working on a commission

I've said it before. I'll say it again. I love commissions. I don't understand why some artists refuse them. The one I'm working on is for the cutest couple ever. It is a gift so I cannot even post a photo of it for fear of the recipient seeing it. So yeah, this is a perfect commission. It is so far away from anything I would ever do but there is plenty of room to make it my own. Each time I ask them a question, they say they trust my judgement. Can't beat it! I mean, that is why you pay an artist----for their judgement (or lack of?) So anyway, I can't wait till its done, can't wait till they see it. But I won't be able to post a pic till they've given it away :0(

Yipppeee

Seriously, I can't freaking wait till tomorrow. Shaundi and Kaleo are both going along and what could be better than two of my three favorite people with me for this? Dumb question. It would be better with three of three but I'll take what I got.
I also thought this was cool...I found a link to my first video on a stranger's website. Thanks to Intentional Glass.com for the plug! And, if you haven't yet gone, I will tell you that the Dali exhibit at Susquehanna Art Museum is fantastic!

trippy

Two things: First, the loose definition of a zuzu is this- It's a little doughball that is covered in brown sugar, has chocolate in the center, and is cooked over an open fire by a naked woman. Second- I want to tell all the people who have in the past called ME a hippie that they do not know what a hippie really is.

Tuesday, a friend and her son rode with me to meet Kaleo and Erin at a Rainbow Gathering. We planned on spending two days there. I am glad I went but I can safely say that I would not need to do it again. I had anticipated peace, love and a lot of tree hugging. That is NOT what I found there. We actually left as soon as we woke up on the second day. I think the best way to describe it is that when I expected to see giving, all I saw was taking. Their site said that they leave a park cleaner than they found it but I've done a lot of camping and have never seen a park so dirty. The most disturbing part for me was the great number of dogs and some kittens because most of them were very poorly treated. One dog was beaten right out in the open for no apparent reason. I'll post all my photos on FaceBook but for here I am just going to post the photos of happy people that I think looked like what I wanted to see. I heard next year's gathering might be in Argentina? I'll pass.

Heebie Jeebies

Yeah, this is my new favorite. I made this the way I think all art should be made. I made it for myself. I wasn't thinking about people approving of it. I wasn't thinking about whether or not people would get it or even buy it. I get tired of hearing artists say that they are grinding out what they think will sell.... hence the name for the piece, Heebie Jeebies!

Lately, I have been leaving a white border around my work. I like the look but sometimes I think it is interesting if I can continue the work onto the border and convert into white or clear. I also like my broken shards which have actually become CUT shards because they are easier to control. So the "tape" came about as a way to make sure the shards were really stable. It started out as irid glass but it didn't have the right look. I sandblasted the irid away and it looks pretty much like tape - to me anyway! This is going to NY with me tomorrow. If nobody buys it, I will gladly bring it home to hang in the Billet house. OK, will Rob be happy? That is another story.

mMoooOOOoooo

OK, so I get a little tired of the fact that art in PA is only considered art if it is a floral or a landscape. I decided I needed to do a landscape. Hmmm, is it considered a landscape if its an ariel view? The piece is called South Running Brook Farm. SRB Farm was a farm near State College that our cousin owned for thirty years. Anyway, in true down-on-the-farm style, I thought I would even throw in a few cows. They are black angus. I thought I did a pretty good job on them. I have included a close up of the mother and baby cow in the top photo. I love the expression on their faces. Mooo

Jim Whetstone beat me to Brooklyn

I thought this was perfect timing. I was just getting ready to post the link for the Brooklyn gallery I'll be at and I got an email from a friend, Jim Whetstone. He had just put up a Brooklyn Gallery on his Captured Moments web page. His site features a lot of different galleries from theTetons to weddings to Pittsburgh. The photo above is called "Lower Manhattan at Night." OK, if that's not enough, this guy does stellar woodwork. I'm saying his work is so good -it's state juried! His pieces are so colorful that they almost look painted. Jim will tell you a story for each wood represented by every color.
But anyway, the gallery I will be in, the BWAC in Brooklyn has a 360 camera on their site which is really cool. You can maneuver right up to see any art. I can't wait. And YES, there are directions on the site....... ummm, yeah- directions, and an address.

I swear its like giving birth.

Some of these pieces take so long and you get SO attached. This took at least twice as long because of the video. I gotta get a camera with a remote before I do another video! I am so flippin' happy with this though.... so happy with the decision to use Kaleo's band's music so crank it up when you watch! I guess you could say I have been working on this for over a decade if you count the time I spent dragging Kaleo to drum lessons.


Here is the link to the video on youtube........ Couple of things about it. Yes, of course it stars yours truly. That was all me. No stunt double for any of those daredevil acts. Basically, I just take thousands of photos and squish them together to make it seem like a lot of interesting stuff goes on in my shop. My hair and make-up people were off the day of the close up but I did put on a clean shirt. The library will have their grand opening July 27th at 4:30. Yup, I'll be there.