art...here is the beginning to that effort.

tis the season...

here is our Christmas tree. During the snow it looked really pretty with the lights blinking their colors.

Thursday

Me and my friend the wind blew over to Mitchell today.

Went to The Prairie Breeze Gallery to take Cindy some pieces of glass I worked up, cause she asked me too!
LOVE that!

Seems like anytime I go there it is windy as all get out. It can be calm for weeks, months probably years! but just as soon as it is time for me to go, the wind will force a puff...just for me.

I don't suppose I would know how to drive the distance not clutching the steering wheel to make sure I don't blow into the other lane, or the ditch.

Cindy was having an incredible day of sales, I hope her marathon continued after I left.
I will find out tomorrow, she had called, but I missed it and when I rang back ...she must have still been celebrating and didn't pick up.
I hope she called to say she sold some of my stuff too.
:-)

SooooooCute

My granddaughter Hannah is loving kitties, but she can't have an inside cat.

She refers to the outside cat, the friendly one that comes up on the porch, as sooo cute.

She says soooo cute when she likes something...a LOT

I spied this kitty and thought she might like him for Christmas.

He has been overseeing the sketching jobs in the studio.

Sketches

Saint Anthony had his hand re-placed in the sketch to bring the lily details into the glass panels measurment allowance.

St. James is so dark around the image they gave me of him. I left a trace of where his hair might be, so Fr. Bill can give me the direction he wants to have shown on the final sketch.

This is a different job than from the previous post showing the alter unit, job two

These are the sketches that I am taking to Fr. Bill in Chamberlain.

Once these are finalized and approved then I begin the process of staining the portrait, using the Old Masters techniques for stained glass. This technique uses crushed glass pigments and flux, that is fired into the glass substrate, permanently becoming a new sheet of glass. High temperatures of 1400 degrees F. achieved using a kiln, fuses the mixture into the substrate. The permanent fusing process is centuries old.

The process is interesting to watch. As a skilled technician, I use special brushes and brush strokes in the process to give the "drawing" depth.

Once I begin, I will takes progress photos and describe what is going on.

This is the first stage.

The sketch will be used extensively, so I must have all the details correct.

Winter

Yesterday December 1 arrived SNOW! It has begun, the cycle of shovel shovel and more shovel.

Friday I met with a lady who would like me to do the portraits of two of the patrons in the panels being created for her church.
I won't be fabricating the panels, an artist from Custer has the task.

She asked if I can replicate the style...no problem.

So yesterday I sketched 1 of the 2 men. Today I will do the second fella and call her to set up the appointment with Father Bill. Fr. Bill has the final say of the artist to paint the portraits.
:-)
I'll post these later.

The other church in Wagner, where we are replicating the alter unit around the room with medallion centers. The sample glass arrived.
I think these will harmonize just fine.

So I need to find out if everyone on the church committees involved in financing and so forth, are in agreement that I proceed onward with this project.

The window man will have a lot of impact on their decision.

Sketches later.

Church Unit Over Alter

This is the unit over the alter that is going to dictate the other 8 windows.

The amber-brown border, the cream border that also flows into the Fleur-De-Li's, the lime, and the blue border will be used in all 8 windows for unity.

The centers are going to have the same surround as how the center is shown in this picture, without the top element. Only there is going to be painted medallions, where 8 different scenes of the bible will be stained and enameled.

The techniques for staining and enameling the glass that I use are the 'masters old world' techniques that are fired into the glass using a kiln.

The "paints" are finely crushed glass chips that have fluxes and minerals and ores added for pigment.

As the flux burns out the chips and minerals of color fuse into the glass.

The glass used in this old panel were Chicago Artglass and this manufacturer is no longer producing.

The closest match I will be using, if the sheets I ordered for samples are a harmonious match, are Kokomo and Youghegeny.

Unless you work in glass these companies aren't going to mean anything to you.

At the present time I am measuring out for the measurements of the given windows, their borders to determine how much glass is going to be used from these manufacturers and try to get a idea of cost, so I can give the church their estimate.

More later.

Fortunate

I am feeling especially fortunate lately.

My work is selling in the galleries faster than I can make the pieces.

I went for a meeting to talk about church windows.
What could be done, helping the group make selections for designs and overall unity for theme. 8 windows comprise the surround of the chapel.
There is a lovely unit over the alter.
Has flourishes in the corners and touches throughout the design around a center that could have been a medallion but didn't have anything painted there. The 8 windows, it was decided would have the mimic of the design from the alter window and surround the room with the center of the 8 windows to have painted depictions from the bible in a timeline around the room.
This much was decided today, that and that I will be doing them!!!

I got the job!

Over the next couple of weeks I will draft the overall design and color it somewhat so they can get a feel for the finished unit.
And have samples of glass sent that might match what is in the alter unit.

From there I draft the scenes that I will be painting for the centers of their choice of bible story.

This is excellent for Janet, who will be apprenticing the job.
She is very excited to be involved and will learn so much.

She will for sure be good at grinding the glass edges by the time we are completing the 8th unit!
More to come on this topic for sure.

ornaments

These ornaments are beautiful. If a person thinks... oh just squirting some paint into the ornament and you get these fabulous results.

Think again!

There is more to thisthan meets the eye.

Process

1. Squirt the paint into the ornament. A couple of different colors, somewhat separated.

(A good quality glass ornament will give you the best results)

(The better the quality of paint line you use will determine the hue of the colorful results. I used Golden and they are expensive!)

2. Tip the ornament side to side, to get the paint going then place it back into a cradle.

(The box it came in is perfect)

3. Turn the ornament every 20-30 minutes or so...and keep that up until it has the swirled effect you want.

Babysitting the ornament is the time consuming part.

4. Take an old paper towel center and place it into the garbage, then turn the ornament upside down onto the center opening and let the excess paint drip out.

5. Then I placed the ornament into a ceramic dish, but I had another dish ready with a paper towel.

With a heat gun or hair dryer, work the heat over the ornament. Do not get carried away heating the ornament. If you get the glass too hot it will crack or break, and if you get the paint too hot it will separate from the glass.

This is a gentle heating process and takes a lot of time.

After each heat cycle place the ornament open end to the paper towel, and let the heated paint drip out until the ornament is cool, then place it back onto the paper towel center in the garbage, and let rest there awhile.

Repeat this process until it isn't dripping any more.

It still is not dry, It needs to rest awhile, while you do other ornaments...come back to doing the process on the done ornaments until you think they ARE dry.

(This process is not quick, but the results are stunning.)

I hope you enjoy the effects as much as I do.

Hathor

Hathor is the Goddess of Taurus.

I chose her for the skinny book page because I am Taurus.

The Sun is her planet.


She has the face and ears of a cow.

She carries a Si strum, musical instrument, at the bottom of the handle is the Ankh symbol, where this symbol begins.

She predates the Egyptian era.

Her sacred colors are Malachite and Lapis blue.

Like Venus, she is all about Love and those emotions. She has strong ties with governing creativity and strength.

She is patient, but has her limits.

I had bigger plans for my page however, the hospital stay limited what I could do with her. So she left me like this in her single draft stage.

Her gown is green for the Malachite influence. It is sheer as a Goddess is not shy about her "body". I think that even though she has a 'cow' influence governing her her face, she is still of our image.

Her crown is gold and holds the horns of the Bull, with the planet Sun atop. The cobras symbolize her strength.

She isn't "finished", but I like what I did under the circumstances. I hope the recipients like her just the same.