commissioned work

I am so happy to have photos of this. This was one of the things I have been working on through the winter months. It is all glass grouted in a caramel color. I know a lot of artists won't do commissions but I have to say that I have not had a bad one yet. In fact, I love them. It is not a big deal to do a specific size, color, or quirky detail for a customer as long as they give you enough room to do what you do. To me, art installations are just the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's art that you don't need to worry about dusting.

that felt good

I have been doing almost exclusively mosaic for quite a while. The library project has been kicking me in the arse. Been hung up on trying to get colored photos of the hotel and trying to find people who remember the hotel. Both are almost non-existing. Who knows what colors should go into this mosaic? I am just going to make it the colors that I WANT to go in it rather than the colors that SHOULD go in it. Isn't that what art is? So while I was temporarily stuck on the mosaic side of my studio, I made my way around to the fusing side. Sure feels good over there. There is a show in 2nd Floor Gallery this month, Music and Dance. Pictured on top is an 8x10- Saturday Night at Union Street. Kaleo has been playing at Union Street blues in Middletown this past week. The lower work is an 11x14- Rain Dance which is just about how happy I am that spring is here. Anyway, now that I am unstuck on the mosaic side, it will feel good on that side too. Back to "work."

plugging away

OK, so I am still on the library mosaic. It is a lot more fun to do since I am doing the video with it. This is the National Hotel photo I have been using and it will be fairly close to this. I have gotten a lot of help from friends at the post office so I will definitely stick a little postal reference in it somewhere. Besides, after 16 years in the postal service, the reference is for me too. I found so few pictures of the old hotel to look at so that makes it tough. I've gotten a poster of it (thanks Fazz!) that is actually in color so that is helpful. What makes it harder is that the hotel has changed so drastically that it is hard to decide HOW it should look. In the end, I chose this photo because it best shows the front porch of the hotel that was saved to use in the new library. That is where the mosaic will hang. Because I picked this view, you should be able to stand in the same spot that the photographer stood for this photo, and you (hopefully) will be able to see my mosaic of this photo through the windows! Back to work.....that's hard to do when your dogs keep wandering in your shop to get their belly scratched.

meanwhile.....

OK, so I'm working on the library project. It is humungous! I will be on it for quite some time because I have decided to do a video of it which will drag the work out even longer! I don't have any significant photos of it yet so until I do......I'll just put up pretty pictures of my puppies. Celia does not get slighted in the photo department, but geez, she's an old lady. She doesn't do the same funny stuff that Bonsai does. And wow, wouldn't this make a great mosaic!??!

love my "job"

One of the best things about my job is that I have these guys with me all day. I had always been envious of store owners etc who had their dogs in their work space. Now I have these two crack me up all day. I keep a water dish fresh for them and in weather like we have right now, I keep the door open so they can come and go as they please. Currently, I am working on the mosaic that will hang in the new Hummelstown Library when it opens. I have been putting the substrate together which is a dirty and time consuming job but my dogs and I are happy. What's not to love?