Friday, December 29, 2006

Downsizing

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, no music (sound of child crying instead--no one is ever nice to her. She just had breakfast on the couch and watched Barbie in the Nutcracker but when she was told no more movies this morning she said no one is ever nice to her. Now she is pouring out her woes to her father. *sigh*). This cold is beating me down. I woke up three times in the night to the battle raging in my chest and sinuses. I think my body won by morning, but as the battlefield, I am pooped. And I still have to write the overview today. Ah, new sounds from upstairs: Someone is playing "A Dream is a Wish" on the Barbie violin she got for Christmas. Now she's Cinderella and I'm...

...back to work. I have 800 words to sum up 8719. Maybe if I just take every tenth word...

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Creativitiy

Earlt Grey tea in the Washington skyline mug, "The Distance from Her to There" by Lambchop on iTunes (thanks Ren!). Tea. Tea in the mug can only mean one thing: bad head cold. Yep, I'm sick *again*. Between the three of us, someone has been continually and miserably sick for almost two months! Right now both J and I have lousy head and chest colds, and Dave spent the week before Christmas under the thumb of a stomach virus. Gotta say, Lambchop sounds a lot like Jeremy Irons singing...

Back to the book today. I have been asked to write a couple pages of overview so we can make the existing techniques section lighter. The goal is to sum up how to cut and kilnform glass in two pages. Oh yes, and to leave room for a big, beautiful, glossy photo. I said it took me X pages to say how to do those things, how can I be expected to to say them in X-29? Time and space mean nothing to editors unless you go over on either.

At some point I also need to do my books for the year. I think if I am okay with not knowing every little detail about what I spent and what I made then the IRS should be too. They (according to my accountant) don't share that thought. I watched the scrap with the mileage to Philadelphia in Febrary float by on a sea of paper yesterday and began to despair. A head cold makes it impossible to be as creative with a spreadsheet as I need to be in order to capture (remember, make up) everything I have bought, sold and spent since last January. *sigh*

No use whining. It's after 9:00. Better get creative...

PS--finally got the pics up for the Day After Christmas on Stranded in the South. Christmas Eve with Keith and Mike and Christmas Day.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

A Short Week

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, no music on iTunes. It's a short week in terms of time but not in terms of scheduled work. What is it about the week between Christmas and New Year's that makes it seem so long in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas and also one to complacently schedule SO MUCH STUFF in it? Is it the magic of the holidays that makes requiring a miracle seem logical? I blithely assigned to this week all the bookkeeping for Siyeh Studio since February 1, a complete organization and cleaning of the studio proper, all my editing on the book AND all the rewrites I need to do... Was I high? The "week" is only three days long (at least according to Dave's work schedule thoughtfully provided by Turner Broadcasting).

The rest of the days between Christmas and New Year's are for doing similar things for the Griffith family: eight months worth of register reconciliation for the credit cards and bank accounts, sorting all the books in the "library" (at the top of the stairs) and getting more bookcases for it, hanging pictures, kites and art, blowing the leaves off the deck and raking the backyard, cleaning the office and filing a year's worth of papers, organizing all our photos in iPhoto, and banishing the last of the VHS tapes to a bookcase upstairs (with all the cd's). I need to figure out how to get all the vhs tapes on dvd... but maybe I shouldn't try to do THAT this week too! We also need a new couch and to fix the kitchen table (it fell apart during a dinner party around Thanksgiving).

Anyone have a spare temporal extension potion or spell lying around? No? Well, it is the season of miracles... maybe there's hope for me yet!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!

No coffee yet--and that's a crime, let me tell you, no music either. It is 9:32 and we are waiting for Jessie to wake up and come down to see what goodies Santa brought in the night. Now at her age I was up by 7:30 no matter what. But we had friends over last night for the traditional Christmas Eve lasagna and champagne, and we ended by watching Love Actually till 12:30. It was a very late night for the J. So we wait.

And while we wait I want to wish A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS to the Glass Incarnate Regulars Barbara, Bill, Doug, Jodi, Julian, Ren, Sandy, & Sue! Happy New Year and Peace to one and all.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Strategies of Success

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, "Emmanuel" performed by William Ackerman on iTunes. I already posted about Peace on Earth on Stranded in the South. Now I sit and watch the rain fall on my pallet of boxes of frit and molds in the driveway. It came Monday and I never got it unpacked and now it is pouring. I hope the plastic wrap keeps most of it dry. On the other hand, it is tubs of crushed glass and ceramic molds. How much harm can rain actually do?

I am not by nature a passive-aggressive person. I am flat-out aggressive. If I think something, I say it. If I see a wrong, I stand up against it. I do not play a good long-game. I pay lip service to Grace Murray Hopper and occasionally beg forgiveness instead of asking permission, but more often I demand permission up front. Why does this trait come up today? I observe around me the success and failure rates of those who put "it" out and signal their intentions, and those who smile and nod, deftly change the subject when it is raised, and blithely do whatever the heck they please in the end. The latter seem to come out ahead and have less stress than the former. Should I change my strategy? Am I even flexible enough to be able to do so?

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Winding Down

Coffee (from Jupiter coffee with an extra shot of espresso in it) in the Atlanta skyline mug, some slow instrumental Christmas thing on the iPod. I think I need to clean up this playlist and not put ALL the Christmas songs on it. Some of them just aren't that good! (And we have 357...)

Got the last commissions fired and the one that needs to be drilled off to Dixie Glasshoppers yesterday. They are swamped but will try to get to it in the next couple of days for me. I brought them cookies and they said that improved my chances. I love having a business which provides me with the excuse to give people cookies. And these cookies are special because I bought the frozen dough as part of a raise-money-for-school thing in my neighborhood so I got to support the hood kiddies, and I have something to give my professional contacts for Christmas (and they taste incredible and all I had to do was put them on a tray and bake. As Dave would say, these are the days of miracles and wonder!). So my UPS driver Al and his son got a dozen, Dixie Glasshoppers got a little over a dozen, and we still have some here!

The year winds down. It is Thursday, but it feels like Friday. I will probably not fire anything more for the rest of the year. Next week I have paperwork, inventory and massive studio cleaning on tap. The photo shoot for all the how-to photos for the book is scheduled for January 24-26. The timing couldn't be better--late enough I have time to redo projects and get all the project stages ready to photograph, and not right up against the Buyer's Market in February. I may live through the first of the year after all!

And now a bit of disappointing but not altogether unexpected news: Neither the Coptic Blue Eye Box nor the Carnivale Box was selected for Corning's New Glass Review. *sigh* Something to try for again next year!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Promised Update on the Book

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" by the Robert Shaw Chorale on the iPod. It has already been a Morning. It started at 4:00 with projectile vomiting--not mine, Jessie's. She is home from school for the day and right now is riding her bike around the house (inside) wearing a Disney princess nightgown, a polar fleece cap and snow mittens. If you think THAT is surreal...

It's time for the update on the book. I found out last week after I asked my editor (nothing is ever told pro actively to me) that the publication date has been moved to November 2007 because they are *busy* with other things. Never mind that I practically had a nervous breakdown meeting *my* deadlines with them. December 5, while I was in Chicago, I got an email with yet another project change *request*. I was guarded about its feasibility, and said I would follow up on it on my return to Atlanta.

Since my return we (the various editors and I) have been immersed in getting the illustrations and the shot-list for the photos firmed up. This morning I made a call to the main editor to follow up on the new project request. It was not a pretty conversation. I said there may be technical issues with the December 5 request, and I might need to do another technique. I brought up the technical difficulties *in detail* and presented their options realistically: 1) They may have to either settle on the bowl they already have, or 2) They may need to drop the project entirely, or 3) I might need to do a different technique in different glass for a wall sconce. I was told I was expected to redo the project *exactly*--technique, glass, and color--as decided by them. I finally snapped. I did it calmly, I did it politely, but I did it.

I said I had signed on to accept suggestions on color, projects, style, etc., but I never agreed to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. I was asked to have the manuscript have done by November 1--including a write-up of all of the projects--and I did. I went along with a project review on 10/13--two weeks before the manuscript was due and long after all the project write-ups were due. I went along with requested changes to 30% of the projects (and the resultant changes to the write-ups) which came out of the project meeting. But now they have pushed too far and I will not just jump blindly

Ironically, I originally wanted to do a ceiling fixture for the project in contention. They asked for a bowl instead because a ceiling fixture would be too big for a "beginner" kiln, so I did a bowl. At the project meeting they decided a bowl was too boring and they wanted a ceiling fixture. Deep breath, okay. December 5 I got an email telling me they found the hardware for the "wall sconce". Whiplash. What wall sconce? The one I am to do instead of the ceiling fixture. They had reconsidered and decided the shot of the ceiling fixture would be too boring.

I said enough. They trusted me enough to have me write the book and do the projects. They were going to have to trust me to make technique change decisions on my own. This is *MY* book, and ultimately, *I* am responsible for it and will be judged by its quality.

The conversation ended politely and frostily. Now I gear up for the photo shoot at the end of January. I hear I have a really great photographer and a super Art Director. The book begins to feel more real. (I also have a GREAT line editor and the editing process is going really well).

Monday, December 18, 2006

Countdown to Christmas

Coffee in the Denver skyline mug, "Deck the Halls" in my left ear as I wait on the phone on hold to place another Christmas present order. My frit and molds from Bullseye finally showed up at 7:45 this morning. I was, of course, naked and dripping wet having just stepped out of the shower, but my spouse stepped into the breach, answered the door, and held the driver at bay till I was dry and dressed.

