Is It Only Tuesday?

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Joy" played by George Winston on iTunes. I am filled with joy this morning--though not for anything New Orleans oriented. That choice was incidental. Dave worked until 10:30 at CNN last night--got to love those 13+ hour days--so he doesn't have to go in right away this morning. He is dropping the Sprout off at school and then home to code for awhile. I am looking forward to a little time together, just us and our laptops. And tonight my Mom gets in from Montana for a month-long visit! Joy, indeed.

I should probably run over to the studio and turn the heat on before Becky gets there. It was really cold in there yesterday. I had to take a break in the afternoon to come home and treadmill just so I could warm up and wake up. At least I remembered to get the orchids in yesterday (it's 43 degrees out there again this morning!).

Today, firing, shipping, and unpacking glass--all the things I didn't get done yesterday. Becky gets to sort the last of the student projects into their boxes so I can deliver them to the school this afternoon. I am sure they are anxiously waiting for them.

Stacy harangued me (again!) about not posting pics from the fieldtrip, but my house is so clean I can't find the gizmo I need to transfer the files from the camera to the computer. Maybe tomorrow. :-)

Monday Morning You Sure Look Fine

Coffee in the Alaska skyline mug ('cause to my wimpy now-southern self it feels that cold this morning), "A Long December" by Counting Crows (to continue the frigid theme) on iTunes. Last night I hauled the big black sweater (knit for me by my Father-in-Law) out of the depths of the closet and cuddled up in it. This morning I resisted turning the heat on to take the chill off (it was 62 degrees in the house) and am buried again in the sweater with a chenille throw over my legs and feet. I am reminded of my time in Chicago when the temps would dip in October and the powers that be wouldn't turn the heat on in the big buildings because there would be a few more days of Indian summer heat before winter settled in for good and they couldn't switch easily back and forth between heat and air conditioning (or they just wanted to save on utilities). Outside it's 41 degrees. I hope my orchids didn't die. I hadn't realized it would get so cold so soon (it's been in the 70's and will be 74 again tomorrow). Got to bring them in this week.

I never got around to posting about the field trip over the weekend--too busy at home. I didn't treadmill either, but I should have carried a pedometer yesterday as I did nothing but walk all day. While D was at CNN (no days off till the election has gasped its last), J and I cleaned and straightened the front porch, the front hall (there has been an old kitchen table in it for the past several weeks and you know how much stuff I can put on an empty flat surface...), the breakfast room, the kitchen, the living room, and the dining room. Unsurprisingly it took all day. The breakfast room has been my pseudo office for a couple of years, and I found bills and other papers from its inauguration as I cleaned up. I banished them all to the real office--and hope to get that great snarling pile of unusable room straightened out next weekend.

I did go over to the studio a couple of times over the weekend to fire and move stuff to there from the house. It, too, is clean, tidy, and spacious thanks to Becky, Dee, and Todd--even after the whirlwind that was 30 people-as-locusts! While we waited for pizza to be delivered Friday after the fieldtrippers had left, everyone put away all the materials--Becky is dangerously organized. Then we came over to our house and had lots of pizza and a couple of bottles of champagne. I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all--and we only needed a bandaid for one student (Todd went through three during clean-up, but the actual fieldtrip was safe).

Today, back to real life. There are 115 sheets of glass and 660 lbs of frit left to unpack and move into the studio. Before that, an article review, a firing, and ikebana, with another firing to follow. Tomorrow, more of the same. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives--too bad I never had the time or interest for soaps.

Almost Ready For Friday Fieldtrip

No beverage--just back from dinner where sauvignon blanc played a role though, the sound of the dryer for music. I was harangued (HARANGUED!) by Stacy for not posting earlier today, but, hey! I was busy! Today was the dress rehearsal for the 7th grade field trip in the studio tomorrow. Actually it was both the dress rehearsal AND the planning meeting... some of us aren't very good at doing things in advance. After J has gone to bed I will head back to the studio and put the example pieces we made today for tomorrow in a couple of kilns to fire. The fieldtrippers are going to do both tack and full fuse projects to observe the effects of time and temperature on the way glass melts and fuses.

For the concerned out there, I have eliminated the vitrigraph part of the program for the day. I figured that it was not a good idea to have 24 12-13 year olds playing around with molten glass on their first day in the studio when their parents haven't signed any release forms for them... I replaced it with painting--glassline paints and mica gum arabic mix. Should be exciting.

I wish it were still light outside as I would love to take and post a photo of the way Becky's friend Todd wire-wrapped my trashy treasures from the studio and hung them on the fence. It is so much more artistic a presentation than just using Ace Hardware plate hangers would have been. Todd is the one who was roped into presenting the painting sessions tomorrow.

So the fieldtrippers will be in the studio for 2-1/2 hours. I am going to do a half hour at the beginning of the visit on studio safety, an intro to kilnforming, a brief demo of cutting and making a Morceaux de Verre piece including a side-by-side of pre and post fired pieces, and I'll finish with a tour of the studio. I'll also make sure they know that my book is sold in the school shop, if they're interested in learning more ;-). Then the 24 will break up into four groups of six to through three 1/2 hour work sessions and lunch. Todd, as already mentioned, will lead the painting session. Dee is going to demonstrate combining strips, shards and circles together to fuse into open pieces (no base glass under them). Becky will show how to use base squares of clear irid to hold shards, stringer, frit and dichro chips either tack or full fused onto them. All the ornaments made will either have loops fused into them or be wire-wrapped after firing. I'll float from group to group and answer questions. All of the pieces made tomorrow by the fieldtrippers (four or five each) will be sold at the Waldorf School of Atlanta Holiday Market on November 15-16, come on down...

The glass arrived from Bullseye today, but there was no way we could get it unloaded with all the studio prep for tomorrow. I was all sanguine about leaving it out as the sky was blue as blue could be all day today, but I just saw it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Grr. Got to find the tarps to cover it tonight.

Dave is going to run buy a couple bottles of champagne for me now--I promised Dee, Becky and Todd that we'd have it at 1:30 tomorrow when the field trip ends. I may not post tomorrow, Stacy, but I'll get photos and a day-in-review up over the weekend.

Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Invisible Man" by Joe Jackson on iTunes. It's from the workout playlist--I am anticipating the day. Vacation's over and I'm almost awake enough for it. The glass might come today, it will probably come tomorrow. Dee will be in the studio tomorrow and Friday to help with the prep for the fieldtrip and fieldtrip itself. So will Becky, and I am hoping I can get a friend of Becky's and potential new assistant Todd (a wire-wrap artist) to help. If he can come help, I can add an extra dimension to the work the kids will do, and I'll be free to float from group to group.

I really need to sit down and plot out the flow of the two and a half hours they'll be there. Tour of the different areas of the studio, intro to fusing including examples of the different stages of fusing from tack to full and slumping, brief touch on the physics (COE, viscosity, surface tension, etc), cutting glass, demo of making a morceaux de verre piece ending with opening a kiln and taking out a finished morceaux de verre piece for comparison. Then break into groups and go through the stations: lunch (outside at the picnic table), vitrigraph, cutting, and assembling ornaments for me to fire after they're gone. Sounds about right, except that there's no way I can fit 24 12-13 year olds in the kiln room at the same time and even making it work in the cutting room is going to be tight. We'll work it out. And I need a bunch of tools too from cutters to wheeled nippers, bottles of glue. Yup. Need to do a step-by-step with Becky and Dee.

Talk about being back into the thick of it right away! No easing back in for me. I guess that's what yesterday was for, unfortunately it was also a little girl playdate at our house so my studio time was limited. Life choices. Glad I get to make them.

Becky won't be in till 10:30 today so I am going to head over to the studio now to get today's kiln loads prepped. I hate having to pull from my extra-wide sheets, but I have got to get pieces fired for orders.

A last note: I am physically, mentally, emotionally and every other way incapable of throwing out pieces that didn't turn out. I even have all the pieces that have broken at galleries, in shipping and at shows. But I can no longer have them cluttering up the floor or shelving in the studio. The pieces fall into three groups: finished work that doesn't fit my current commercial series or has a slight flaw in it, pieces that aren't/can't be finished or are broken and the glass is not re-usable, and broken pieces that can be reused in a melt of some kind. Yesterday Becky and I hit upon a genius solution for all of it. The slightly flawed/not my current work I'm going to sell at Jessie's school's holiday fair for bargain (and I mean *bargain*) prices. The unfinished/unusable pieces will be affixed to the fence in the back of the studio with plate hangars and nails or arranged on the ground in the front garden. I've already had one piece stolen from out there, but I don't mind--if someone finds it beautiful enough that they want to keep it, it's better than my throwing it out. The meltable scrap will all be consolidated into storage one bin. I look forward to having a lot more room to store actual production work by the end of the year!

