It's Done, So What Next? (Glass!)

There is no coffee yet. I sat down to write listening to George Winston's "Thanksgiving" from the December album (album, I show my age). It reflects my mood. But now after staring into space for a few minutes wondering what the hell to do (and write) Warren Zevon's "My Ride's Here" from the cd of the same name comes on and I am ready to go (after this brief side note: The 60 gig iPod with almost our entire cd library on it playing all day on random shuffle is one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. I can listen to Chicago dj's just barely (XRT, you know what I'm saying). But one more Georgia... no, there is no more polite term than "redneck" so I'll go with it, would make me rip the stereo wires out. I just can't do it.)

So today. I am almost at a complete loss. The finances are DONE for 2005. The sales taxes for Illinois, Georgia and Texas are filed and paid. I still have to futz around with the Texas franchise tax forms for the past three years so I can finally dissolve that corporation... But enough even talking about it! Today I am (more or less) free and I don't have any idea what to do. Sure, there are lots of "shoulds" (booth details and exposition services ordering for the BMAC in Philly next month, list of pieces to make for the show, catalog re-write, the ever-present website redesign and completion) but none of them actually entail making anything, and none of them have to be done TODAY. FRIDAY. The last day of the week I have any chance to make glass. (For familial harmony and so that I get to spend some quality time with them, I try to do things with Dave and Jessie on Saturday and Sunday and avoid disappearing into the studio unless I must because of a deadline.)

My big winter glass order from Bullseye is enroute and won't be here till Monday or Tuesday. Over 1300 lbs of glass. I will get a good workout that day! Until it gets here I can't start on the three commissions I have waiting (need that glass) so there is no production work to do. But there is scrap. Glass fusers commonly have MOUNDS of scrap because it is all potentially useful. When you do stained glass you can say "Well, that sliver is too small to be used in anything" and you throw it out. With fusing, every single solitary morsel of glass has the potential to be incorporated into a finished piece and I just can't throw any of them out.

So I have scrap. I also have flower pots and the two go together like bears and honey, but that technique is not singing to me today. No, today I think I will take the stand I bought from Carol Webb at C3 Studios (her husband welds them up for her) and put it in the kiln with a couple of pieces of hi-temp small-mesh grill screen I got at Home Depot on it and I will load the screen up with scrap. I have been wanting to experiment with effects obtained from different top temps and soak times, and this cold-for-Atlanta winter day is the perfect time.

Now the coffee is ready, my sluggish brain has warmed up and "Anna Begins" by the Counting Crows from August and Everything After is playing. Some might find that a discouragement, but it is my call to arms.