Today I juggle shipping the last of the One of a Kind Show orders and a few Christmas gifts, tasks from my line editor for the book, and Christmas shopping! Yes, today, December 17, I BEGIN my main Christmas shopping. I have never been so late. And I write here and now--before the annual New Year's resolutions are due--I will NOT be so overextended next year! I am cutting back my show schedule and focusing more on my home and family. And I am taking weekends OFF. But I save the resolutions for a couple of weeks. No use getting ahead of myself when I am still behind on posts (I now owe four--two here and two Stranded in the South). Unfortunately the ones I owe all require more thought than I can spare while juggling.

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Time to Transistion

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "O' Come, O' Come Emmanuel" by the Canterbury Christmas Ensemble and West Winds on iTunes. I am still in my jammies though I should have received the lost pallet of frit and molds from Bullseye five minutes ago. I did not really believe it would happen, and I was right! I called Roadway, my scheduling rep is out for the day, and the woman who is there doesn't know anything about my delivery--can't even find IF it is scheduled, much less when. And yet, through it all I am serene. I will not be using it before January anyway as I am now DONE FIRING TILL NEXT YEAR.

Yep. It's almost a vacation! Of course the flip side of not firing is doing the bookkeeping for, um, this whole past year. I am philosophical and realize there is no way it will take less than a week to pull it all together in Quick Books and find out if I made money, lost money, or broke even this year (door #1, Door #1, please, please, please door #1!).

Because of the transition and focus of my energies, I am deferring yet again the promised pertinent posts (show and book) for another day--at this point another week! Instead, this afternoon I have a couple of posts for Stranded in the South, "A Package! A Package!" and "Five Year-Olds and MRI's". The last of the Caymans posts will have to wait till next week when I get my hands on Final Cut Pro to strip a little from the snorkeling video--it's too big to put up as is and I don't seem to be able to grab stills from it with a Mac.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Trials, Not Many Tribulations

It's lunchtime so there is no coffee, and I am ripping all the Christmas cd's so I am not listening to iTunes right now. Yesterday was a trial from beginning to end, no doubt about it. I waited all day for my delivery from Bullseye and, as usual, it didn't come till 5:00. Unexpectedly it did not contain the 35 boxes--500 lbs--of frit and molds I ordered. Finally just got word that the missing pallet has been located, now I am just waiting to hear when it can be delivered. I know they are going to try to fob me off with a "We only do residential deliveries on Saturday" line, but I am not going to take it. I have a business, this is a business delivery, it is easier than many other small business deliveries (as easy as it can be without a loading dock), and I am bloody well not going to hang around all day on Saturday again waiting for it! I have a Christmas tree to buy and decorations to put up. I am NOT working this Saturday!

And I am far too cranky to be relatively newly home from vacation. Now I have to run get a kiln load in of things which need to ship tomorrow. Sometime before I A) die, B) disembowel someone, or C) kill someone, I will do a nice long post about the book experience of the month and the recent show. If you get the Crafts Report magazine, check out the back cover AND the regioanl artists section inside.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Yep, Home

Coffee all over the floor (it was a large Jupiter Coffee with an extra shot of espresso--I dropped it as I walked in the door before taking even one sip), no music. Going to be a quick, yes-I-am-alive-and-back-from-Chicago post--today is PACKED.

The show was great for me, though terrible for many, many others. A dedicated post on it to follow. In almost stereotypical fashion I found out that the publication date on my book has been pushed back to November. I wouldn't have been told had I not divined it from other data and pushed to be told. And the ceiling-fixture-turned-bowl-turned-ceiling-fixture project is now... a wall sconce! Another post on it.

Today will be filled with unpacking the car from the trip, getting the biggest order from Bullseye this year (maybe ever), starting all the orders from the Chicago show and the trunk show earlier in November... and that ought to be enough! Pictures and detailed, eloquent posts... later.

Friday, December 08, 2006

These Boots Weren't Made for Walking

No coffee yet, "Sweet Surrender" by Sarah McLachlan on iTunes. It's 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now. 5 degrees! Ooh baby, gonna make that walk to Starbuck's a treat. I have to work for my caffeine this morning. Toto, as you can probably guess, we are not in Kansas (or Atlanta for that matter) anymore. Nope. Today I write from my room at the Embassy Suites lakefront in Chicago (Go Priceline!). It's One of a Kind Show time again, and we are off and running. Tomorrow I will put up pics of the booth, but for today, just a few highlights of life for the glass artist on the road.

The car was packed so fully that there was bubble wrap crammed up to the ceiling. It lumbered up the interstate making occasional vulgar grinding noises. I know it's not supposed to sound like that, and it only has a couple thousand miles on it (if that) so I am a bit worried. Sell! Sell! Sell! I need to get rid of as much glass as possible so we go home lighter and have room for all the wine I have to carry. Thanks to the arcane tax restrictions on wine, some California vinyards (from whom I purchased wine club memberships) can't or won't ship to Georgia so I have it all shipped to my in-laws in Illinois and pick it up twice a year when I come to town for a show--unless I drink it here. It's nice to have a stash.

Today I am tired. The show started last night and I made the mistake of breaking in a new pair of boots. I figured, heck, it was only four hours! I never wear heels anymore and today (and all night) the balls of my feet just ache. Today I am back to sensible flats (still boots). And it's hard to dress for this show. They're only so many layers you can put on. It's 5 degrees ( 5 DEGREES) outside and under the 2400 watts of lights (and additional heating helpfully supplied via the furnaces by the Merchandise Mart facilities people) I need a silk cami, a sarong and a fan! Ah well, I'll survive.

This morning I am going to walk the floor and hunt for friends' booths. I think I have schmoozed with everyone but Chrissie and family (Dave are you here?), but I haven't seen all their booths yet. The show opens at 11:00 and I then I am going to sell, sell, sell! Now I had better go get dressed (layers, layers, layers).

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Giving Thanks

Coffee in the Washington D.C. mug, ""The House is Rockin'" by Stevie Ray Vaughn on iTunes. It is shaping up to be a day full of "stuff". There will be four kiln loads fired, but they are almost peripheral to the day. The real work today will be doing my mailing for the One of a Kind Show, getting the last invoices out, the Bullseye order in, all the little crap you have to do the last work day before vacation. Anything I can triage till the Sunday before I leave for the OKSS, I will.

Thanksgiving. I give thanks for my healthy, safe family. I give thanks for an incredible year in the glass studio. It has been a wild ride, but I have grown and learned from it. Finally I give thanks for my friends both near and far. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving, good food and friends to share it with. This will be the first year since well before J was born that Dave won't be deep-frying a turkey. Tomorrow we will be eating Thanksgiving dinner with my parents in an Irish pub on Grand Cayman. Ought to be interesting. Now I'm too stressed to write more, I have to go start organizing (and making lists!) to pack.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

I Like to Move It, Move It

No coffee yet (it burbles), no music either. Stressed is the word of the morning. The burglar alarm went off at 6:30 am when a spider and the wind lifted an unlocked bathroom window a smidge and broke the contact. That was exciting. I figured I might as well get a start on the day and went to the studio to assemble one of my pedestals to check out my current shelf lighting system. I found I am five glass shelves short... This is a serious problem as I can't get in touch with the owners of the gallery where I had them last weekend to see if they are still there and today is the last day Dixie Glasshoppers and I have open in common before I leave for Chicago. If I have to delay my departure by a day for these shelves I am going to be VERY ticked off!

Now let's get to some good news. Bullseye Glass is considering using an image of my work in their upcoming catalog! They solicited images of architectural work and mine was one of the finalists from the 300 images submitted. I'll know for sure in December. And Uncommon Goods is featuring my pieces on their homepage right now. Hope that generates some sales for them (and more orders for me--I still have 20 sets here!).

Diane Andersen finished her weekend in the studio yesterday and her piece fused beautifully. It slumped last night and I expect it to come out perfectly (the kiln's still too hot to open). She is going to pick it up at the One of a kind Show in Chicago as she flies back today and won't be able to stop by to pick it up before she goes. The full photo chronicle of the Weekend in the Studio can be found here. Okay, lots to do in the penultimate day in the studio. Till tomorrow...

Monday, November 20, 2006

Dress for Success

Coffee in the New York Skyline mug, "Shut Up and Get on the Plane" by the Drive by Truckers on iTunes. "When it comes your time to go... ain't no use in thinkin' 'bought it, you'll just drive yourself insane. Comes a time for everything and the time has come for you to shut your mouth and get your ass on the plane." Except for the fact that I am worried about going to a show, not dying, and I am driving, not taking a plane, this song is for me! Three days left in the studio to prepare for the One of a Kind Show, and they are all slump load days--what's made is made, and that's all there is to it.

This past weekend saw my first "Weekend in the Studio" and it was great fun. Diane Anderson from Chicago spent Saturday from 10:00 am till 8:00 pm in the studio with me learning about the compatibility of glass for kilnforming (coefficient of expansion AND viscosity/surface tension), kiln wash vs. shelf paper, firing schedules--what happens at each stage and why it's important to go slowly where we go slowly. She also learned how to cut glass, layer frit, program a kiln, and she created her own 13 X 15 Morceaux de Verre cheese tray! We skipped yesterday as we got the fuse load in so late the kiln wasn't cool yesterday till 3:00 pm, and she is coming back today to clean her piece, smooth the edges and put it in the kiln to slump. Pics tomorrow, I can't find my camera right now (and she's not done anyway).