And now back in the saddle...

Terrific Tuesday (Yawn)

No coffee yet--I eagerly listen to it brew, "Feel Good Time" by Pink on iTunes. Happy Anniversary to me! (and to Dave, of course) The perky music is beautifully juxtaposed with my languid, somnolent self. This five-day school break of Jessie's has really taken me out my regularly scheduled programming. Jessie's pre-teenager and my inner teenager both like to sleep late (and mine likes to go to bed early too). I find myself dozing in the filtered fall sunlight a lot--the only energetic adverb that can be applied to my activities of the past four days is "voracious" and it is only linked to reading on the Kindle. It's been a lovely little unplanned vacation. Today I really need to get back to the real world--glass to make, glass to ship, the schedule for a 7th grade field trip in the glass studio to plan.

My glass order from Bullseye is due this week and I lucked out and they were able to send me 120 sheets of clear irid. Glass ahoy! Time to go grab a mug of coffee... Ahh, Austin mug and sweet Italian cream coffeemate (one of my little perversions).

One last subject change before I head off to the studio to ease back into work: Inspired by Dave, Stacy and Becky I got back on the build-a-healthy-body wagon again last week. It wasn't a lot of fun--sometimes you get endorphins, sometimes you just get tired, last week was just tired for me. But I made it through the week and have added a new goal for this week: Increase my treadmill time by one minute every day. This tiny adjustment is very unlike me. I have always been a woman of big sweeping strokes and bold action ala "let's double the time this week!". I think the lack of endorphins generated from last week's workouts and my current extreme laziness enabled sanity to prevail. A minute is nothing, as I proved yesterday when I tried it out the time extension for the first time. And yet, at the end of a month I *will* have doubled my time. Small steps, big goals. I have this lavender dress...

Monday Off Day

Coffee in the New York skyline mug (it surrendered my spouse without a fight), the sound of the washing machine for music. I bask in the bosom of my family. D is working from home today after returning from the election dress rehearsal at CNN New York late last night, J is off for Columbus Day and a spare (tomorrow too). Even Becky the assistant is taking the day off to recuperate from the Oakhurst festival--her first outdoor art fair--on Saturday. I too, am going to take a lazy day. I may fire, I may ship, I may not do more than peek my head in the studio, we'll see.

My order from Bullseye should have shipped last Friday so I am anticipating glass soon--I used all 90 sheets I got at the end of August... whew. That's a lot of glass. In addition to 90 more sheets of clear irid I am also expecting over 500 lbs of frit with this shipment. That ought to keep me for awhile. Now it's time for raspberry danish.

Friday Finally

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, "Gone Again" by the Indigo Girls on iTunes. I did a playlist of all the songs in my library associated with "gone". Whah. My spouse is off to New York till Sunday. I miss him already--and his little car too. I should've driven him to the airport and kept the Mini for the weekend. Heck, I (we) should've gone with him! In 10 minutes I'm dropping J off at a playdate for the day. Sadly it looks like it won't be a sleepover, but then I don't know what I'd do if I were alone a day and a night. I can't remember the last time I was home with neither J nor D... Must have been before J was born so almost seven years. Weird. I spent over half of my adult life living alone, and now I can't even remember what it feels like.

But glass, you say. What about glass? Wednesday I took some of the clear irid scrap that I suspected to be contaminated with yellow and fired it to fuse temps in the little kiln. I suspected it because it looked like it might be a bit more yellow or off in some way from the rest of the scrap. I fired about 10 pieces--all identical pre-fire--and only one of them changed, but it struck to a bright yellow. The good news is that it was only one. The bad news is that it was only one. If all of them had struck I would feel more confident about my ability to spot the problem glass. But since I was only about 10% right, I have no way to tell which scrap (morceaux) might be a problem. Becky and I identified about 20-30 lbs of morceaux on Wednesday (up to six 5-lb jars) that could contain contaminated glass... What a massive headache. Bullseye wants me to fill out a standard form of what I did, how I combined the glass, the manufacturing dates and sheet numbers of the affected glass, ya de ya de ya. While I can see the value from their viewpoint, all it means from mine is wasting a lot more time on an expensive and time-consuming problem caused by someone else's mistake. I am not paid to do quality control. I understand their desire for some evidence that the glass was contaminated, but the data I have provided already--written up by my rep, not me--should be enough. The information requested on the form just irritates me.

Shaking it off. One of my galleries called yesterday about an order for 150-250 pieces for a client by Mid-November. On the one hand, I would love to have an order this size as the year slows down, on the other, it's a short amount of time in which to do that many fused and slumped pieces, and the client (understandably for an order that size) wants pricing closer to wholesale, and the gallery wants to make their normal cut, and I can't really go lower in my pricing... I feel a bit squeezed. Got to work it out today to see if it makes sense or if I should just walk away. This is a gallery with whom I have a really good relationship and I want to do it if I can, but I don't want to lose money. Bullseye has raised their glass prices 10%, my prices will not go up to compensate till after the first of the year, shipping has also skyrocketed this year, and I'm being asked to go even lower than my regular wholesale pricing.

Okay, I need to find a happy place! This week has been filled with gloomy posts. I am going to end with a ray of sunshine... I'll let you know when I find one.

Thursday, Things Looking Up?

Coffee in the Alaska skyline mug. "Someone To Lay Down Beside Me" by Karla Bonoff on iTunes. Dave heads to New York tomorrow for the dress rehearsal of election night at CNN over the weekend. J begins fall break at school tomorrow with no classes Friday through Tuesday. Good thing my firing schedule is light right now. One of her friends from school and her family are off to Bermuda for the break. I wish we were going--I need a beach.

Lost two more large pieces to the contaminated clear yesterday--the replacements for the first two ruined by it. And I was very careful when I laid them out to check for any suspicious looking chunks of clear. I did find a couple of pieces of scrap that have obvious yellow streaks in them (already made into morceaux and mixed in with all the rest) so I am solidly confident I have identified the problem to be yellow contaminating one or more of my clear sheets. As the current Bullseye yellow formula darkens on firing it can be difficult (if not impossible) to see it against the irid surface. It is also reactive with turquoise resulting in brown where they touch and ruining my pieces which are in shades of turquoise and blue--no browns allowed--ordered by a new gallery.

*sigh* Remaking again and wondering how many more pieces I am going to lose to the contaminated sheet(s). Considering I cut over 20 sheets of clear irid for my work last week I am lucky to be able to identify a range of production dates the glass could have been in, and there is no chance I can come up with a sheet number. I am, however, sending the scraps I did find with yellow in them to Bullseye. Of all the colors that could be accidentally mixed in with the clear I can't think of one that could be worse than the yellow.

In answer to the question posed by the title of the post: No.

Wednesday Woes

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, the sounds of the rain for music. I read the news on CNN.com before posting this morning. The big stories are the debate last night, and the fed and other central banks worldwide joining to enact emergency rate cuts. Scary times. Today's post, to the sound of the rain, is all about the economy. I hope I can feel good by the end of it...

I got a call from one of my galleries yesterday about a past due invoice. They were frank and honest about not being able to pay it till at least the end of the month because their credit line is frozen, their rent is past due and all sales have to go to pay rent before paying artists.

Another gallery called and asked to exchange two large pieces of work they've had for over a year for several smaller pieces so they can stock new work in hopes of holiday sales without having to come up with as much cash for them.

About a week ago I contacted the only non-local gallery where I have work on consignment (almost $1,000 of work) about terminating our relationship as they have only sold one small piece during the past year they have had my work. The owner asked if I would be willing to leave the work till the end of October as they have a big event in October and more work might sell. A comment she made during the conversation referencing them having sold "a few pieces" makes me begin to fear that the time between now and the end of October is less for them to sell more work than to use to come up with the money to cover the work they've already sold and not paid me for--sales that will be obvious when I get the remaining work back. Or worse.

Finally, the gallery that closed its doors in the spring still owing me money has not made any payments on the outstanding amount yet, nor have they communicated any intention to. I know that most people are as honest as they can be, and they do what they have to do to minimize the impact of their losses. I just wish that, for once, I would not be in the last of the bottom pile of people who get an exhausted shrug and a dazed apologetic look when the financial dust settles.

I am especially focused on finances right now as I just ordered over 700 lbs of sheet glass and 500 lbs of frit from Bullseye that I have to pay for at the end of the week. A net 30 manufacturing type business means you are at the mercy of payment cycles while having constant expenses. In order to float it all you either need to have a big bank account or a big line of credit--either of which remain basically constant with the fill-ups and drains in the cycle. I don't have a big bank account, and, unfortunately, I think my line of credit might also have been frozen by the bank even though they never said anything to me about it.

