hey now, you're an all star

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me. I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed. This smashmouth song was absolutely lodged in my brain for a while. "Hey Now (you're an all star)" is a roll of everything that has been happening for me. My recent decision to refuse to decide between mosaic and fused glass, plus I had just broken a few favorite works...all jumbled up with thoughts about recycled glass. The fused/mosaic combinations that I made last year are some of my favorite works. So, the converse idea has been with me for a while. I briefly thought about doing a high heel but it is so not me. I had Shaundi in yellow Converse high tops when she was just a tot and I clearly remember a hot pink pair she outgrew, handing them down to me before they got stolen from me by Kaleo. This piece is us for sure. It's my blues and greens, a little spot of graffiti and diamond plate, my stripes, my bubbles. I really love the recycled. There is a ring at the top right from a bottle I found in our neighborhood while walking my four legged kids. It has writing pressed into the glass that reads, "Federal law forbids sale or reuse of this bottle." BAH HA HA HA HA HA HA! Some of the rings are from an antique water bottle that we kept change in till Shaundi broke it. And the sneaker? I'm so happy with that, I'm even going to have my site redone around it. Yup! Just that tile took about 2 1/2 weeks with most of that work going in the trash. Its all good.

you crazy diamond!

Back in January I had my work in a show in Brooklyn. Exciting enough, right? That's what I'm saying. But wait. We go to the last day of the show, "Glass Threads" at Williamsburg Art and Historical Center. I had shipped three pieces including an old favorite, Sunny Side Up...which SOLD! Then I am thinking that it is pretty cool that I sold work in Brooklyn. BUT WAIT! I find out that Sunny Side Up has become part of the permanent collection of The Yuko Nii Foundation. That's what's what!

Do you know what I am saying? I am saying that if you are thinking about leaving your secure job and following your dreams, I am here to tell you that dreams come true. I don't care how old you are, if you know you're ready, JUMP! I have a link to a video of the Glass Thread exhibit because it shows the armonica, a glass instrument, popular back in Ben Franklin's day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdsNkEEO-e0&list=UU2QGm0o80Jw-nvvfZNEr16A&index=1&feature=plcp

I guess that just floats my boat because I am a glass person and because today I learned that Guy Pratt, featured in Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,”opens the song with an armonica. Pretty cool, huh?

SO proud!

It seems like I have been underground lately, but geez, I have been busy. For the past two weeks, I have been doing another artist-in-residence thing at Juniata High School. In short, that means that I worked with 76 kids and their teacher to create a 3 foot x 7 foot glass mosaic in 10 fast days. Of the 4 hours we worked each day, at least a half hour was spent getting things out and putting them away!

The vision was for the work to say "pride." Each student got a 6 inch by 6 inch square to do whatever they wanted as long as they incorporated their portion of the letter into the design. Half of the students made a fused glass tile while the rest used traditional mosaic methods. For a week and a half we worked blind to what our end results would be. We had no idea if the kids would match their letter patterns close enough to produce a legible word. With 76 kids and many absences, there was no guarantee of how many squares would get lost. I made a map of the kids' squares so that they could see who was adjacent to them in case they wanted to collaborate with one another to create a work larger than 6 x 6 inches within the entire mosaic. We had as many as four working on one section that features a mermaid.

We had butterflies and flowers, buildings and guitars, landscapes and eyes, sports and a cheerleader, PIZZA, a gold cross, and a family crest. I mean, what didn't we have? It was cool that themes that were duplicated were done so- quite unknowingly. Interestingly, the results were that each repeat was so different than the other that it just emphasized our diversity, something we are awfully proud of. So the day before we had to adhere the tiles, the last section was fit in 8 minutes before the bell rang. Nothing needed cut or ground to fit (a feat by itself) and you could read the word loud and clear. These kids have pride in what they are as well they SHOULD. They also have pride in what they have created as do I. So after getting paid to play with kids all day for two weeks, I have to get back to work. Oh wait... that is playing all day too! May the rest of 2012 be this wonderful!

ArtFlow has been brought to the school by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Perry County Council of the Arts and the Juniata County Cultural Arts Committee.

see what I mean?

In my April 29th post, I wrote about a piece that got into an auction held by Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. I ended the post saying that this COULD lead to my best news ever. Well, it did. When I opened their catalog link, I saw on page 35, my work is featured with Dale Chihuly and a lot of other artists that I respect....the big guys. Now you may wonder why I think this is such a big deal but think about this. A little over 5 years ago, I could not have imagined this. Sometimes I grumble that things aren't working out because I know I will go to bed tonight and I will not have all of my dreams sewn up YET. But if I really look, I see that things are happening quite fast for an artist who is brandy new. I am def not where I want to be, but the journey to that place is pretty sweet. Keep believing in YOU.