Yesterday I prepared to dress the part of the artist. I am not a small woman. In fact it might be said I am large on two axes: I am 6 feet tall, and there is no way in hell I will tell you my weight! I am... comfortably padded. So clothes shopping is usually not a joy for me. Even when I was fashionably thin, I had a hard time finding things long enough. Now add the weight... it has been truly dismal... until yesterday. Yesterday I went to Coldwater Creek in an upscale mall. They need to change their slogan (if they have one) to "Clothes for the Amazon Artist Who's Not Afraid to Be Seen." I bought skirts and pants in plush (machine washable) black velvet, stretch devore velvet tops with beads and sequins and silk fringe... Oh it was a sumptuous banquet of color and texture. If Liz Claiborne is Frank Lloyd Wright, Coldwater Creek is Louis Comfort Tiffany.

One might question the relevance of posting about clothes on a glass artist's site. If one does, one might be a twit. One of the first phrases I learned in high school Latin was Vestis Virum Redit, or Clothes Make the Man. As professional craft artists we obsess about our booths and displays for shows, but we often overlook a vital component of the presentation--ourselves. For the past several years I have worn dark, drab conservative clothes to my shows (because that is what I had and I couldn't be bothered to obsess about it). Other artists have actually commented on the inappropriateness of my look. They don't say "Your clothes are boring, you should dress more like an artist." No, instead what I hear is "Wow, your personality is as colorful as your work, why do you dress so soberly? It isn't you at all."

So this year (to insert and mangle another metaphor) the butterfly is emerging from the chrysalis (thank heaven for the blogger spell-checker--I am giving it a workout this morning). I will stalk the floor of the One of a Kind Show in my sexy slouchy black leather boots, long swirly velvet skirts and glittery, drapey, peek-a-boo devore tops (ponchos! and shawls!). Instead of fading into the background, I will stand out in my booth. And with 449 other artists at this show, any differentiator is a good thing.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Late, Late, Late

Milk in a tupperware glass, no music. It's lunchtime--and late for that. It has been a busy morning in the studio so far with inventory of the etched and unetched glassware, a load in the medium kiln and a visitor. Another artist who paints wine glasses and fires them in a kiln came and took some of my unetched glassware off my hands today. Unfortunately she didn't want the margarita glasses or most of my wine glass styles so I still have several cases of those left. Anyone need 4 dozen Libby's margarita glasses?

And now several more hours have passed and the day is over. Three kiln loads in, and prep work done for a "Weekend in the Studio" I have scheduled for tomorrow. I have someone coming from Chicago to spend a weekend in the glass studio. It will be a combination class/project/mini-apprenticeship. She will get to take home something cool she made, and I will work her fingers to the bone helping me get two other kiln loads in. She will fill frit jars, grind circles, wash pieces for slumping, crush glass in a pillowcase with a hammer, and other fun studio chores! There are restaurants (Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, for one) where you can work in the kitchen for a day. I don't remember if you have to pay, or if you just have to be vetted for skills beforehand, but I do know someone who chopped green beans there for an afternoon...

I did end up doing a final firing schedule this morning (that's what I was doing instead of posting) and I am much more balanced and relaxed this evening because of it. I even followed it and put in the first packed-to-the-gunwales load in over a week! Now I am downing tools, clearing off the table and getting ready for the pepperoni pizza my family went out to slay for dinner. They should be back soon and I'll have the hot coals waiting.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

I Think, Therefore I Am... Not

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, "Nightswimming" by R.E.M. on iTunes. Advertising is almost done. All supplies for the One of a Kind Show are identified and ordered. I keep making pieces. Not as many as I planned for any given day, but everyday sees at least one kiln load and for the next few days I will have two. My Bullseye frit order came yesterday so I can do all the series again. And (I feel a whine coming on) everything is blah. I am a worker bee. I have no direction, no detailed goal, nothing more than a vague hand-waving plan. I haven't been able to focus to plan. Some might say I over-plan already. But right now I feel completely rudderless.

Maybe it's because almost all of my work is still up at Taylor Kinzel. We extended the trunk show through another weekend. The weather and highway closures between downtown and the gallery limited attendance--though I did extremely well anyway. I know what I took up there, I know what sold, but I don't know what was already there. And I probably shouldn't be thinking about taking it anyway. Need to leave them work for the holidays too.

In truth, I think I think I have too much work and display system to fit in my van for the OKSS. I have never done a 10 X 20 booth before. The pipe support system for the lights and the hanging panels is seriously heavy, as is the wire storage rack that I plan to use for inventory storage in my booth. Add all the boxes of work, Me, Jessie, my Mom... whew!

I have seven hanging panels for this show! They are 16" X 24" and I did them in five different series (cosmos--shown above, ocean, forest, earth, and watermelon delight). Six of them and two of the 20" round panels (one cosmos, one earth--earth series at right) in steel stands make up the back and only) wall.
The plan (back when I had lots of ambition and time) was to make one of each size of the smaller display pieces in stands (16" round, 10-12" square on edge and 12X14" rectangle) in most of the ten series I am taking. But as I think about it, I don't even have enough plastic totes to carry all that glass!

I was going to add to that another 9-20 pieces per series--taken from the following: small rectangular plates, small square plates, small round dishes, three sizes of rectangular platters, two sizes of oval platters, three sizes of bowls and two sizes of square platters. Was I nuts? I was planning $22,000 of work for this show! On the other hand I doubled my sales between the year before last and last year, and I did over $10,000 last year in a 10X10 booth...

Planning is making me absolutely nuts. And it's moot. There are eight more firing days between now and the show. That's eight more kiln loads and some of them must be slumps. My brain hurts. Maybe it is better today to be a worker bee. I will take all the hanging panels in to be drilled. I will do another fuse load, and another melt load. And that's probably all I have time for. I will not plan. I will not think.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

A Rant

Coffee (from Jupiter Coffee) in the Chicago skyline mug, "In Without Knocking" by Mission Mountain Wood Band on iTunes. Straight to the rant. At the tail end of the Buyer's Market of American Craft last February I had a guy fly into my booth and place a small order for a "gallery/store" in Las Vegas. Gallery/store is in quotes because that was my assumption. I sell to galleries and stores, this is a wholesale show for GALLERIES AND STORES, therefore that's what he must have. Some time later I am updating the Locations page on my website and I go to add his "business". I google his business name and find "Your Source for Quality United States Mint Postage Stamps at Reasonable Prices." What the hell? So I dig a bit more and find that he he has a store on eBay and is selling all the glass art he buys at wholesale at the BMAC on eBay! If I wanted my work sold on eBay, I would do it myself!

Whatever one's personal feelings about eBay, selling your work there is a personal choice and I feel violated that someone has made that choice for me. There are a number of glass bead artists who sell their work on ebay and do very well at it. They have built a following of collectors there to rival any gallery's. And they sell their own work. I find it sleezy in the extreme that someone would set up an eBay store to sell the work of many artists without their knowledge or permission. Just the decision of whether or not to sell online is a big one in my community.

So I stewed for several months, resolved not to sell to him again, filed a complaint against him with the BMAC, told other artists work whose work he was selling there about it, and let it go. He called me *yesterday* about the larger of the pieces he bought from me because there is devitrification on two of the Pop Art circles and he is afraid his "customers" won't understand and think it is a defect... Well of course they won't! In a gallery there is someone knowledgeable about the creation process for the piece who can explain how glass changes at high temperatures and some surface variation is to be expected. You go looking for art on ebay and expect perfection at dirt cheap prices. The pieces are *exactly* what he saw at the BMAC, and now he has a problem. And what is he doing just getting around to opening the shipment from me now?!? I sent it in August!

I did not say anything about eBay to him. I was not friendly, but I was professional. He is sending the piece back, I am replacing it. I should have just refunded his money. Today I looked at his "site" again and he has my bio and picture on it! He is selling my work at retail, but every piece I sent him is also listed on ebay and the photos are truly bad (everything was shot on a wood-grain background).

Thinking the day couldn't get any worse, I went to put on the new "gallery" I got an order from in October (also from the BMAC, this time July's show) on the Locations page of my website. I google the "gallery" name and find "Experts in Home Automation, Whole-House Audio & Video distribution, Home Theater ...". What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?!? So I call the guy. I tell him I am trying to update my website with his "gallery" information and all I can find is a home theater store. Does he have an alternate website? Uh, no, he and his wife have a "high-end private gallery in their home". I sweetly reply, oh, okay then, I will put his phone number and address on my website for contact information.

I was completely mystified by his order until this morning. He ordered two 11"X7", and five 7.5" Morceaux de Verre pieces in different colors. Not something you would purchase (wholesale again!) for a home collection. The lightbulb has already gone off for you, I'm sure. He bought inexpensive gifts! Employee Christmas, give-aways to customers for big purchases. Whatever. My work is not the diamond in the Spic 'N Span box!!

Would I have sold to these men had they been honest with me from the start? Maybe. Every BMAC I get private shoppers who want to buy from me, but it is usually cash and carry at the end of the show--no extra effort on my part, just less to pack and take home. If the pieces have already been ordered by a legitimate gallery (or requested by another artist), I don't do it. For someone to order from me under false pretenses (especially the tv guy) and cause me to go to extraordinary lengths for what I think is a start-up gallery order just frosts my cookies! Okay, off the rant and on to work.

PS--I took the tv guy off my web page.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Out of Glass!