However, I end on if not an optimistic at least a resolute note. I don't have time to be Chicken Little. Yes, the sky may be falling, but running around and flapping my wings about it won't change anything at all. The best I can do is to keep on going, follow my long-term plan, be happy with stability if not growth, and be able to weather (hopefully small) losses. This is not the time for radical, panicked changes and hoarding. This is the time to stay the course with grace, determination, and calm.

PS--Thank you, thank you to Ren for the lovely artwork above. I hope it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission because, well... *blush*

Tuesday Trials

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug (Ren, get posting!), "Finest Worksong" by R.E.M. on iTunes. In honor of yesterday's successful treadmilling, I searched for "work" in my music library this morning and found many good songs. Unfortunately, the treadmilling was about the only success from yesterday--except for the new mermaid piece.

For the first time in a very, VERY long time the irid on the back of the Bullseye glass in my pieces reacted with the thinfire on the shelf and ruined two of three 16" X 24" panels fired on Saturday. If that wasn't bad enough, three of four 16" rounds had a brownish streak in the the clear area of the glass that wasn't there before the glass was fired. It's definitely in the sheet glass--not a contaminant on the surface, but it must have been a striker color because I couldn't see it before I fired. I assemble on white paper so any discoloration would show glaringly before the piece ever made it into the kiln.

So today I have to remake all those pieces. But before that, the dentist. But before that, treadmilling. *sigh* doesn't sound like a fun day, does it? At least the pictures are pretty.

Fall On Me

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Falling In and Out of Love" by Pure Prairie League on iTunes. I am my own Genius today and did a search on my music library for all the songs related to "fall". It's Monday morning, the start of the week (ooh, now I get "Goodbye I Love You" by Firefall from "Elan"--we're in the older section of the library apparently). Today is another big shipping day--probably the last one of the year. Orders are tapering off, which is just fine as I am ramping up to doing ornaments with the 7th graders at J' school for the holiday fair, and then helping them come up with and execute their own personal projects. So many possibilities, so little time!

I am also preparing to wish Becky good luck and good bye (just as an assistant, not as a friend--though I do also wish her good luck as a friend) at the end of the month as she embarks on a new full-time job. I shall be assistantless again, but it'll all work out. It always does. ("Fall On Me" by R.E.M.--I may have to save this playlist!)

With all the will in the world I did not get the Chanukiote designed for the Jewish Museum of New York again this year. Time trumps will every time. I think the best thing to do is just keep working on them so I'll have them for next Buyer's Market. ("Tourniquet" by Evanescence from "Fallen"... I think that's all the possible axes for "fall": song title, artist, album with 36 more songs on the list.) If I take both the Chanukiote and an apple and honey plate--done by February, Elise might forgive me for not having them (again) this year.

The post today ends with inspiration--it's not glass and should arguably be on Stranded in the South instead of here, but, whatever.

On Saturday I saw Stacy for the first time in a few weeks and I was amazed: This weekend she will realize her goal of going from couch potato to 5 K and she looks fantastic! Sure, she's lost weight and toned up (exercise will do that to you), but more importantly, she *glows*. I was completely awestruck at how great she looks.

Closer to home, my own spouse has taken up the sledgehammer (also known as the shovelglove) and his upper body now has dents in it. No, no--not from dropping a sledgehammer on it, but from the workout carving out and defining his muscles. He's been at this for three weeks now (in addition to lunchtime walks carrying a big weight in his backpack) and, like Stacy, is looking awesome--he glows too! I told him when he started that if he got in shape I would get up off my lazy behind and follow suit. Both he and Stacy have me so motivated that I actually walked on the treadmill yesterday and did my own sledgehammering! This morning I'm going to treadmill in jammies before getting dressed and heading to the studio. Thanks Stacy and Dave!

The post ends to "Fall Down" by Toad the Wet Sprocket from "Dulcinea" on the playlist. Pictures of the new koi, and float ovals and the first mermaid piece tomorrow!

Friday Fusing and More

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Ada" by the National started to play after I found it in the library for iTunes. Closer inspection revealed that iTunes was completely broken--it didn't remember that I moved the library from the laptop hardrive to the external drive--and I had to reset the location and rebuild the Library. So it chugs along rebuilding and I blog in silence. Did any of the preceding sentences make sense? The same technology that allows us to listen to any music we want with the click of a mouse also makes our lives needlessly complicated... And I just realized that the reason the Library was broken is that I renamed the external drive where it lives from "Austin" to "Missoula" so I could name Dave's new external "Austin"... I am a moron. I broke it. I fixed it too, and the National play on.

That's enough about things other than glass--today is all about the glass. I have already been to the studio to open kilns and check the status of the *four* (count them, FOUR!) firings I did yesterday. Three will be cool enough for Becky to unload when she arrives, Bettina--who is already slow to cool due to her extra insulation and the big cordierite kiln shelf--is still over 500 degrees. It'll be several hours before we can open and empty her. When I looked at her controller I noticed that the firing took over 11 hours! It usually takes 5-6. I must have maxed out the electrical consumption and created my own mini brown out yesterday.

Today I fuse, I ship, I slump, and I photograph all the cool new work that's been coming out of the kilns before it heads out the door. One of my galleries requested large oval pieces of glass (instead of rectangles) for several of the large stands, and they also wanted the Elliott Metal Works Mermaid done as a stand for another glass oval. That piece won't be done till tomorrow, but it's going to be stunning. Maybe I'll have time over the weekend to update the website with pics of all the new work.

Now time is awasting, got to head back to the studio. This time I think I'll get dressed first.

Thursday Begins in Commerce

Pike's Market coffee in the Starbucks travel mug, "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye morphing into Frank Sinatra, followed by Buddy Holly and the Crickets... I am at Starbucks in Commerce waiting for Bill to bring me a whole bunch of metal. I think I have just enough battery left to post--my borged out system takes considerably more juice than just the laptop does.

Production goes apace and I hope to be completely caught up by Monday. Sadly, I will need to fire some this weekend to make that goal, but being caught up will be worth it! Thanks to the 20 sheets of glass I blew through for this week's kiln loads, I need to get another order into Bullseye by tomorrow. I think I'll up my order to 120 sheets this time. I can't even begin to imagine how much frit I'm going to need... And this time I need to remember to ask my rep NOT to have the entire shipment banded together. The last order I got was over 1500 lbs and the driver and I together couldn't get it on the pallet jack and off the truck (the truck was parked on a tiny incline--just enough so that I had to get a couple of guys from the autobody shop across the street to help unload).

Good things were accomplished yesterday on the ERP system. Too bad I won't be able to market and sell it, but I think it's too mesyncratic (like idiosyncratic, but more personal and less Greek). Ah it's good to sit in the sun and listen to Elvis guilt-free. Even if I were back in the studio there's nothing I could be doing as all three kilns are too hot to unload. So I'll post, work on the ERP system until my battery dies, and then read from my Kindle as I wait for Bill. I'm all technology all the time!

I'm a Borg

Dancing Goats blend coffee in a paper cup, some whiny guy music playing in the background, it's a Kavarna morning! Both Bertha and Bettina were fired with full loads yesterday (thanks again to my spouse who patiently waited for me while I worked late on his birthday!) and they are still cooling. I have all the pieces that will fire this week cut (I went through about 20 sheets of glass yesterday) and both kilns will be loaded up again this afternoon. It's a full production week.

Now I just need to make the mental shift to data modeling, database implementation. It's been awhile since I've had time to work on it, what with the many hats of the small business owner. As is apparent from the photo, I am now equipped for the computer work--I am borged and blinged. My Mac only has an 80 gig hard drive and it's full. Solution? A 230 gig USB-powered hard drive velcroed to the top... whoo hoo. Thanks to Guarav Malhotra for snapping the pic and emailing it instantaneously to me with his iPhone (my iPhone's battery was dead).

No Art Emergencies

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, the hum of the refrigerator for my music. It's been a busy morning already and I'm not even out of my jammies yet. Today I plan to begin the 2-3 firings per day schedule that I need to do in order to catch up. However much I enjoy writing for Glass Patterns Quarterly and Profitable Glass, there is no denying that it takes a lot of time and often puts me behind in my production. Add four days of ikebana for Japanfest last week to the mix and I am seriously off my game. Breathe in, breathe out. There are no art emergencies.

Thank heaven I have an assistant. Becky will keep me on track as I get back on the production wagon AND plan for November's multi-artist show in the studio AND work on my ERP system AND plan what and how to teach the seventh grade students from J's school... Breathe in, breathe out. there is nothing to hyperventilate about--it all sounds pretty much like life as usual.