If you friended me on FaceBook, you've already gotten this news. I've been a little behind with K's wedding and then we were on vacation. This mantis is what I finished right before I left for Florida. He's 16 x 23. Museum of Glass has a link to their catalog on their site.

Bethany

I am a scuba diver, not a surfer and I don't really think about being one. So why do I subscribe to a surf mag (it used to be two surf mags!)?? Well, I just love the photos of waves! I mean I just LOVE the ocean. I love making waves out of glass. I love water period!

I'm not sure where I first heard about the Bethany Hamilton story, but I remember driving past a billboard with a motivational message and photo of her standing by her board. When I was up late one night watching Tavis Smiley, he interviewed her for the movie "Soul Surfer." Of course, after seeing the interview and the movie I was so inspired. Even before I saw the movie I figured I would make a wave with Bethany. When I want to complain about something, I stop and think that I really don't have anything to complain ABOUT!

Warrior Run

OMG this is so epic. Yeah, I know I say this all the time but things just get "gooder and gooder!" Don't you get tired of hearing all bad news about bullying??!! There is plenty of great news in that department too and I'm here to tell you about it. OK, so I had mentioned that I would be doing an artist-in-residence project about anti-bullying. I just finished Friday and sat right down with my photos to compile a video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf4DZJDAq6g That is why I have not surfaced on FaceBook or anywhere else. I've been SO swamped. Please crank it up when you see it because the music is fab. Ovuca ( Dilnau ) .....a HUGE thank you to Aleksi Perala for permission to use this. http://www.ovuca.com/ to purchase that song.

Here's the deal. This was mostly middle schoolers but it was everyone from 5th grade to 12th grade. That's right, 5th graders working side by side with seniors. This project was kids who have excellent grades working beside kids who felt they might not be passing in the next few weeks. Everyone was able to help so it was also athletes working with us art kids. None of that "stuff" made a difference. Kids who never even cut glass before turned sheets of glass into tiles the size of your pinky nail and smaller. When I see community mosaic projects, even made by adults, I never see the amount of detail that these kids have pulled out.....and in 17 days! I am SO proud of them. For real, look how young some of these kids are!! It certainly reaffirms my belief that you can do anything you want to do. Oh, and let me also say that this was all voluntary. Yup, these kids could come help when they wanted and a lot of them came in at lunch and after school too!

Seriously, what a stellar month. I got paid to play with kids all week. Can you beat that? I think not. We got on the local news and in the local paper. Cool. I know the word awesome is so over used but these kids are awesomely awesome. Fanfreakintastic! A HUGE thanks to Perry County Council of the Arts and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for the best hook up ever.

art is subjective

I am SO over the fear of rejection. If you are not failing sometimes, you are not trying big enough things! I tried to get one of my favorite pieces, "Quantum Physics," into Pennsylvania's "Art of the State" exhibit but she was not accepted. That worked out perfectly because that left Quantum free for me to enter her into the "Red Hot Summer" at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA. They DID accept and I just shipped her out this week. See how things work? You just gotta relax. Be patient! Who knows what can happen in Tacoma??!! This could lead to my next "best news ever!" That's what I'm talking about.

Bungle.....in da Jungle 16 x 23

The other day I posted a FB status. I said I was waiting on my kiln to open cause I thought I'd be pretty happy. So this is the guy that was waiting for me in the morning. Why a monkey? Well, a friend of mine was working on a monkey. He mentioned mandrills and I said, "You know.....I think I have a photo of one in my to-do list but it is a year or two off." When I went home, I looked up the photo which set the wheels in motion. I had just made a sheet of green stripes about a month ago so everything was good to go. Bungle jumped ahead of about 20 other ideas. Savin' the raisins for Sunday.

back to skoool

I had said I was going back to Boiling Springs to play with glass in one of their art classes. We made pendants and from what I heard, they got pretty cool. Also, I DID end up getting the artist-in-residence program and it already kicked off. I will be at Warrior Run School District for 4 weeks in May but to get the ball rolling, I talked to students in an assembly last week. That's right, I talked to like six or eight hundred kids at a time.......TWICE.

So basically, I am working with a core group of kids on a HUGE mosaic with a theme of anti-bullying. In order to have more kids feel connected to the mosaic, everyone in the high school and middle school will have the opportunity to help out after school and in free periods during school. In addition, all kids will be able to vote on options within the mosaic. Besides that, the coolest thing is that all students will be able to contribute things that can be included in the fabrication of the mosaic. The plan is to do a video too. The people at this school are fantastic. They set up a site that has everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. http://www.wrsd.org/district.cfm?subpage=1279031 I CAN'T WAIT!