Coffee (what remains of it) in the Denver skyline mug, "Corpus Christi Carol" by Jeff Buckley on iTunes. So I made this intricate schedule of all the pieces I want to have for the One of a Kind show in December and I have been working through the list. Normally I like to cut all the pieces in one or two days and then make them over the following weeks. Right now I am juggling so many things that I haven't had a long stretch of time for nothing but prep. As a result, I have been cutting a day or two's worth at a time just so I have enough done to get a full load in the kiln everyday.

Yesterday I figured I was within shooting distance of cutting the rest of the pieces (somewhat further than spitting distance) and I decided to give it a try. I went out to the secondary studio (i.e., the garage) to the reserve glass storage to get some more clear irid (the base for all the Morceaux de Verre pieces). In case the Art Institute needs some more platters I figured I better hold back some sheets (five to ten ought to do). I looked in the case... and I only have 12 sheets left! I looked at the list of work I have planned to do and did a rough count of what it will take, and I need at least 17 sheets just for it! gaack. I just got 65 sheets of clear irid at the end of September bringing my total for the year to 162 sheets and by the end of the week it will all be gone. Wow. That's 765 sq. feet of glass. For the sports-minded, that's more sheets than it would take to lay them end to end all for the full length of a football field. I could go on with relational measurement information, but my mind is already boggled enough.

So today I ease back on the firing a bit and wait to hear if the AI needs more pieces before Christmas. I am seriously hosed if they do and will need to trot myself up to the Art Glass House in Suwanee for more glass. And I have a chat scheduled with my editor about the pictures for the book gallery (other artists' images). The rest of the day will be spent futzing with display (I found some battery-operated lighting yesterday and I need to see how long it will last and how bright it is), waiting for frit, sorting papers and planning next year's advertising.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Winding Down

Coffee in the Montreal skyline mug, "Cloudy This Morning" by George Winston on the iPod. It is late--almost 9:00. Dave just left for work and Jessie is still sleeping. I posted on Stranded in the South yesterday about fall sliding into winter, and I reflect again this morning how close I still am to the sun and the seasons. I live in a climate-controlled house with an abundant supply of electricity for light whenever and wherever I want it and I get my food from a supermarket. I do not live in a tent, foraging for my food and and migrating south to warmer climes as winter approaches. But my blood and bones drive my brain right now. They say to hoard and huddle. Prepare for the long sleep and eat everything in sight. Shades of an old Bloom County cartoon where Steve Dallas remarks "You chicks store fat in your thighs for winter, doncha?".

I am now allowed to write and reflect this morning because I only have one project scheduled between now and the end of the year and I have got it under control. I could be a realist and borrow trouble about all the last minute "stuff" that will be dumped on me with a "Can we have this next week/tomorrow/right now?" between now and January 1... But I won't. Until the book is in the hands of the Art Department at the Publisher on January 15 I am still on the hook. All the photography is yet to be scheduled (and it is also due 1/15). I *know* the editor is going to call me on December 19 and just blithely assume I have 36 hours a day through Christmas Eve to do it. Or they will start demanding I schlepp everything up to them again for some of the photography. But I said I'm not going to borrow that trouble and I feel myself getting wound up just thinking about it. Breathe.

I have a week and a half to make all the rest of the work for my my biggest retail show of the year. It's going well. I also almost have the entire display figured out. I ordered the pipe of pipe and drape last week to hang the lights from and now the only thing I am still futzing with is the lighting for the lower shelves. I found rechargeable LED bases for lighting centerpieces, but they don't work at all on my glass--too intense a light in small areas. I might try attaching them to the underside of the top shelf so they shine down on the piece on the shelf. They are good because they light for 10 hours and only need 6 to recharge. Flashlights and other cordless lights are usually only rated for 3-4 hours. I would need stock in Duracell to afford using them for 4 days.

Today I will make some more big hanging pieces--I bumped them to the front of the queue as I have to get the holes drilled in them before the show and Kelly gets cranky if I stroll in and ask him to do them NOW, ship a piece to the Art Institute, chase down a couple of past-due invoices, pay my own bills... all the usual small business stuff. Oh yes, and I will begin to contemplate where I am going with my glass work and if I really need a handbasket to do it. I'm thinking that's an accessory I can do without.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Business is Booming (eep!)

Coffee in the Denver skyline mug, "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley on iTunes. And the year winds up. A funny thing to say in the early middle part of November, but nonetheless that's how it feels today. Yesterday I got word that the Art Institue will be featuring the "Flame" Morceaux de Verre in a 12" platter in their spring marketing. I am not sure if it is just online or if there is a catalog too, but it's good news either way!

I canceled my current order to Bullseye yesterday as it can't go out till next week and I am afraid it could get delayed and arrive while we are out on a tiny vacation (vacation! vacation! vacation!). We will have a pet sitter, but not someone I would ask to take delivery of cases of glass, frit and clay molds. Now I'm glad I canceled as I will need to add a bunch more for the flame pieces... I just need to know how many of them!

And on the Art Institute front, I got the holiday catalog from them in the mail yesterday, and my piece is on page 16 bottom right corner! I was not expecting it to be featured again in another catalog and am a bit worried that they are going to need more pieces this year. I have 13 more production days between now and 12/13 and they are already pretty booked. (I will be on the road and the studio will be closed from 11/23 to 12/12.)

I am also waiting to hear from Uncommon Goods to see if they need more of the Pop Art sets. This is my first year with heavy retail and wholesale in Q4 and I am finding it tough to balance. The One of a Kind Show is my biggest retail show of the year and I need production to go towards it, but catalog sales are pushing my wholesale too... I think I need another kiln! (And an assistant! And, as Roy Scheider said, a bigger boat!).

Today I prepare everything for the Taylor Kinzel Trunk Show tomorrow. I will schlepp the pieces and my pedestals up to Roswell at noon. The hardest part is going to be making the inventory sheet and pricing everything (yet more paperwork). At lest the firing schedule is done. Finished it last night while watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with J and my parents. And of course it may all go out the window now if I get more wholesale requests. But Bill, I don't care! I feel better when I have a schedule to follow--even if I have to be flexible about changing it. Organization and flexibility--those are the traits of a successful business woman! Having someone manage everything for you is is the trait of a successful artist. I am still self-managing. I would LOVE to be taken in hand by a manager. Okay, got to load and unload kilns.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Today Being a Glass Artist Isn't

Cold coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, no music. Happy Birthday Ren! (Arr!). There is so much more to having a production glass studio than producing glass. (Although there is plenty of glass production going on too--I was still loading the kilns at midnight last night... again.) So far today I unpacked shipments from suppliers, processed gallery returns (etched glassware that I no longer do), and put in a call to a pipe and drape supplier.

As soon as I catch my breath a bit I will confirm my Bullseye order, finish the rest of the One of a Kind Show firing schedule, and do a little more grinding on the two boxes I will take to the Taylor Kinzel Glass Trunk Show this weekend. Notice the last activity listed is the first one of the day that actually has me laying hands on glass. Oh there will be firings today--three undoubtedly, maybe even four. If I am lucky or good (or both) they will be in the kiln early enough that I won't be in the studio after dinner again.

Tonight I would like to take my parents to dinner and then watch a movie with them. They have been here since Tuesday night and I have barely spent any time with them. Tomorrow morning I take them to the airport and they are off to Quito, Ecuador and then the Galapagos Islands.

But back to being a studio glass artist. I feel like I am on the cusp of needing to hire someone. I had hoped the new apprentice would work out, but she came for a couple of days and then disappeared. So I am on my own again, naturally. Maybe it would be less work and take less time to plan tasks for one person to do a few hours a week than it would for me to do them myself and it could actually work...

Food for thought. In the meantime, off to do more management "Stuff".

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Finally a Breather

La Croix sparkling water in a can, "The Steward of Gondor", Howard SHore and Bolliy Boyd from the Lord of the Rings Return of the King on iTunes. I finally get a breather today after running non-stop since 7 am. Remember that perfume commercial from the '70's/'80's for Enjolie? "I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan..." and do about 50,000 other things while keeping my cool (how many balls can you keep in the air?), not letting anything drop. That's today. Except for the cool part. I am some kind of frazzled. And I still have a kiln load to get in.

The (lack of) lighting for the lower shelf of my pedestals is seriously harshing my mellow. I ordered a rechargeable base lighting LED system and it is a complete bust--too much focused light in 13 points, not diffuse enough.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Pop Art Box

Coffee (from the new Bodum Santos coffee maker--paid for by Starbuck's as they recalled our Barista) in the Montreal skyline mug, "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger on iTunes.

As promised, pics of the new Pop Art Box. I haven't made the lid yet--nor have I finished polishing the box--but I wanted to get the pics up anyway. I am very pleased with the technique. I was not able to get my new little lap grinder to do 45 degree beveling so I had to freehand miter the corners on the big one (wheeee!). I was less successful than I could have been, but it was good enough for this time.

Going forward I will make myself a guide for the big lap grinder (or have have my Dad do it tomorrow--got to find things for him to do while the parents are here for the next couple of days on their way to Ecuador). I had the realization yesterday that I don't cook anymore and Dave is leaving for Las Vegas directly from work for a bachelor party so I am on my own with my parents. Take-out pizza tonight, Feast in Decatur tomorrow, and I'll figure something out for Thursday. I used to cook, but anymore the very idea of everyday cooking just stymies me. I guess I could manage a rotisserie chicken, fresh cut green beans in a bag and some Uncle Ben's...