Today is my spouse's birthday (Happy Birthday honey, I love you!) and we are celebrating tonight with dinner at Calavino's, a local restaurant owned by our friend Calavino Donati. I think Dave has already picked out what he plans to eat--I groggily remember him saying something about it either just before I slid into sleep last night or as I was blearily waking this morning. I am looking forward to it not just for the great food, but because it means I will have another day behind me as I climb the mountain of production.

Now off to shower, dress, brush teeth and hair, wash face and greet the studio day.

Monday and Sidelights!

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Come on Home" by the Indigo Girls on iTunes. I sense a theme. Sidelights are in, article is on its way to being written. Japanfest and its attendant ikebana responsibilities are over for another year. Oy, I am sore and tired. The middle-of-the-night anxiety attacks have GOT to stop. Being caught up on my production schedule with no more unusual projects ahead of me will help.

Quite unintentionally, the sidelights make me think of Marc Chagall and his bright, lovely colorwork. It's good to have some of my own work in my own space. Now if I could just get the backsplash done for the kitchen... Soon.

This week is all about production. Several orders are due to ship and a few more came in last week. Once I get the current batch done I'll have a break till the middle of October--and none too soon. I still haven't finished organizing the multi-artist show we're having in the studio in November and it'll be October in just a couple of days! And the Filemaker Pro ERP system I started writing a few weeks ago has languished as I worked on the sidelights and orders.

It's almost 9:00. Time to start the work part of the day. Glad I don't have a commute as there is still very little gas in Atlanta.

Hopping

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Harem in Tuscany" by Gogol Bordello on iTunes. It was a good concert, but again this week, I feel old--too much noise, too many people (where *did* those other 1198 people come from?!?), out too late, a little too much hard cider and hot sake (and isn't THAT a combo to conjure with). Blech today, and looking forward to more firing. More shipping. More orders to process. And sidelights to do the final fuse on. I say final, but due to unfortunate time constraints the final also will be the first with all the components together.

Up till now I have been working piecemeal on the sidelights--making gems, doing simultaneous design and layout (the way I work best), making more gems, cutting more raw elements, and doing more design--adding to the final work a little more every day. Today, instead of the planned tack-fuse, I am going to have to Very Carefully full fuse all the gems, cut elements, and frit together as the sidelights are scheduled to be installed on Saturday morning and they will need a long time to cool.

Better hop to it!

Another Kiln? Genius!

Coffee in the New York skyline mug (yes D, I switched for a Gogol Bordello theme), "Start Wearing Purple" by Gogol Bordello on iTunes. Gogol Bordello is a Ukrainian gypsy punk band based out of New York. They're playing at the Variety tonight and D and I are going to see them. Live music in a club two weeks in a row, think I'm going through a mid-life crisis? Naw.

It's my favorite time of year. I love fall with its cool mornings and sharper light as the heat and haze of summer fade away. The studio is nice and cool at 70 degrees when I arrive in the morning--even after heating up from the kilns the night before. Obviously "cool" is relative. If I were still in Montana it would be a downright midday balmy temp. But here in the south after the dogs days when the temps don't dip much below that outside in the night and the studio is almost 80 first thing every morning... Bliss. Chilly even!

Much to do in the studio today--including looking at getting another kiln. Oh I'm not planning to rush out and buy a new one, but if someone decides to sell a used one in my area I won't dismiss it out of hand. While Bettina and Bertha are great for big production loads, I am finding myself cramped on space for small fix loads like a re-slump of one piece, or a fire-polish of another, or a repair fuse of another. With the increased number of pieces being fired every day I have a commensurate increase in pieces that need a bit of tweaking--and tweaking delays shipping in an already tight schedule.

Okay, almost 9:00. Off to the studio!

A final note:
iTunes played a really weird random mix this morning. I started with Gogol Bordello and then it went into "Decoration Day" by the Drive By Truckers, then "Night, Pt. 1: Snow" by George Winston, and ended my blogging set with "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches and Herb... I am clearly getting used to the new Genius playlist generator in iTunes 8.0 and have forgotten what really random means. I think I'll start Geniusing my morning posts...

Out of Kiln Room!

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Theme From a Summer Place" performed by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on iTunes. Though I keep being pulled into the far, sad corners of the internet, I need to get on with my day. UPS says my glass order from Bullseye is Out For Delivery! And it's none too soon--running out of yellow last week put me seriously behind. Sidelights to tack-fuse today, platters for the Art Institute to slump (and ship tomorrow)... and then I'm out of kiln space. How does that happen? Here I got Bettina and thought that four production kilns with 41 sq ft of firing surface would be enough. So how am I pinched for space *again*?!? Well, best take what I have and get filling it!

The Week Begins

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Real Good Thing" by Marc Broussard on iTunes. And we're off! Another week has begun with its deadlines and tasks and treats. The weekend just passed was glassless in action but full of glass planning (and ERP system creation). I also ruthlessly whacked at all the trees and shrubs in the front yard and followed that up with taking J for a haircut--but that's all another story.

Deadlines this week include several orders for shipping and the sidelights for GPQ. For tasks, I have the final artist organization for the open studio, working more on the ERP system, and making sample sets for the galleries that have requested them. My big treat this week will be preparing the studio to host 24 7th graders on a fieldtrip from J's school. This fall I have the privilege of teaching them basic glass cutting and kiln-forming and then helping them make glass ornaments/sun catchers for the school's holiday fair.

And now the deer hound is stirring and telling me it's time to head to the studio.

Zombified

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, but should'a been in Austin, "Bayou Tortous" by James McMurtry on iTunes. Wednesday night--the night before my lost day yesterday--Dave and I drove to Athens (GA) and saw him live (first time for me). The crowd was sparse and with no effort I was front and just to the right of the mic stand. Bliss. What a great concert. I can't believe I didn't hang at the Continental Club every Wednesday night at midnight to see him play when I lived in Austin. And I can't believe he isn't firmly entrenched on the top of the list of the hottest singer/songwriters in America. His voice, his writing, his music... magic. Now back to glass.

After two nights of little sleep I was exhausted, but yesterday saw me on the road to Commerce at 7:00 am to meet Bill and get a load of metal work. Back in the studio I fired a full load with the penultimate yellow frit #02--have to hold on the rest of the pieces that need it till next week--including the sidelights I'm doing for GPQ. Unfortunately, though I have a little left, the rest of the pieces I have scheduled need more than I have. Ended the day with a bit more data modeling/database implementation (Filemaker Pro arrived Wednesday and I know just enough to be dangerous). Today I'm rested, I'm slumping a load, and I'm going to look into an on-line class/tutorial for Filemaker. I could just read the book I got (Filemaker Pro the Missing Manual), but that would be too easy.

Wednesday in a Handbasket

Two small bottles of San Pellegrino (tender tummy this am--can't throw anymore coffee at it), someone singing la-la-la-la-la-la then yee-oh-ee-oh-ee-oh in the background... It's another Kavarna Day! Yesterday went stunningly well--except for the whole firing thing. UPS managed to destroy another of my shipments to Hoypoloi--that makes two in a row, two in a week--which ate up a good part of my afternoon, and the rest was spent shipping, placing glass and packing supply orders, and taking orders.

I could have fired yesterday in spite of the fullness of the afternoon, but I discovered that I only have about a pound of medium yellow frit left. Yikes! I just got a big glass order a week or so ago. I am blowing through glass at unprecedented speed. Got another order in to Bullseye--just in time to beat their across-the-board 10% price increase. While I was at it, I also placed the beginnings of an order for mid-October that includes 90 more sheets of clear irid. The frit is scheduled to ship today so I ought to have it by mid-week next week.

Today I finish up my data modeling for the ERP system-just in time for Filemaker Pro to arrive this afternoon so I can begin the implementation. Yesterday I did the design for the order process. Today I need to put the finishing touches on it and then figure out the client data model. If I have time, I might begin layout for a materials management module--but that's definitely a phase II component. I want to have some system up and running asap that will keep to a minimum the number of pieces I go to ship and find I didn't fire, or for which I didn't order the metal--or orders that I forgot to schedule at all.

The first horizontal lattice piece--a double-wide too--is done and shipping to California today. It's just shy of four feet wide and two feet high. Can't wait to take it to Philly in February!

Tuesday at Kavarna!

Dancing Goats blend in a white paper cup with a recycled brown cardboard sleeve, someone who sounds like a cross between Bob Dylan and a strangling cat warbling to thumping drums in the background... It's a Kavarna day! Or at least, it's a partial Kavarna day--this afternoon will see me fire a load in Bertha and do the next firing on the sidelights in Bettina. It's going to be a productive day. I started it early in the studio--writing up a to do list for Becky, signing the pieces that will ship today, and checking the status of yesterday's kiln loads (the gems are *perfect* this time).