Grandma's Besty

Cleaning out someone's house really sucks...... especially if it is someone you love. You'll find stuff that is really junk but it is something they valued. When we cleaned out my mother-in-law's home, there was a sock monkey. Perfect example. This sock monkey was so ugly I wish I had thought to take a picture of it. But Corrine kept it in her neat tidy living room where everyone could see. It sat on her couch since my son gave it to her over 10 years ago.

Now I couldn't make myself fabricate a monstrousity like HER monkey. But this whole piece was around that "monkey." Corrine used to have a list of people she would call EVERY day. I was on her list. One of our standard conversations was about what I was working on. Generally I would say, "If this works out it will be my best piece ever." Each time I said that she would laugh her ass off. Or when I show her a new piece she would always make fun, "Is this your best piece ever?" Sometimes she would bring a chair in my shop and just hang. Now she is in a home and most visits does not know us. I sure do miss her. Anyway, Grandma's Besty is 16 x 23.

how do you make Oprah Cola?

You know how it is when something gets stuck in your head?

It is no secret around here that I am a HUGE Oprah fan. Anyway, I was thinking about making something Coke for my brother (coasters?) and I don't know...it just morphed into Oprah Cola 16 x 23. I just wish you could see this in person. A photo of it just doesn't cut it. But the coolest thing is that I made a Youtube video to go with it so please take 3 min to watch. It is my son's music again. I love the song. It's a little sleepy but then around 20 seconds in is the "drop." Oh and please send the video link to 800 friends!

caffeinated faerie

I just finished this little 11 x 14 faerie and what's not to love. It's purple with just enough blue to make me happy. It is a picture of my friend who is a faerie. If you don't believe me, you'll have to see her in a backless shirt. I added a close up so you could see the teeth. That took a bit of ingenuity considering the entire mouth is about the size of my pinky nail!

True

Well I sure am not a heart type of person but this mosaic has been percolating in my brain for years. I have been busting my arse on my new video till my computer shut down for 2 weeks. While my video was stymied, I saw something chocolate and it clicked. I am so happy with this that I will happily delete my file of chocolate pictures. I am not saying it is the best art in the world, I am saying I got out what needed to get out. A couple of years ago, my brother gave me this Valentine with a picture of a box of chocolates. The card said something about the eerie feeling you get when you bite into a chocolate and you don't know if it could be that gross one with the apricot center. So when I called my brother and I was talking about how happy I was with this mosaic, he says, "Does it have a gross one that is partially eaten and discarded off to the side?" I'm like, YES! BA HA HA HA HA I stuck it on the frame! You know, I think my jokes are really funny but my family assures me that I am the ONLY one that thinks so.......well.... me and my brother.

more months like this, please!

Yeah, I know you saw this before but I have gotten so much mileage out of her this month. She deserves another post. In the last post I mentioned that Not So Pretty Now was featured in Harrisburg mag. Well today, Alyson Stanfield featured it in her newsletter. Yeah, that goes out to ton-0-people. Woot woot! Stanfield is the art business coach that I keep telling my artist friends to subscribe to! AND the youtube counter for this work is over 4G with about 50 views daily during the end of October!

What a banner month. I won't even remember all the good stuff that came my way in October. I got a feature in Central Penn Arts Guide, an on-line mag. I just got a new canopy for shows. I know, right? That is not what makes normal people happy, but it floats MY boat. The Bethesda show was wonderful. All good in October. I am telling you, November already looks just as rosy. I am going to be starting on two installations that are the kind of thing I dream about. One fused, one mosaic. Ahhhh......loving this life.

more good stuff

Now how did I manage THAT??!! I was asked to submit a photo for possible inclusion in an article that would run in the October issue of Harrisburg Magazine. Well since it was going to be an October issue, I thought I could increase my odds by making the photo Halloween-ish! And there you go! Not So Pretty Now in all its glory. The article is about the Yellow Breeches Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild, of which I am a proud member.

Not only that, about a month after I got my work home from Brooklyn, I found out that my work was voted "People's Choice" in their show! No kidding. Out of hundreds of artists that showed, I tied with another guy for fave! Woop Woop! Hope people feel that way in Bethesda, Maryland this weekend!

no FREAKIN way!

This is unreal! I have been waiting for this for over a year now and I finally have it in my hot little hands. I was asked to submit photos to an editor for a book about contemporary glass. They told me they would publish 5 of the 10 photos that I submitted. So yesterday I finally got the book and I am just in awe. I am so unbelievably grateful and happy to be included in this book.

Let me explain it to you like this.....Back when I was at HACC taking the glass blowing class, I was surfing around the web and found Martin Kremer's web page. OK, that is probably where I was hooked by fusing. I had his web page as my home page for quite a while. So now I am in the same freaking book as him and some MORE of my idols! Are you serious??!! Artists from Hungary, Canada, UK, Italy, a lot from Poland....yeah and Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. Woot WOOT!

The book is called Art Glass Today by Jeffrey B. Snyder.