But onto more interesting things like glass! I have been so busy with arcana since Friday that I still haven't finished a list of pieces I want to have for the shows I have coming up. That lack has not excused me from firing, instead I feel like I am just haphazardly throwing pieces in the kiln that I hope I will need. And I am running out of glass--out of certain colors of frit anyway. I need to get an order in to Bullseye this morning so they can get part of it in UPS tomorrow and the rest out on a truck by Friday.

But back to haphazard firing. It makes me feel completely out of control. I do not feel free or liberated, I feel... haphazard! I don't *like* haphazard. Time to get a plan, a schedule, something--Bill would say to ignore--I like to think of as a guideline to improvise around. Planning for a retial show is always such a crap shoot. What pieces will be hot this year? What will I sell out of and what will die on the shelf? I am planning ten Morceaux de Verre series, some Coulee de Verre pieces, an orchid melt or two, and some boxes. Oh yes, and the obligatory Pop Art "stuff". It feels like a hodge podge now that I see it in writing. I hope I can pull it off. Maybe I'll skip the orchid melts this time. Okay, off to spend more money and plan, then the airport to get the aged P's, oh yes, and a firing.

Monday, November 06, 2006

The Bottom of the Rollercoaster

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, "Sweet Surrender" by Sarah McLachlan on iTunes. I feel the rumble beneath my seat and the slight jerk as the car moves forward and up the first incline. Hold onto your seats folks, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Another Resurrection Box came out this morning. This one was from a 16" X 24" turquoise Pop Art panel that I wasn't happy with. All the pieces in this series are called Resurrection Boxes as they all come from failed flat pieces. This one has mitered corners. Pics tomorrow.

Today I have to fight my way through the final booth design and facilities order for the One of a Kind Show. The advertising deadline for NICHE magazine also looms and I want to put something together for it. I am going to do one in this year because of the whole finalist thing. Credit cards are about maxed, money flows out like water, and business has never been better...?? Maybe today will see the arrival of yet more checks from the orders that went out last month. Bi-directional money flow in a business is a GOOD THING.

Ikebana starts back up today. The instructor is back from Japan and the big ikebana conference there so I am expecting high energy in the class. On the book front, I mail the illustrations in and maybe take pictures of the projects for the lin editor. I have so moved on from the projects at this point and I still have several to redo and re-write.

For glass I am going to try four boxes at a time in the medium kiln. Also have a fuse load in the big one for the show this weekend. I think I am going to limit my color spectrum for this one. They don't like the bright colors in the conservative northern suburbs. In fact, by this weekend they may all be in mourning after the elections. One can hope.

Okay, too much to do to post more. I'm outta here.

Friday, November 03, 2006

NICHE Finalist!

My day just got a whole lot better. The Coptic Blue Eye Box (which I just keep posting pics of here because I love it so much) is a 2007 Niche finalist in the category Glass: Fused!

Bluuuuuuuueeeee

It's late, no more coffee. "Levon" by Elton John on iTunes. Still in a funk. Dave is heads down, dead busy on his work project right now (CNN's election coverage software), and someone stole the gps out of his car last night. J's b-day is tomorrow (just did cupcakes and a mini-party at school), and I am... blue

Didn't fire today (yet, I still might get a load in). Got a very snippy email from the senior editor on the selection of works for the gallery earlier today and it just sapped any energy I might have had. Didn't even want to post this morning--felt like it would be one long whine. And I was right! So far this is one long whine. So I tuck my whiny little tail under my not-so-tiny heiny and go to put some glass in the kiln. Putting glass in the kiln almost always makes me feel better.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Going to the Show... Again

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "Home" (again) by Marc Broussard on iTunes. I like starting my day with that song. It's a show planning day. As I have upgraded to a 10 X 20 booth for the One of a Kind Show in Chicago in December I have to completely redo my booth design.

Planning a booth for an upscale indoor retail show is much harder than any other show for me. I always want to put out too many pieces which gives the appearance of "stuff" rather than "art". And I still do a lot of functional work. In fact my latest, best work is with the the boxes and what are boxes if not functional? "Art" and "functional" do not usually play well together in many people's minds. What I find most interesting is that people want to pay more for things they can't use. So if I make a 16" fused disc and stick it in a stand it will sell for more than it will if I slump it into a bowl. It is the same beautiful glass that can be displayed as art, but it is worth more if I put less work into it... Go figure

But invariably when I have a more minimalist look I will get a regular patron who starts talking about a piece he wants and I have just the right piece... stored. Stored can be in plastic totes under the table or on shelving behind a drapery, but wherever it is, it is inconvenient and often entails me getting down on the floor and rummaging around on my hands and knees with my head under a table. Not exactly a professional look. So this time I want to design accessible, unobtrusive, efficient storage for extra pieces and packaging materials.

And then there is the whole lighting dilemma. I think I am going to bite the bullet and order pipe systems (for pipe and drape displays) as the basis for my lighting and stands for my hanging panels. I thought about getting the colored pipes, but I think I will go for a more durable, less expensive style in silver. My track lighting can be attached to the pipes with zip ties and I can drape the red organza around the pipes to hide them. I am also still futzing around with battery-operated lightboxes for the pedestal shelves. This ought to be a no-brainer, but I am having more trouble than I thought I would finding the fluorescents (can't be halogen--to hot).

Finally I think I will have a four-ft. banner made like the one in the header on this post but without the "glass incarnate". I just wish I could have red carpet in my booth. It would be the best little whorehouse look in Illinois! (Bordellos R Us) What can I say, I like red.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Back to Real Life?

Coffee in the Alaska skyline mug, "Home" by Marc Broussard on iTunes (I sense the advent of a rut). Did less yesterday than I would have liked. Spent a lot of time catching up on the current happenings at warmglass.com including some back and forthing with Brock on reprehensible vis a vis artists and finally just gave up. Sometimes the effort to communicate an idea other than the obvious black and white one is just too difficult (as evinced by Bert's response). I'm not going to link the thread. Any warmglasser can find it in art & philosophy under 'are you an artist...'.

It feels weird not to have to write something. I have the project re-do write-ups, and I really do need to do them, but I am having trouble jump starting. And with the help of all my online time yesterday I didn't get the illustrations and templates (my sketches for the illustrator) done. I was also supposed to have my ad copy and pics to the Crafts report yesterday (OOPS!). Gotta do that right after this post. My order for Hoy's went by the wayside too, and it includes an order for another mold from them for a book project re-do. *sigh* Not to whine unduly, but I feel a bit flat. Big build up culminating in the accomplishment of a serious goal and then... Lots of little piddly stuff to do, but most of it doesn't feel worth the effort. SLAP! Snap out of it! That's better.

Okay, Today I'll finish the illo's and ship them off (and take pics of all the projects for my line editor), pack and ship the last three gallery orders from the July BMAC, do a piece list for the Glass show at Taylor Kinzel on 11/11, and schedule the firings (and get a sitter for J--she is having a sleepover that night with Grace for her birthday so I don't want to overload her with a playdate too and Dave will be in Vegas as the best man for a bachelor party...).

I also need to start working on the One of a Kind Show inventory (piece list, firing schedule)--including the new boxes and ovals. I've posted pics of both before, but I am so jazzed by them I am doing it again! I am going to miter the corners on the next boxes so they look less pieced. Since they are one solid fused piece of glass (fired to 1500 degrees as a box) I want the edges to look like it as well as feel like it.

Finally I need to get an update on the molds I am having made for the ovals and other coulee pieces, and get the specs together for the free-standing lighting frame so I can have it built. I need to learn to weld. I really want to learn to weld! Yeah, and that's a whole 'nother set of tools I don't have room for in the studio. Now to glass work!

Oh yes, and there will be a big fuse load today and maybe a project redo in the medium kiln.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

And the Book is...

Done! Well, it's been written once anyway. Now let the rewrites begin! Oh yes, and a caveat, all but the introduction is written. I am savoring and saving the introduction until I see what the book turns out to be. It's hard to introduce something that isn't finished.

Coffee in the Barcelona skyline mug, "Let Me Leave" by Marc Broussard on iTunes, (ready?) 34,939 (original) words written. There have been subsequent edits and I didn't count them. Now if you do the math at 400-500 words per page this is a really tiny book! (87 pages is just not much) But remember, it's supposed to be eye candy, not a text book. I am actually over in page count right now and I am expecting my editor to come down hard today. I have planned 60 photos from other artists in the gallery, there are another 87 demo and how-to photos, 20 full-page beauty shots, 6 illustrations and 6 template pages. Oh yes, and an index, front matter, yah de yah.

So why, if the book is DONE (can I say it again? revel just a little in a blissful moment of DONENESS?) did I get up this morning at 6:30 am? What can I say, I am ruled by the sun. The clock springs back, I spring up. What did I do? Well, I harassed an online vendor about the decided lack of new coffee maker at our residence. I pinged iTunes about a double-charge for the Marc Broussard album I gifted to my in-laws. I began this post! Then I got J up and off to school (not tough, it's pajama day for Halloween and I french-braided her hair last night so all I had to do was supervise ablutions, feed her, see her shod and shivvy her out the door).

Now it's 8:20 and it's time to be a glass artist again. Going to get the slump load in early this morning and start on the illustrations, templates, and photographs for the line editor (she wants to see pics of all the projects before she edits the text... makes sense to me). I also need to contact the publisher and find out if they really want a hard copy of the book sent to them, and if so, what they want in it as we are already editing and everything is fluid..