Now at Kavarna I am going to flow out an ERP system for Siyeh Studio. I spent a considerable amount of time last week evaluating POS (point of sale) software and other pre-built business process management systems, and even the most expensive of them don't meet more than 50% of my needs. Time to build. I ordered a copy of FileMaker Pro for the Mac (the Bento box I bought is cute and sleek, but it's like trying to run the Indy 500 in Dave's Mini. I'll save it for home project and data management) and it will arrive tomorrow. Before I get lost in the details of making, I need to design. I don't do software the same way I do glass. In software, a detailed design is actually a Good Thing.

Sound like an ambitious day? It certainly is. I don't think I'd have the nerve to even say I planned it if I hadn't already had two big cups of coffee and a chocolate croissant--sugar and caffeine make me daring. Maybe tomorrow I'll post about my experience with UPS claims yesterday early evening--or maybe I'll just let it go and not get all riled up again. I just have to say that any business model which has the first point of contact in a claim situation automatically being "Your claim is denied because your package was not packed according to UPS guidelines" is inherently evil and wrong.

What Happened to Friday? I'm So Confused

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "Spanish Caravan" by the Doors on iTunes--a completely random chance, though the lyrics resonate (heading for Portugal or Spain right now has more than a little appeal). Last week had a Friday, it was a studio day, why didn't I post? I don't know. It's a mystery. I must have headed for the studio first thing--or started my day some other way. Today is more traditional; I'm in my jammies, the family is newly out the door for school and work, and I organize myself with a post.

Yesterday I fired the "gems" for the studio sidelight project--over 350 of them made up of over 700 glass squares (that I also cut yesterday). It sounds like a lot, but it goes surprisingly fast with the Cutter's Mate and the Morton System. Today I get the fun part of designing the windows. You might think I would have drawn the design before creating glass elements for it, but that's not the way I work. I did calculate how much of the design I wanted to be "gems" and how much I wanted to be "other" (frit or maybe solid pieces), but for me the flow of the piece can only be done in real size and in color and texture. This project is for a how-to article in the next issue of Glass Patterns Quarterly and I'm combining several basic techniques for a whole new look--fingers crossed that it all turns out!

______________

Time has passed and I was not able to add the pics I was going to put on this post this morning as the gems were not fully formed and I had to refire them--the photo at right shows what they looked like before they were fired. Design, too, has to wait till tomorrow so I will ship and fire a full load in Bertha today. I suppose that will have to be enough!

I Lost Wednesday, Did You Find It?

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug (with pumpkin pie creamer--I love fall!), no music this morning. There's no music because iTunes for Leopard requires Quicktime for Leopard which I apparently DID NOT GET as part of my OS upgrade! I hate software. I spent the entire day yesterday (over 10 hours) upgrading my laptop's operating system (what with cleaning up a back-up drive and backing everything up to be safe first).

Why now (why ever?) you might ask. Well, I am fed up with the way I currently manage my business is a series of Excel spreadsheets and Word docs. I wanted to get a real database and the one that looks best for my needs is Bento by Filemaker Pro--only available for Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard). I had 10.4 (Tiger) (at least the names are better than Windows--I'd rather have "Tiger" or "Leopard" than "Windows" or "Vista"). Does this all sound way complicated? It is. And it probably won't be finished 31 minutes from now when Quicktime 7.3 finishes downloading and I install it.

My struggle yesterday is a perfect highlight of the jack-of-all-trades requirement for making a living as a sole proprietor of any business--art not excepted. Many lifetimes ago when I was in IT at Northwestern University (the last time I worked in an office with people around every day) I didn't fully appreciate the rich resources I had at my disposal... No, I am just whining. No matter where you work, or what you do, you're probably pushing the envelope which means you have to figure things out yourself. Yes, there might be someone there you can ask for help, but it's not like I don't have that kind of help from friends now (thanks JY for the pointer to SuperDuper and your IM support yesterday during my upgrade!). I'm just huffy because I spent an entire day on the computer and have barely anything to show for it (it's not like I've even *installed* Bento yet!).

Today, more computer nonsense and firing. Wish me luck!

What Day is It Again?

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "So Long, So Wrong" by Alison Krauss & Union Station on iTunes. Chicago? iTunes? Hey, what about Kavarna Day? Sadly, canceled. However I am working this morning on the website and other computer projects just from home and not Kavarna. I would go to the studio, but I would end up chatting with Becky and I want to work undistracted. (Of course as soon as I updated iTunes this morning I was nothing BUT distracted!). Enough! Time to update the website and file a damages report with UPS (who CRUSHED a delivery to a gallery this week).

Taking on Tuesday

Coffee in the Alaska skyline mug, "Cloudy This Morning" by George Winston on iTunes. It's 8:00 am and I am beginning my work day. Jessie started school a couple of weeks ago and, true to small child form, brought home a horrible cold last week. I succumbed yesterday and spent the day moping around with a headache and no energy. Today, in preparation for a big Kavarna day tomorrow, I have to fire lots of pieces--probably three full loads. Tomorrow at Kavarna I finish the designs for the hanukiah and the studio sidelights, and I update my website.

I have to wonder, as I re-read what I just wrote, how many times I have written those exact same items on my must-do-today-or-tomorrow list. There is a tidal motion to work in the studio, a great surge of things that MUST be finished followed by the gentle susurration of water on sand or breath exhaling when the rush is over and they are done. Then, after an all-to-brief pause, the momentum builds again culminating in another thunderous rush of froth and pounding surf. Days like today I wish I could run a business/have a life that was a little more regular and calm and a little less fits and spurts.

But enough whining. As Dave likes to say, No solution, (therefore) no problem. Off to heat up the studio.

Do I Have To Work Today?

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug (in a sloppy metaphor for life as we head in to this year's presidential election, the mug was dirty when I took it from the cabinet so I cleaned it up) "Willin" covered by Steve Earle on iTunes. I took the whole weekend off. In truth I even kicked off early Friday as I had a very old friend in from Paris for the day and we went for lunch and a blueberry lager (or two) at The Glenwood. Now it's Monday and I am theoretically back at work ("Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen just came on iTunes. iTunes has a very good sense of humor for software.)

There are orders to fire, orders to ship, pieces to design, a studio multi-artist show to plan, bills to pay, invoices to send... in short, all the normal tasks for the studio. And the Sky Chair and my newly returned Kindle still call to me. Maybe I shouldn't take days off. Maybe work is like dieting or exercising: It's easiest to do when it's a daily routine--no breaks.

Friday Equals Fused Glass

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Racing To the Red Light" by James McMurtry on iTunes for Paul Tarlow on the launch of his new fused glass site. Way to go Paul, very nice! I would've saluted him with the Austin skyline mug, but I had already poured Chicago before getting on-line this morning.

It's Friday and I'm pooped. Last week 1525 lbs of raw glass came in, and this week I shipped out 429 lbs of finished work--286 lbs of it yesterday. I am tired of toting that barge and lifting that bale. Lucky for me, no shipments go now till next Tuesday.

Today sees the three biggest kilns firing full loads (Bertha, Bettina and Middle Ground). I almost got all the base pieces cut for them yesterday and should be able to whip the rest out as soon as I finish posting. I have to pause now for a second and roll on the floor laughing hysterically at the idea of whipping anything out--I'm a full day behind in firing again (after putting in three solid days over the holiday weekend last weekend). I seem to be incapable lately of expediting tasks and keeping on top of everything.

I am reminded, as I lag ever further behind in my ideal production schedule, of the article I finished recently for the upcoming issue of Profitable Glass in which I referenced a panel I participated in for the Arts Business Institute at the last Buyer's Market. One of the topics we discussed was the amount of time we actually spend in production. Most people starting out calculate their potential income based on full-time production and this week further proves to me that full-time work does not even close to equating to full-time production. I am lucky to spend 25% of my time producing work (and realistically, it's probably a lot less).

But I am not going to let the inevitability of a full inbox when I die ruin my weekend! I am Not Firing This Weekend. I might work on designs and the upcoming studio open house, but that's the closest I'm going to come to Siyeh Studio work. There's a Sky Chair on the front porch with my name on it, and I am going to spend much of the weekend in it reacquainting myself with my Kindle.

Bobulated!

Coffee in the Denver Architectural skyline mug, the somewhat overwrought music chosen by Defenders of Wildlife to accompany their new Sara Palin video on iTunes for music. I would've got Howard Shore to whip something up had I been them.

