Friday Already?!?

Coffee in the New York skyline mug, no music, a few words written yesterday, but not enough to count. It is not only Friday, it is also the middle of September and I am tired. I am more or less on schedule, but I am tired. I flirt with the idea of hiring someone or taking on another apprentice, but it takes too much time and energy to find and train them. The irony of expanding your workforce is that you need to do it when you don't have the work to support it so you have the time do it.

I got my pics back from the photographer yesterday and I am very disappointed. I have done my best piece ever (picture to be posted on 9/30) and it came out flat and a bit out of focus. The rest of the pics are also slightly out of focus and they lack tension and energy.

These photos are for two competitions where all the judging is done from the slides--the judges never even see the real pieces. So if they lack energy, they get tossed. The box above is a definite entry for Niche and Corning's New Glass Review, but it will not be a book project (needs too much coldworking for a beginner). And I'm not sure which version to use--the light or the dark background. Different characteristics of the piece are highlighted depending on choice of background. The fountain (left and right) was my best hope for a Niche entry in the cast glass category, but neither of the photos do it justice. So I might scrap entering it altogether and just submit the clock below (in the clocks category).

I have a beef with the Rosen Group--every year for the past the three they have changed the categories. And every year I have entered a piece into a category that ends up getting cut (the category does) for lack of entries or some other reason. If they didn't change the categories every year, maybe there would be enough entries in all of them because artists would know they would be there and could plan pieces for them! I anticipated all year having an entry in the flat glass category and they don't have it this year.

I fired a new project for the book yesterday on lava cloth. It was my first time using it and I had not realized you need to pre-fire the cloth because it shrinks. Both the pieces (two parts of the project) curled up and needlepointed, and need to be redone. *sigh* Fortunately my third attempt a pocket vase (in another kiln) was successful so I can check that project off.

Tonight I get a treat: Barbara Muth and her husband are coming into town again and we get to go to dinner. It is the bright shining spot that is going to get me through the day. But before that I have to get my Niche entries in and postmarked, write two more projects, and edit all five written this week before sending them in. I will also fire the lava cloth project again, the necklace project, and the first load of Art Institute pieces, thus beginning the cycle of firing a huge load every day for the rest of the month. Did I mention I am tired?