Got email from Bullseye yesterday. They are soliciting photos of architectural installations for their new catalog coming out in March 2007. I have the perfect project, but I don't have any good photos of it and I don't have time to drive up to Marshall NC to get them. A couple of years ago I did 32 glass bricks for an old building renovation. They are 2-1/2 X 2-1/2 X 6 and solid glass. They go longways through the building so the light from outside comes through them on the inside. You can see the light and the bright colors from the picture, but you don't get that they jut into the room a bit on the inside and provide three-dimensional interest too. I think it would be a great photo for the catalog, but I don't really have a whole day to spend driving up to get the photo. Maybe I can hire a photographer to take the pics for me and send them to me... I need to pursue this possibility. Yet another iron in the fire for 2007!

Boxes. I am still obsessed with boxes. Especially now that I got the new lap grinder diamond discs from Centre de Verre and tried them out yesterday. Hoo boy. I'd forgotten what a new disc feels like. I got 60, 100 and 180 grit so I am really ready to grind. And I figured last night that I *might* be able to do 32 boxes in one firing in the big kiln. If I can do 32 at a time it makes them more saleable as I can more easily justify tying up the kiln for 32 for three days than I can for 1 or 3 or even 8. However I am going to be smart and I'm not going to do 32 the first time. If they all failed it would be a disaster. But I am going to do 8. Eight boxes the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow I will fuse the glass for them. Oh d*mn. I hope I have enough fiber paper for them. I still haven't ordered from Hoy's. *sigh* today. More administrivia, less glass.

Now more glass, less writing. To the Kiln and Beyond!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Three Pages...

Coffee in the Montreal skyline mug, "Home" by Marc Broussard on iTunes (Wow, can I just say, WOW!), three pages left to write in the book--the troubleshooting section--and I am DONE... with the complete first draft. I have already been asked for several edits (including the rewrites of all the projects they want re-done), but edits are far and away easier than writing from scratch. Dave asked me last night how much I had left and when I told him three pages he was just shocked. I don't know what he thought, but clearly he thought me much further behind than I am.

Today (obviously) I write. I also do a slump load. Beyond that, I don't know. Writing really gets priority. I can tell I'm in the home stretch as yesterday I wrote the dedications and acknowledgments page. I can't imagine anything making me feel more done than that. Of course it will be tweaked: The people from the art department at the publisher will get a nod if they do a good job (and I expect they will) as will my editor if she can improve the book while not making my life hell...

Now before I get too complacent here on my laurels I had best heft myself off and lumber away to write!

Sunday, October 29, 2006

My Favorite Day of the Year!

No coffee, no music, the finishing section of the book mostly finished yesterday (about one more page written). I got up this morning at O Dark Thirty (that would be 5:30) not to write--even though the manuscript for my book is due at the publisher Wednesday and it is not finished--but to futz around again with my mother's airline ticket.

The saga began yesterday when she tried to change her airline ticket from Atlanta to Missoula on December 5 to December 14 and couldn't. So I took over for her since she was making the change in order to come to Chicago to help me at the One of a Kind Show. I was on the phone with various people at cheap tickets for over an hour and never did get it changed. CheapTickets.com is cheap in service as well as in name. Today I finally go to someone who told me they couldn't change it because even though I don't want to make a change to the originating flight on November 7, they can't make a change to it,a nd because they can't make a change to it, they can't make a change to the return segment either. Are you confused yet? So she had to release the ticket to the airline and let me make the change with them. Caloo Calay! I called Delta, they changed the ticket and it cost less than it would have to change through Cheap Tickets.

It wasn't the best way to start my day, but at least the time I spent on it was free because today is my favorite day of the year. Today has 25 hours! I have a whole extra hour to do whatever I want today, and never have I needed it more. I laready fired two kiln loads and did the prep on another two. I haven't done any writing yet (and it's 3:40 already), but I will get a little done before dinner just as soon as I finish this post. Which I guess is now!

Saturday, October 28, 2006

6213 minutes Till the Manuscript is Due

Coffee, fittingly, in the Chicago skyline mug this morning, "Walking on a Wire" by Lowen & Navarro on iTunes, no words written yesterday. I think I had too much to drink yesterday. Too much coffee that is. Excess caffeine is the only reason I can think of that I called Kathleen Hogan of the One of a Kind Show in Chicago and asked if I could increase my booth size at the last minute and took on a 10 X 20 double corner booth with two pillars in the front corners and only one wall in the back. Oh yes, and it's on the "new" side of the floor. At least, from what I have heard, it is over by the "Martini Lounge". Yes, caffeine is the ONLY likely explanation.

I lay awake from 1:30 am to 4:30 am designing the booth in my head from display to lighting, only interrupted by Jessie climbing in with us at 4:00 and Dave's occasional restless murmurings. I think I have come up with a freestanding support system for my track lights and a battery-powered lightbox design for the lower shelf of my pedestals. Hoo boy, and that's all the time I have to spend on the booth (except for making notes this morning on all my ideas) because THE MANUSCRIPT IS DUE TO THE PUBLISHER IN 4 DAYS 8 HOURS SIX MINUTES AND 36 SECONDS. (I keep a timer running on my desktop for it... as if I don't have enough stress.)

I think I will be okay. I know I will for the writing part, but I also need to draw all the illustrations, scan them in, print out a copy of everything and snail mail it in. Just the scanning printing and mailing will probably take all day Wednesday, and it's also a big shipping day (three galleries orders scheduled to go out). That leaves today, tomorrow and Monday for writing, and Tuesday for illustrations. All the big kiln loads are slumps and once I get the 3.5 X 8 rectangular plates cut and ground from the fuse, prep time will be very little. Breathe, just breathe.

Yesterday's firings were a mixed bag. I made another frit wafer like the one in the original draped vase. I see such potential in this technique for sculptural pieces. The wafer is so delicate I want to pair it with something sturdy like cast blocks, but the whole piece also needs to be able to be packed and moved without breaking. Of course, this isn't something I have time to think about today either--in spite of the fact I have one show in two weeks and the One of a Kind Show is in a virtual four weeks away. The coulee I did did not turn out so well--too many reactive glasses in the same piece made it dark and muddy. And 4-1/2 lbs is not enough to get a 12-inch square. I either need to weight the corners more heavily or use more glass. Probably the former. The final fuse of gallery pieces looks to be flawless, as expected. Some things I can do (thanks to the computer on the kiln) in my sleep.

CRRAAAACCKK!! Gulp. Time's a wasting. Off to write.

Friday, October 27, 2006

The Website Rears It's Ugly Head...

... Not that it's an ugly website--far from it. But more on that in a minute. Coffee in the New York skyline mug this am, "Everything in its Own Time" by the Indigo Girls on iTunes, 519 words written during my pedicure yesterday!!!! Yesterday was a most impressive day. I managed to order packing supplies online from ULine, get the dogs to the groomer, get a pedicure (and write 519 words--or a page and a half--of the three pages on finishing techniques), grab a sandwich to go from the pastry shop next to the nail spa, drive up to ULine and pick up my order, drive home, unload the car, put the seats back in, put in two kiln loads (one slump one bubble-fix), take J to gymnastics (and write another paragraph there), and end with picking up the dogs from the groomer. Whew!

This morning I got an inquiry from a couple in Texas building a house who are interested in a backsplash. I might also be able to interest them in a sink--who knows. And speaking of sinks... I just took the 8-inch test tile for the sink for the couple in Wisconsin out of the kiln. It is 1/2-inch thick and I think it is *stunning* (shown at top right). I may have to make a sink like this for the bathroom on the ground floor of our house in turquoise, French vanilla, amber and maybe a hint of cobalt. Though I've got to say I am really liking the way the coral/salmon opal and transparent have worked in the two pieces I have done like this so far. Got to get the molds ordered!

Today my new assistant (I still thrill to those words!) is coming over to grind the rest of the circles. I am doing the last big fuse load in the big kiln till next Tuesday (every day between now and then in slumping, slumping, slumping), I am going to do a box in the little kiln (period. no questions. just do it.), and I should do a rake for the new wavy candle sconce project for the book. I also have to make a mold for it (can you say fiber blanket, rigidizer and soup cans?) and get my Hoy's order in. And I thought yesterday was a big day. Better get to it!

P.S.--Happy Birthday Mom!

Thursday, October 26, 2006

I'm a Square

No coffee, no music--just the sound of J's whuffling breath as she sleeps in the room next door, and nothing written either. But I did a square melt. I wanted to run a couple of tests. First I wanted to see if I could force a melt, excuse me, coulee (pronounced coo-lay) into a cornered shape. The answer is yes. It didn't hurt that I used 3 lbs of glass for an 8-inch square (I was doing a test for the sink). It is still too hot to take out yet, but I have High Hopes (and I can sing it for you if you would like). Second, I wanted to see how the colors I picked for the sink work together. Maybe it's not too hot after all... let's go see if I can get a picture... nope. Tomorrow.

The sky begins to lighten. Where does the early morning go now? I have been up since 5:30 and haven't done anything but putz. At least I have coffee now (thanks to Dave--he not only made it he brought me a cup) and music--nice, soothing George Winston. Today a run to ULine to pick up packing materials, a slump load, and A BOX (really, really, really this time). Oh yes, and the dogs to the groomer (ever tried to bathe a hydrophobic 130 lb, 3 ft tall *at the shoulders* dog? Don't try this at home), J to gymnastics (and writing for me there), and... since Jodi got to get one... A PEDICURE! (And writing during the pedicure. It almost makes it work.)