I am bobulated again! (Or at least I was until I got sidetracked by that video this morning... see Stranded in the South for the details on THAT.) I managed to ship all but one scheduled order yesterday--and the only reason I couldn't do that one was I had to re-fire one of the pieces. Today I ship that order and three more, and I begin firing next week's orders. Of course I still have the sidelights to design and fire for Glass Patterns Quarterly and the Hanukiah to design (and fire) for the store at the Jewish Museum of New York, but, hey! I'm getting there!

Discombobulated

Rapidly cooling coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "Least Complicated" by the Indigo Girls on iTunes. I am the title of this post this morning, and I need my life (and by extension, my work) to be the song title. How to get from here to there... Spent 20 minutes I can't spare updating the blog template this morning. I was still on the original version of a customized Blogger template and never moved to their new click and drag pretty edit system. I was persuaded to finally make the jump this morning with the idea of adding the Followers widget... and it's not available to me yet. Ah well. I'll keep futzing over the next few days till I get a look I like.

Shipping didn't happen yesterday. Firing was a little slump and some firepolish/re-fuse fixes. They got moved to the top of today's schedule.

Normally posting calms and centers me which is why I do it first thing in the morning. But today my anxiety level just keeps rising with every word I type and that tells me I need to do instead of write about doing. Back tomorrow in a calmer frame of mind.

Monday Tuesday... Monday

Coffee in the Denver skyline mug, "Goodnight America" on iTunes. It's 8:00 am and all is well. For all intents and purposes, it's Monday. Yes, yesterday was Labor Day which is always on a Monday, and yes, I did do two full big kiln loads so it can safely be said I labored, but today is when the week really begins. I kissed the sprout, kissed the spouse and sent them off to school and work, and the division between weekend and week, summer and fall is a sharp, clear line at the top of the steps.

I am curious to see how Bertha fired this morning after her last failure when she ran simultaneously with Bettina. I was careful yesterday to start Bettina's slump well ahead of Bertha's fuse so that they wouldn't be drawing full power at the same time (in case that was the problem). When I peeked in the studio in the late afternoon Bettina was off and Bertha was at 1450 (her full-fuse temp) so I think everything went well.

Today, the Monday that is not Monday, I have ikebana and five orders to ship. Tomorrow two more will go out, and then I begin on the ones scheduled to ship on 9/9. I have hopes and dreams to take the weekend off this week (what a radical idea!). I need a day off. But sidelights, sample sets (now there's a project I have really been dragging my feet on) and hanukiah patiently wait and I have to find time for them this week too. Better get to it...

Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday

Coffee is a Starbucks tall in the Glacier National Park go-mug, music was "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane before I turned off the car. I sit in the sun sipping my Starbucks, munching a cranberry orange muffin, waiting for Bill from Elliott Metal Works (we are meeting halfway between our shops to exchange work for orders and I was early) and I post courtesy of ATT wifi. I found out the other day that I have free access to all ATT wifi spots because we have Bellsouth DSL... The things you learn.

A week without an assistant is like a week without Prozac--and just ask your nearest 21st century perimenopausal woman about what THAT'S like. Becky is off this week and it has been my busiest firing week of the year. I do two to three loads a day but have yet to do the magic fourth (Bertha and Bettina in the same day). And yet I am in the studio early every the morning, work without slacking all day and still don't get home till very late--exhausted, sweaty and grumbly. This situation has got to end never to be repeated. A regular assistant is now a necessity, no longer a luxury.

Yesterday--though I did not post here--I did spend much of the morning on Blogger. I helped my friend and ikebana instructor Elaine set up her blog on washi and ikebana.

_________________________

I started the above post on Friday morning, but before I could finish, Bill arrived at Starbucks, we planned, we traded pieces, and I got back to the studio. I did not get the second big load in, again. Saturday followed the same path of in the studio early, but deviated in that I *finally* got two big kiln loads in simultaneously. Unfortunately, when I went over and looked at them this morning the fuse load was underdone and I had to refire it. The only thing I can come up with is that somehow Bertha wasn't able to get enough electricity so didn't reach full-fuse temp--or reached it but wasn't able to stay there long enough... or I used the wrong firing cycle and I can't even imagine how I did that. Whatever it was, she seems to be firing fine now.

Tomorrow--Labor Day--sees me labor more with two full loads to do. Thank heaven Becky is back Tuesday! Shown at top right is Bettina's first fuse load on the new shelf.

Wet Wednesday

Coffee in the studio Chicago skyline mug, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Deathcab for Cutie on the iPod. Key words in that sentence were "studio" and "iPod" (which lives in the studio). I arrived in the studio at 7:55 this morning to find the truck with my glass delivery waiting for me. The driver had arrived about 7:30 but never called. No one called. Someone was supposed to call. I'm just lucky I decided to head to the studio to wait for it and post instead of posting from the kitchen table at home as I usually do. After a half hour of slipping and sliding in the mud that is the vacant lot next door (three days of rain and it's a swamp here)--and with the additional help of two guys from East Lake Auto across the street--1525 lbs of glass was muscled onto the lift gate, lowered to the driveway and pallet-jacked to over by the back door. Now I sit, covered in mosquito bites (I never saw fewer than eight at a time feasting on my legs), and post. It's only 8:40 and the biggest line item on my list for the day has been checked off.

Yesterday was an... interesting day (in the Chinese sense). I arrived a the studio at 8:55 after having posted (and showered, washed my hair and brushed my teeth). I decided against cutting up anymore of the few extra-wide sheets of clear irid that remain in the inventory. Instead I figured I would get all my orders packed and sent and I'd do a little organizing. When I called to check on my delivery time I was told in the afternoon so I figured I'd be having a late firing day. Fate, it seems, had Other Plans. I worked solidly all day cleaning and packing pieces for shipping, fielding phone calls from almost everyone on the planet, and waiting. In the process I discovered a corollary to the adage that your stuff will always grow to fill the space allotted to it and that is work will always expand to fill the time allowed for it. I.e., I never get done early and yesterday was no exception.

The glass finally arrived about 3:30 but not in a truck with a lift gate. It said clearly on the manifest "Lift gate delivery". What, did they think the driver was going to lift 1525 lbs of glass off the truck with his hands? What I don't understand is why he bothered to come out at all. He could see the two cases of glass shrink-wrapped together and stacked high with cardboard boxes shrink-wrapped to them. He could see that they weighed 1525 lbs. Why would he even make the drive? Just so he could say he attempted delivery and therefore the service times were met? They weren't--4-5 business days for a shipment picked up Monday means delivery by the following Monday and yesterday was Tuesday. Deep breath in, deep breath out, let go the frustration. It's all over, the glass is here safe and sound, and I can unpack and start cutting it this morning.

Now a quick run to the post office and the bank and then I'm in the swing!

Happy Tuesday

Coffee in the Alaska skyline mug, "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby on iTunes. The song is the random play selection from iTunes and it couldn't be more appropriate. Fay continues to dump water and grey skies on Atlanta--great for the garden but reminds me why I couldn't live in Seattle.

Today my glass comes from Bullseye and I couldn't have made it any longer without it. I ended up not firing yesterday as the only sheets of clear irid I have left are a few extra wide pieces that I like to save for 20" round pieces. No glass to cut means no pieces to fire. This morning I'll pack to ship everything I got done over the weekend while I wait for the delivery. As soon as it gets here, I'll unload the cases (undoubtedly in the rain) so I can cut and fire two fuse loads--Bettina gets to go out for her first fuse spin today.

I have another try for my Niche piece in Middle Ground, but even without looking at it I've decided I don't like the colors I chose and I want to do it again. Tick tock, tick tock, the clock counts down to the Saturday postmark deadline.

The new school schedule is giving all of us a jump on pour days. It's only 8:00 and I've already finished my post and am ready to get dressed and slosh to the studio!

Moody Monday

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, "Into the West" from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack performed by Annie Lenox on iTunes. The tropical depression formerly known as Hurricane Fay spread a cool rainy grey blanket over the weekend in Atlanta. This morning is still cool, still wet, still grey.

Jessie discovered the industrious spider's work on her way out the door this morning and I have not regretted more not having a good manual SLR camera. Digital auto-everything is great for capturing our fast lives, but it is lousy for focusing on the minute details of the bejeweled beauty of the spider's work. Time to dig out the old Olympus and polish it up? Probably not. Just the time-slowing effects of this weather.

The weekend was full of glass. I thought I would finally fire a fuse load on the new shelf in Bettina, but I was able to get everything into Bertha so Bettina was used only for slumping. One anticipated but lamented side effect of the new shelf in combination with Bettina's extra insulation--she's made for high-temp, long casting firings after all--is that cool down from a slump load in her takes even longer than cool down from a fuse load in Bertha. Timing is going to be tricky when I need to get a load a day out of each of them.