Finally I have to begin making some phone calls. Why can't people just pay on time? WHY do I have to call and say, "Look, I gave you 30 days after I shipped your glass to pay me, and you STILL didn't get a check to me on time. What's THAT all about?" I got a check from one place Saturday--on the 30th day exactly--and it was $800 short. Another that was due Monday--for only $150, you'd think they could manage that--hasn't come yet. *sigh* this may be one of the first positions I hire out. I'll get a guy named Vinnie...

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

T- One Week!

Coffee was hours ago in the Washington DC mug, "True Companion" by Marc Cohn on iTunes, nothing new written, and one week to go till the manuscript due date. And yet there are other things which go on in life and take time. I just got back from a morning orientation at the local Waldorf School. It was very interesting and well worth the time. Now back to glass (after a little leftover Nancy's deep dish pizza and a post).

I got one fuse load in yesterday--almost all Pop Art. Boy do those take a lot of extra time! I got up this morning at 5:30 and putzed around with sink dimensions, options and pricing and got that email off to the clients before heading off the school at 8:30. Got a lovely compliment from a woman in Iowa today. Sadly the internet is too anonymous sometimes so I cannot refer to her by name, but I appreciate the sentiment anyway (thank you Smasty!). We glass people are everywhere.

Time to update the firing schedule (I can here Bill snorting into his beverage as I type). Though it might seem like I spend an inordinate amount of time planning what I am going to do as opposed to just doing, I have so many balls in the air right now that if I don't plan I will find myself standing in the middle of a trail going "Where am I and what is this handbasket doing here?".

Today another fuse (or maybe a slump), a box (PLEASE let there be time today!) and a melt--which I have decided to call my Coulee de Verre pieces (there is a little accent slanting off to the right on the top of the first "e", just couldn't make it happen in Blogger). And a supplies order to ULine, one to Ed Hoy's, and more work on the Bullseye one. Oh yes, and a deposit (yea! Something coming in as opposed to everything just going out!). Finally a mold order and a stainless steel shelf order. I am going to try 18 gauge stainless as a shelf material because I can get one piece that is big enough (unlike mullite, vermiculite and ceramic fiber board). Anyone have experience with steel as a shelf (supported on other shelves, of course--probably ceramic fiber ones)?

Writing you say? Writing is for tomorrow (tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you're always a day away!).

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Single Digit Days Till the Manuscript is Due!

Coffee in the Atlanta mug, “Broken Moon” by Lowen and Navarro on iTunes, finished the kilnforming section of the basics and emailed it in yesterday (yea!). Today Kat joins me in the studio. We haven’t defined the parameters of the arrangement yet, but she wants to learn, she is eager to work, and I like her. So off we go! Today is a full on studio day with three fuse loads going into the kilns. I don’t know exactly what yet, but I am going to cram them to the gunwales and fire away (wheee!). Three orders to ship by 11/1, have started one of them. Book to finish by 11/1, have the Finishing and Troubleshooting sections, the Introduction, Acknowledgements and Dedication to write.

Got a call yesterday from a client in Wisconsin who bought dinnerware last year, wants to add a couple more pieces to the set, and also would like two bathroom sinks. I think I would like to do them in the same style as Scrumptious Pink but in pale green (opal and cathedral), amber, a bit of sienna, French vanilla, a hint of salmon/coral transparent and opal, and clear. Thinking about having molds made for my melts so I can really shape them. Sending off the specs to a friend today to see if he can do them.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Scrumptious Pink 2

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "Angeline" by James McMurtry on iTunes, 1731 words written yesterday and I think it was some of my best. I have finally (in the home stretch) loosened up and relaxed into humorous writing. Speaking of humorous... J picked her own clothes and shoes (as usual) this morning.

Today's haut couture includes a sleeveless dress with a stiff pink organza skirt and a stretch black velvet top and bolero jacket. She teamed it with the pink cowboy boots. THIS is truly scrumptious pink! (And I LOVE Target--nothing she is wearing was even $20 and both dress and boots are very well-made.)

What does this have to do with Glass Incarnate? This is the start of my day everyday: get her up, get her through her ablutions and dressed, hand her breakfast (for the car) and put two gummy bear vitamins in her mouth. Then send her out the door with her Dad and off to work! I was tickling her this morning to get her moving (I am a mean mother--I get it from MY mother.) and when I said I loved her belly button she covered it and said, "You can love my bellybutton, but you can't touch my bellybutton." in just the intonation Janeane Garofalo used in The Truth About Cats and Dogs when she said "You can love your pets, just don't LOVE your pets...)

Today I have a potential helper-in-the-studio dropping by to meet me. She is the wife of a business associate/friend and I hope it works out. I have another gazillion circles to grind, wash and dry and I am NOT looking forward to it! I am also going to finish the kilnforming section of the book on target for pages and more or less on schedule (I had it scheduled for today, the publisher had it scheduled for last Thursday). And I need to unload the car (all the projects from the trip to the publisher are still in it) and photograph all the done projects so my new editor can see what the heck I'm talking about in the project instructions.

Kiln loads are another slump in the big and should include something in each of the other two--book project and box in a perfect world... or maybe I'll do a fuse in the big one. I have three fuses to do this week to get out the last orders from the July Buyer's Market which are scheduled to ship a week from tomorrow. And I really do need to get going on project re-dos and pieces for the upcoming glass show at Taylor Kinzel in November. Now I'm getting anxious. Blogging usually relieves anxiety. Putting everything down here lets me see that it really is manageable. But this morning it's like I was too complacent and putting it all out shows me how FRACKING BEHIND I AM. And speaking of fracking, the satellite dish went out Friday night RIGHT BEFORE Dr. Who and Battlestar Galactica. The ONLY two shows we had to watch all week (the World Series has preempted House, Standoff and Bones.... Damn Fox) and nope, DENIED! Service call this morning.

So enough writing here. Off to the studio to reconnoiter and get some loads in, and then finish the kilnforming chapter.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Scrumptious Pink

I am going to go get coffee before starting this--brb. Well that took longer than expected! I got coffee (in the Atlanta skyine mug), had breakfast with my happy family (mini donuts, yum), and put in two kiln loads. Now to finish this post and then shower and write the rest of the day.

At right is the new project for the book which will replace the previous screen melt piece. Isn't it scrummy? (Short for scrumptious, not an extra letter for crummy...) I put in little pics today because I don't have much to say and have three photos to squeeze in. At left is the detail from the same piece, which I think I will call "Scrumptious Pink".

Finally, the last pic is a shot of the load I did in the big kiln yesterday and took out this morning. This morning I took all these pieces out, reloaded others in to slump, washed half of these and did a fuse load of eight in the medium kiln. (I can see Jodi wanting to take a nap already ;-). And firing really is the littlest task of the day. Now for Cleanliness, which is next to Godliness, and quite fitting for a Sunday!

Bill posted in a comment earlier today that he was surprised I planned to write 1600 words on Thursday. It seemed quite logical to me. I have 6400 words slotted for this section. They made me do a page (and so by extension a word) count for every part of the book. So since I have 16 pages due and (at that time) had four days to complete it, I scheduled 1600 words for that day. Now I have under one day to finish that section, and 3354 words written (about 3000 left to write today). I am not scared by this number. But I AM scared: I have written about 1/3 of the materials and used over half the words. I am heading for trouble.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Got an Editor!

No coffee yet--though I heard the coffee maker chime, music is from Dave's birthday present from Stuart & Andrea--"Animusic" a computer animation video album on dvd, and the current page count in kilnforming is six out of a planned 16. There are coincidentally 16 subtopics and I am on number six. Slumped yesterday instead of fused. I am so tired of Bullseye opal glasses! If I use thinfire I get hazing on the bottom--even with venting. The kilnwash I tried a couple of days ago stuck and I had to use diamond hand pads to clean it off--and even that was only marginally successful. Yesterday did have one rainbow: I slumped the first screen melt oval and it is gorgeous! I took a picture, but it may be too dark to really get a good feel for it.

Today, more writing, a fuse load in the big kiln and a project redo in the medium kiln. Also need to redo the fiber blanket mold for the raked candle sconce. Sometime this weekend I need to take pictures of all the projects and send them to my NEW EDITOR! Yep, that's right, I finally got my line editor assigned and actually talked to her. I was very happy at the end of our conversation and think we are going to get along just fine. Talking to her I very much got the feeling of "equals". I didn't feel like just another disposable author, lower than the lowliest administrative assistant or a gopher whose time is worth less than everyone else's. This is a nice change.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Burning Down the House

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, “A Storm is Coming” from the Lord of the Rings on iTunes, 100 or so words written yesterday--far short of the scheduled 1600. And yet it was still a good and productive day and I am satisfied with the output.

I didn’t get a pedicure because the laptop battery was dead and I wasn't going to sit there without being able to write. And it’s just as well I didn't as it took most of the day to get the fuse load in (I hate, hate, hate the little Pop Art pieces!) and the Art Institute order signed, packed and shipped. Today I invoice! I also narrowly missed burning down the house last night. *sigh* I have got to get a multi-hour timer that I can wear around, and I have to do it today.

Yesterday I left the kiln lid open an inch until the kiln was at 1200 degrees (and had been there on full power for some time). I have to vent the kiln because of the reaction between the binder in the thinfire and the Bullseye opal glass and I forgot that it was vented until 9:45 pm last night--I should have closed the lid at 5:30. The kiln is in the garage and the garage door was closed so it was getting mighty warm in there before I closed the kiln. Got another load like that to do today and I will set the timer on the stove and work in the breakfast room till it goes off.