One of the pieces I fired this weekend was the first iteration of my idea for a Niche piece. With a postmark deadline of August 30 (Saturday) I'll barely have time for another iteration, but the design needs tweaking. The Beatles are whispering the words of wisdom on iTunes right now and saying "Let It Be", but I think my answer is to futz with it.

Friday Focus

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Cloudy This Morning" by George Winston on iTunes. Ahh, the quiet of a house empty but for me and snoozy dogs. Time to make some progress! I have been occupied with other than firing for the past couple of weeks since I got back from the BMAC and today, today, I begin the big fall firing schedule that ends in November.

Besides the regular production firing I have four special projects front-loading the schedule. Last weekend I finally settled on a technique to use for my Niche entry for the year--better late than never! Now I need to start testing pieces with it to see how it works. It's based on an idea I have been toying around with around since I started the book (first iteration from two years ago shown at right) and I think I have finally figured out how to add the last visual punch that will make it scale for larger work and translate into a good product line.

The other special projects are a backsplash for our kitchen (commissioned by my spouse as payment for childcare while I was in Philadelphia for the BMAC), sidelights for the studio (the project I am doing with the large kiln shelf from Ditore Glass Works to write up for Glass Patterns Quarterly) and the hanukiah for the shop at the Jewish Museum of New York. Let's get it started!

Welcome to Fall!

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Homeless" by Paul Simon on iTunes. I scratch my head at the randomness of iTunes. If there's a pertinent meaning to this one, I don't see it.

Some might say what Dan is doing over there at the studio right now is gilding the lily, but that bit or porch overhang that he is adding on will keep the rain off me and my laptop in the morning when I am unlocking the backdoor, and it will also keep the J dry when she runs over in the rain and struggles to open the door. As a last step he's going to put a little shelf on the right next to the door so I can set stuff down to get the keys out and into the lock. Some might wonder why I am having this trivial construction done, and I probably wouldn't have, but Dan was already up there putting new fascia board on the sides of the studio so I can get rain gutters mounted (got to have rain gutters in order to use the rain barrels doncha know).

Yesterday there was no post. I thought I would be able to do one when I finished my article for Profitable Glass. But I didn't finish until 11:00 last night. This article took a lot more time and effort to get right than the previous ones did. Today I am finishing the last editing (now that I am finally working--it was J's first day of school, first day of first grade... we started the day at the opening assembly) and (at last!) firing a couple of kiln loads. I am looking forward to getting a lot more done now that I don't have to break to make breakfast, make lunch, answer questions, tie knots, and other mommy activities throughout the day. Yes, part of me regrets the end of summer and its potential for lazy, sunny days. But a greater part sighs in relief at the focus fall brings.

Off to focus!

Tuesday's... Over!

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas on iTunes. Another day, another deadline looms. Full house again today, and four phone calls already done this morning--one more to go as soon as the dealership opens.

It's still summer for another two days (longer if you follow the regular calendar and not the school calendar) and I am already starting the planning for the studio multi-artist winter show...

Or I would've started the planning for the multi-artist show back almost *nine hours ago* when I started this post! But the day had other plans for me, and I finish it without having fired a single piece or made any headway on the article I have due tomorrow for Profitable Glass. Yes, there is shelving in the office closet and the rain gutter/rain barrel system has been exhaustively designed--and the former studio is much closer to done than it was--but otherwise the day has been almost a complete production loss.

The bright side to my cloudy day is that I am still on schedule with my orders because I can power up Bettina and crank through them starting tomorrow. I did get them all entered into the computer both on the firing schedule and on individual orders. Tomorrow I have *got* to find both uninterrupted writing and production time... and good luck with that!

Monday Already?

La Croix blue fizzy water in the can, "Good Enough" by Evanescence on iTunes. Glass has not been Incarnate today. I did get a quick post in on Stranded in the South this morning before dashing off for my day, but everything since has gone pear-shaped. Now it's 4:00 PM and I am calling the day Good Enough. Tomorrow I fire--and I'm going to pull out the big guns and fire both Bertha and Bettina with full fusing loads. J has a friend from down the street over right now and they are playing in the pool so I'm working outside and watching them. I still haven't finished entering the orders from the BMAC into the computer, or updating the firing schedule and those tasks (and this post) will take me through till Dave gets home at 5:30.



In the meantime I got my book projects back from my publisher thanks to Becky the Wonder Assistant who went up to Asheville on Friday. While she was there she took a little gallery tour and checked out a couple of galleries I'm in. One, the Grovewood, has only one piece of my work in, but I have a big order to ship them this week or next. And they also use one of my pieces in the header on their website (shown above). The other, Blue Goldsmiths, has quite a few pieces--including the lattice shown at right which is already sold.

Today's big accomplishment was getting a shelving unit from the Container Store for the closet in the studio office. Becky has been grumbling about the piles of crap all over the floor, but I haven't had anywhere to put it all so it's just stayed on the floor. Tomorrow I predict deliriums of happiness from Becky with the installation of more storage space.

Okay, off to enter orders!

The End of Summer

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, the quiet click of typing keys for music. What the heck happened yesterday? There was no post! I hit the ground so fast in the morning that I never got a chance to sit down and post (that'll happen on days when I have nine people spread between the house and the studio to supervise). Suffice it to say, it was a big day, and I'm glad it's over (and I got caught up on the week).

I have reconciled myself to needing another day of transition before I get back into full production in the studio on Monday. Actually, it's three days, but I am really trying to take weekends off this fall. Heck, if the workers of the fine state of Utah get to go all French on us and go to a four-day work week, I should get weekends off. Sure, some of them are working 10-hour days, but who isn't?

And it's a good thing I am waiting an extra day before I begin full production (which requires cutting lots of sheets of glass) as my Bullseye order won't be in till the end of the week next week, and I am completely out of normal width clear sheets (just shy of 20" wide). All I have left are a few 21" wide sheets that were mixed in with my last two orders, and I like to save those for when I need to cut a 20" round.

Today the former studio will be carpeted and the water lines that used to run to the three-bin restaurant sink in it will be re-routed to a laundry tub in the garage. There is already a workbench complete with an 8' X 4' pegboard over it in the spot in the garage where Bertha used to sit. It will be like there was never a studio there at all!

Now off to contemplate the last week of summer. School starts next week, so even if the weather says differently, fall is here.

Where Am I Going and What Am I Doing With This Handbasket?

Dancing Goats coffee in a Kavarna go-cup, some Enya-like music wafting through the air. It's a Kavarna Day! Jessie is off to the zoo with Becky the Wonder Assistant and her nephews, Dan the Carpenter and Dick his Trusty Assistant are working on other projects today, and I am firmly ensconced in my chair ready to do web damage and beat the firing and order schedule and the to-do list into shape (and now listening to Rags to Riches performed by Tony Bennett... it's an eclectic musical morning here at Kavarna).

August is turning out to be the Lost Month. When I look forward to August, in my mind I see a Ward and June Cleaver kind of time where we all relax and enjoy the end of summer and prepare for the start of school. I see me wearing pearls and gingham and sipping a gin and tonic as I watch Jessie and the spaniel romp on the lawn. I can't quite wrap my mind around the image of Dave lounging in crisp slacks, white socks and wingtips and puffing contentedly on a pipe, but almost. Instead I'm off balance, off center, wobbly, anxious and grumbly. I can't find my happy place--or get anything done. There are too many one-off tasks looming.

I think it all has to do with change and routine. I do very well in a crisis--when the world ends, I'm the gal who will get you through it without falling apart. I also do well when life is all settled into a placid routine with no projects threatening, no travel, nothing unpredictable on the horizon. However I completely fall apart in the transition times--coming home from vacation and trying to get the home and hearth into the settled routine state, coming back from a show and shifting gear from presentation and sales to production and shipping. This post-BMAC is worse than usual--I think because we were only home from the vacation in Montana for a week before I took off again to do the show. July was essentially completely atypical time, off-schedule and out of routine.

I loved the vacation--couldn't have enjoyed it more, but I looked forward to getting home to routine (and my own bed) again. Then I had a good show and got my display and materials all stored in Philly for the February show--and I was ready to be back in the studio and in the daily routine again. But I'm home--been here a week--and I can't get my mind inserted into a routine! Okay, it's only been a week. It feels like a month, but it's only been a week. If I can keep it to a week and GET BACK ON THE HORSE IN THE GROOVE, I'll probably be okay.

Time to go look for a horse.

The Dog Days of Summer... Are Over

Coffee in the Los Angeles skyline mug, "I've Been Thinking About You" by London Beat on iTunes. The dog days of summer. If one were talking about the weather it would mean (here in hte northern hemisphere) the hot sultry days of July and August--and I would be accurate in my nomenclature. However the dog days (according to Wikipedia) also refers to a time period that is hot or stagnant or marked by a dull lack of progress. Bingo. The dogs have come to roost in the studio and the house. Everywhere I look I see projects in a state of languish.

__________________

In the past several hours since I started this post, ducks lined up, and ducks broke rank. Ducks lined up, and ducks broke rank. Wash, rinse, repeat. I have failed to ship for the third day in a row, and I did not fire a fuse load either. However I got carpet chosen, paid for, and scheduled (for the former-studio-now-basement). The pool (one of those above-ground Target things) is drained and ready to clean. The to-do list and the day tomorrow are organized (and Jessie is set to go to the zoo with Becky and her nephews away) so I can have a Kavarna day and maybe get caught up on paperwork. And, finally, the glass order is in to Bullseye and reviewed, I hope they'll be ready to ship soon. Tomorrow the supports for the new kiln shelf are also scheduled to arrive so I can do the break-in fire on Bettina's new shelf.

Quack.

Some weeks really do seem to jerk along in fits and starts and my evaluation of my performance changes every half hour. Time to move along with the evening.

Deadlines and Birthdays

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens on iTunes. It's August 11th today, Monday, and I feel the weight of the month pressing down on me. The deadlines begin to pile up starting Friday and reach a crescendo of effort the day after Labor Day (early this year--September 1). Some of it's production--the least scary and most comfortingly predictable of the things I do--but a lot of it's writing, designing, webbing and other hard-to-time-quantify activities. Activities that could go easily and quietly into the "done" pile or that could turn into a day (week?) down the rabbit hole at a mad tea party. I don't have a week to spare.

And while I am dwelling on upcoming scary things this fine morning, I am going to be help-less again come September: Becky the Wonder Assistant is heading back to corporate America for a Real Job. After almost a year with steady help, I can't go back to a one-person shop--I need to hire someone new. And this time it won't be a friend helping me out on a part-time temporary basis--it'll be a Real Employee. I am hoping for a mother with little kids in school who just needs something with flexible hours and a little extra family income (not the rent).

But let's end the post on a positive note. Friday was Dan the Carpenter's birthday and we had a little party in the studio for him. I didn't taste the cake, but I trust Southern Sweets. I'm sure Dave will get an evil chuckle out of the singing cake plate being inflicted on someone else for a change.

Saturday Studio Day

Coffee in the Montreal skyline mug, "Choctaw Bingo" by James McMurtry on iTunes. The rest of the family is enjoying a cool breezy Saturday in the sky chairs on the front porch while I gear up to go to the studio and fire two loads (Dave is hairless). I didn't get a single load fired during the week so I have three to do this weekend. I should start out Monday back on schedule.

Now I wait with my fingers crossed to see how soon Bullseye can get me more clear irid sheets. I ordered 90 on Thursday, but they are completely out right now and I don't have a production date. I am not panicking yet.

Projects for next week include designing the backsplash for our kitchen (which will also be written up as a how-to project for GPQ using the new kiln shelf from Ditore Glass Works), designing a hanukiah or two for the Jewish Museum of New York, and figuring out what I'm going to submit for a Niche piece this year. Oh yes, there'll be one Kavarna day for web work and writing up the next article for the Studio Start-Up column for Profitable Glass. And then there are the daily firings--if I don't run out of glass...

Green Paint That's Red

Coffee in the New Orleans skyline mug, "Fast As I Can" by James McMurtry on iTunes. I thought I'd have a little time to edit the movie I took of my booth at the BMAC and get a good post up this morning, but life already has other plans. I need to get a kiln load in and then I'm off to Home Depot to get paint for the former studio. We're going with Freshaire paint--an eco-friendly paint with no VOC's--in "Evening Peruvian Lily" in the Botanicals collection. The paint is more red than it looks on the web--it's a warm terracotta color.

So the first paragraph of the glass blog is about paint for a no-longer studio. The reason for that is easy to see--the work of today is shipping, firing, and more paperwork catch-up and I already wrote about that on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tomorrow is officially movie day, let's see if I can get through today with no catastrophes and make it happen!

Thursday Tradesman Day

Coffee in the Chicago skyline mug, "Vacation" by the Go-Go's on iTunes. The carpenter and his assistant have finished the drywall and trim in the former-studio-now-basement and are priming everything and painting the trim and ceiling today. The dryer repairman is here replacing the igniter on the dryer (fried by lightning). Becky the assistant will be here any second and she will take inventory of all the frit so I can get my Bullseye order in this morning. I think I'll also have her do a quick box count before I order shipping supplies for the day. Both of those tasks should have been completed yesterday, but the day was already full, full, full. Didn't fire either.

Now off to wax the legs and then get back to everything I didn't get done yesterday. It would have made more sense to make yesterday's task list the list for the week instead of the list for the day...

Back From Philly!

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug (I would have picked the Atlanta as I am soooo glad to be home, but my spouse brought me coffee in bed this morning--he's soooo glad I'm home too--so he picked the mug), there is no music as iTunes is updating. I am home, life is good.

The BMAC this summer was very small--fewer artists and fewer buyers--but it was still my best BMAC yet, edging out this past February by a hair. I also had a *great* time participating in the Arts Business Institute's panel discussion on the impacts of wholesaling for the visiting artist program. I hope I can work more with them.

To quantify sales for the show's bottom line, I picked up 10 new galleries and took orders from five existing clients. I had a few more personal shoppers than usual, but overall it was a great show. I am really looking forward to working with the new galleries, and I'm glad my existing customers were also able to place substantial orders. Best of all, two of my existing clients requested new pieces so I have fun design work ahead.

Also on the fun list, I got a call from Marlene at Ditore Glass Works yesterday and my new kiln shelf has shipped! I can't wait to get it in Bettina and try it out. The week while I was at the BMAC was pretty rough for Dave and J and Dave says his cut for it is getting the new backsplash for the kitchen bumped to the top of the firing queue. The timing ties in nicely for the article I am doing for GPQ on using the Ditore shelves for firing large pieces. The only downside I can see to the shelf is that I won't be able to get it in and out of the kiln by myself--it will probably need to be a permanent fixture (it is 30" X 71" and weighs 144 lbs).

Today I have to type up and email out all the orders from the BMAC, desnarl invoices with a couple of galleries, write up an order for metal for Bill, and figure out and submit a glass order for Bullseye. Oh yes, and I have to update the firing schedule, fire a full load in Bertha, and order shipping supplies... Nothing like hitting the ground running!

BMAC Day 1

Coffee in the Starbucks go-cup, the hum of artists and buyer voices for music. I have been lax in posting the past first of days--first due to lightning, then travel, then set-up for the summer Buyer's Market Show. Now the booth is done (I actually had everything priced and the lights adjusted *before* the show opened for once!

So what's been happening the past few days? Oh boy. We had a severe thunderstorm in Atlanta on Tuesday night. We had 2200 lightning strikes in a half hour in a very small area. It was exhilarating, and I didn't know enough to be afraid. It's not like I went and stood outside in it or anything, but I did sit right by the window on the second floor working on my laptop. I was lucky. The alarm system in the house and the studio and the new 3-in-1 fax machine were not so lucky. I spent over two hours on the phone with alarm company and ended up replacing the panel in the studio (for over $300) because the dialer was fried, and then rewiring all three keypads in the house system. Then the phones worked again--but the DSL did not so I had to completely reboot the modem and router (and I recabled the whole system). It was exhausting, hot stressful and took forever so I did neither glass nor web work the entire day.

Then I left for Philly and had the first day of set-up. I thought I'd have either the time or the energy to post, I was wrong. It was 91 degrees and humid the first day of set-up and it was all we could do just to get through it and collapse at the end. the second day of set-up (yesterday) was a bit cooler outside, but still stifling in the convention center hall. I managed to do price tags for the show after a room service dinner (with white wine) and during Con Air on TNT. They're showing True Lies tonight and I have to say it's more appealing than going to the Museum of Natural History for the Buyer's Market party. On the other hand, it would be a good business move to go to the party and mingle with fellow artists and buyers. I just don't think after the week I had that I have the margin to spend on my business.

And speaking of business, this afternoon I am on a panel of speakers for the Arts Business Institute Visiting Artist Program discussing The Impacts of Wholesaling. I am really looking forward to it. Becky the assistant is participating in the visiting artist program except during the panel (someone has to mind the booth) and I am looking forward to picking her brain on everything she heard after the show.

It's the middle of the first day. I've written two orders--one new gallery put a toe in the water for three pieces and one repeat customer filled the empty stock spots. Time to get selling and come back to write more later.