Now off to write. Pics later.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

T-13

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Cloudy This Morning" by George Winston on iTunes, 1771 words (about 4 pages out of a planned 16) written in the kilnforming section of the book. I'm late posting this morning, but I already have a kiln load in so nyah, nyah. Yesterday when I looked at the oval melt I did the day before I decided it was way to dark for the book--the coral almost all reacted with the French vanilla so it is pretty black. So instead of doing the bubble-fix fuse on it yesterday, I did another melt. It is *gorgeous* and lighter colored (coral tint, clear, a bit of coral opal, a bit of coral, apricot opal, and a smidge of French vanilla for black lines and interest). I ground the edges and both ovals are now in Kiln #2 for a bubble fix.

Today is an errand day--Thursday usually is--with a leg wax for me and gymnastics for the J. I may even squeeze in a pedicure (isn't my life tough?). I can justify the pedicure as I will take my laptop to it (and to gymnastics) and sit and write the whole time--no loss of writing time and I will be able to write at least another four pages. Besides writing I need to ship a load to the Art Institute and put in another large fuse load of Pop Art pieces in the big kiln. I also need to start putting together another order for Bullseye and one for Ed Hoy's (my other wholesale supplier in Chicago). I am about out of thinfire and fiber paper, and thanks to the additional orders from the Art Institute I am also low on some of my frit colors. Finally, I need to buy enough stands for the 2-D panel pieces for the show I have at Taylor Kinzel in November and the One of a Kind Show in Chicago.

News from the publisher on the whole where-are-we-going-to-photograph-the-projects issue is pretty good. They are letting it drop until there is an art director assigned to my book. I am not sure why they felt they had to get my projects up there asap if there isn't even an art director assigned to work on them yet, but so be it. Other news from them is not so good. Ever since the beginning of this project the editor has been giving me guidelines for number of words and photos per page. I have been following them. In fact, in the beginning I even needed to pad my estimates so that I could show enough words to fill the book.

Yesterday I got a n updated copy of the page count spreadsheet they initially gave me to work from. It has a new column called 'rounded page count' (in addition to the 'raw page count' already there). The raw page count says the book is estimated at a total page count of 124.75 pages. I am shooting for 144 so so far, so good. However the rounded page count shows me at 156.5 pages--or already 12 pages over. I would think they have been doing this long enough that the page-planning documents they provide their authors to track their work would have better than a 25% margin of error... but maybe I would be mistaken. Not sure what they would like me to do about it now so I am going to just keep on writing.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A New Technique... Again!

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, “Nighttime in the Switching Yard” by Warren Zevon sliding into “Wild Man” by the J. Geils Band on iTunes (Blogger is sloooow loading this morning!), nothing written yesterday except a letter to the editor. I was right that my saying “no” was not enough to deter them from pushing me to get all my projects back to them for photography. The reply to my email stating the projects could not be shipped and I do not have the time in my schedule to make another trip up to them was met with a genteel invoking of the “C” word. Contract, doncha know. I know. I know the word intimately as I negotiated it for several months.

I delicately replied that, no, it didn't state in my contract that I had to deliver anything to them other than the manuscript, and I offered a couple of other options including putting their art director up here for a day or so. It's never a good sign when the "C" word is invoked. It doesn't necessarily mean everything has gone to hell in a hand basket, but it says you are on that road and it has a slippery slope (any more metaphor thingies I can mangle?). I am expecting a phone call today since the email didn't elicit the desired response.

In the meantime... Success! I tried a shaped screen melt and it worked perfectly! I had to charge the kiln once (add more scrap glass to the piece when it is at process temps) and extend the soak a bit, but I should be able to tell the gentle reader how to do it without a charge by the final weight of the piece. I guessed on the initial fill from the weight of another piece that shape, but I knew it was apples and oranges and I might run short a bit because melts are always a bit thicker than regular two-thickness fuses and will weighout higher

Today has a slump load scheduled in the big kiln and a surface fix of the melt in the medium kiln. Tomorrow I will slump it and I'll post a picture on Friday. Today is also a writing day. Today I begin for real the monumental task of writing the kilnforming section of the basics. Shelf Prep R Us. Even now I am already in the sky chair on the front porch, but I may have to move inside. Even though it is the perfect temperature out here to sit, it has rained without drying out for the past three days and it smells a bit like the boat house at the lake... Eeuw. Canvas must.

To the Keyboard and Beyond!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

A Little Blood in Every Piece (and on the Keyboard Too)

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, "Corpus Christi Carol" by Jeff Buckley on iTunes, nothing new written. So yesterday, lots of blood. I hate the Pop Art pieces. It is inevitable if you have to individually wash, rinse and dry 240 newly cut rectangles of glass that you will cut yourself. Multiple times. The last time was deep enough for stitches, but placed so that I could just close the flap back up and bandage it tightly together and it will heal fine. Didn't even have to use any butterflies. (Is it "butterflys" when referring to the closures?). This morning I opened up one of the cuts while taking out the studio trash hence the blood on the keyboard. Luckily it's on my thumb so as long as I blot it before it drips...

I am striving for sanguine today. You might think it funny after yesterday, but a little cheerful optimism wouldn't go amiss right now. I ended the day yesterday with a note from the editor. (As opposed to "my" editor with whom I have as yet had no dealings. I am not really sure she exists as she blew me off entirely last Friday when I was at the publisher's. Apparently she didn't even come in to work that day.) She wanted to know when the projects will be all done so they can do the beauty shots for the book up there at the publisher's... (beauty shots are the full page pictures of each project). Hello? We have had this conversation already. 1) I can't travel anymore this year. I am booked *solid* through December 12 already and I expect some stuff to still come in. 2) I can't ship the projects, some of them are just too fragile and even for those that I wouldn't normally expect to break, the cost would be too high if they did. 3) This is my book and I want to be there for the photography providing input as appropriate.

So I wrote back points 1 and 2 along with "we can just do them here with the rest of the photography". As far as Dave is concerned that's it, it's over and done now, that's the way it will be. I am not so... sanguine. I have a feeling it's just beginning and I am going to get bullied into another herculean effort, which will really piss off my husband who is the support behind all effort at this point. Borrowing trouble? Maybe.

In the meantime, I need to do a screen melt today and fuse (really, really) the last Art Institute and first back-up Uncommon Goods load I have not done for the past two days. I think part of the reason I have been dragging on doing this fuse is that it is speculative (and I am having deja vu... have I written that already?). I am making 20 platter and plates sets in case UG orders them against their second PO. There is no assurance that they will need them and that I won't get stuck with them. I know, someone will eventually want them and it will be nice to have them already done, but you don't spend the margin at the edges of life force on maybe.

And it's about time for some of the money for all this effort to come rolling in. The first Net 30 payment is due Friday with three more due by Monday, 14 in all due by November 9. Now I feel more sanguine. The thought of money coming in always makes me cheerful.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Sweet T-16

Coffee in the Washington DC mug, no music, nothing new written. I ended up taking Saturday completely off. I blogged, I napped, I lazed, I read to my child, I cuddled with my spouse. Some days you just need to recharge. So that left yesterday pretty full, work not going away and all. Yesterday I washed and sorted all the circles by size and stowed them. Then I cut 212 rectangles for the Pop Art platters and plates, and unpacked a case of glass from Bullseye (the rest of my order from last month). I was quite dismayed to find I made a mistake on the order and got two sheets of cobalt blue instead of two sheets of sky blue. Oops. I still have two sheets so I can do 40 more Pop Art sets with stock on hand if I have to.

Today I have Ikebana at 9:30 and then I get to finish cutting rectangles (21 to go) and wash and dry them all. Today's big kiln load is the last five platters for the Art Institute and as many opal Pop Arts as I can get in. I am tired of having to deal with the haze from the Thinfire on the opals--even venting to 1000 degrees doesn't eliminate it entirely--so I am going to fuse all the Pop Art pieces on kiln-washed mullite shelves. We'll see how this goes.

I would like to do loads in the medium and small kilns too. I *should* be redoing a project every day to get them done. For the most part the changes are small, but the pieces have to be redone entirely anyway.
  • They want the necklace in amber irid instead of teal irid.
  • The blue lace bowl (which was originally proposed as a ceiling fixture or a a lamp but done as a bowl because they wanted it smaller) is being redone as a ceiling fixture (and, of course, larger...).
  • The raked candle sconce mask is going to be a long horizontal wave piece instead of a tall half-circle--and no face (not a mask). Got to remake the fiberblanket mold for this one too so had better get on it--it takes a long time to dry.
  • The harlequin black and black irid candle trays on lava cloth are going to be coral cathedral and either clear, black or amber and black streamer in clear.
  • The paperweight will be a dragonfly instead of sea creatures and will have clear irid or dichro in it.
  • And finally, the S-curve screen melt will be an oval screen melt. I want to do as little cutting as possible on the melted piece so I am going to try to come up with a creative way of damming the glass into an oval as it melts.
And then there is the remaining writing... I still have the kilnforming, finishing and troubleshooting sections to do as well as the complete re-write of the screen melt project and the updating of the other changed projects. But today is not a writing day. Tomorrow will be for writing (and slumping). Wednesday will be for fusing, shipping and writing. Thursday I will have to drive up to ULine and get a large order of shipping supplies... and fuse. Friday, Saturday and Sunday: writing and fusing. The week looms. I will be glad when the book and the catalog (repetitive) orders are done.