We're Alive!!

We survived the move!! The movers arrived to pack last Wednesday and they loaded it all on Thursday and took off. Once I finished cleaning the house I took off for PA with the kitties on Friday. I wasn't sure how we would all survive 7 hours in the car, but we made it! At one point, both kitties were in my lap...I have some great pictures I will share with you as soon as I can. Aaron and I spent the weekend exploring the area and doing all the really fun stuff like opening bank accounts and buying appliances...ugh!

Our stuff was delivered yesterday and of course I unpacked my studio stuff first:). I am going to have a temporary studio in the basement until we can fix up the area above the garage. I'm hoping to finish setting it up so I can make some beads tonight!

We don't have phone or internet service yet so it's going to be a little while still before we can start selling on line again. Right now I am able to use the library computer for 60 minutes every day. That goes by very quickly!

More soon!

Making a Paperweight

Here are some images of me making a paperweight. They are from the class I took with Paul Stankard at the Corning Glass Studio.

This first image is of me picking up the design using a metal cuff with holes in the bottom to let the air out.


The second image is what the top half of the paperweight looks like when it comes out of the cuff.



Next I take a big gather of clear glass and add it for the bottom half of the paper weight. The design I picked up is now sandwiched in between the clear glass.


Next you shape the paperweight.



The finished product (just before I knock it off the glass punty and put it in the kiln)! Along with classmates Ed and Justin.

Moving Forward

Well things are moving forward in all directions! We are set to close on the house I showed you below this Friday the 17th. Aaron is on his way though the blizzard to Philly so he can start work tomorrow. I'm getting our house in Cleveland ready to be put on the market. I am also going to be working the Buyers Market of American Craft (BMAC) show this week, which happens to be in Philly!

BMAC is a wholesale show that offers artists a venue to establish relationships with buyers from all over the country. I have never been to it before, but have heard that it is a fantastic show. I'm not selling my work, but there in my capacity as the VP of Education for the International Society of Glass Beadmakers who organizes the booth.

Future Studio??

Hi Everyone,

So sorry for my silence. We've had so much going on and I have much to tell you! I'm going to post an image of the house we are negotiating for in Philadelphia. It's actually in a town called Abington. It has 3 Bedrooms and 1.5 Baths with a detached 2 car garage. There is a room above the garage that I am planning on turning into my new studio! We'll have to put some work into it (new roof, electrical, heat, paint, and floor) but, I think it will be wonderful to get out of the basement!!

Back from house hunting

Happy New Year everyone!

We made it back home after spending Christmas with Aaron's family and then a few days looking for homes in Philadelphia. We're starting to get over the sticker shock. We are going to have to spend a lot more for less house in Philly.

We're also struggling with whether to live in Philadelphia or in the Suburbs. There is an attraction to living in the bustling city, but it also more difficult! We'll be heading back in about 10 days to look some more (after we start getting our house ready to sell!).

I looked into a studio space to rent instead of keeping my studio in the house and that remains a possibility. It just adds more overhead so I would have to sell more beads!!

OK, we're off to pack:)

Philadelphia here we come!

Over the past several weeks Aaron and I have been traveling the country for interviews and have finally accepted a position in Fort Washington, PA. I interviewed for three faculty positions and received two job offers (in SC, and CA). But, the job Aaron interviewed for was really the best option for us and since we've lived in that area before, I'm confident I'll be able to find a position. So, over the next couple of months we'll be packing and moving! I'll have to pack up my studio, but hope to have it up and running as soon as possible (the studio is the first thing I unpack of course:).

We'll miss all of our friends in Ohio, but hope that we will meet many new ones in PA.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I'm not ignoring you!!

Hi everyone,

I am sorry that I haven't posted more lately. Lots of things have been going on (all good), but nothing is finalized so I can't quite tell you the specifics. I'll just say that 2006 will bring a move for us out of Ohio. We're excited and overwhelmed at the same time!

We'll be traveling to visit family over the Holidays and looking for houses. I promise I'll post more details as soon as we know!

Happy Holidays!!

Welcome HGTV viewers and Happy Birthday!

Hi Everyone,

The segment on my work aired again on the HGTV show Crafters Coast to Coast and it also happens to be my birthday today! What a nice birthday present. There are lots of exciting things going on in our lives, but I haven't had a chance to update you. I hope to do that after this weekend, which will also be the last show of the year for me! It's in Cleveland at the I-X center I hope you'll come by to say hi!

Katy

Welcome HGTV viewers and Happy Birthday!

Hi Everyone,

The segment on my work aired again on the HGTV show Crafters Coast to Coast and it also happens to be my birthday today! What a nice birthday present. There are lots of exciting things going on in our lives, but I haven't had a chance to update you. I hope to do that after this weekend, which will also be the last show of the year for me! It's in Cleveland at the I-X center I hope you'll come by to say hi!

Katy

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Turkey day! We were a little overloaded trying to get out of town before the holiday and I just didn't have a chance to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

We headed to IN to visit my grandmother, parents, and sisters. Grammie fell on Monday and bonked her head really hard. She was still pretty shaky when we arrived on Tuesday evening. We ended up having a nice visit, although it was bittersweet because my grandparents would have celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary this Thanksgiving. We had a toast in Grampie's memory.

On a lighter note, I have a show next weekend! I'll be heading to Youngstown, OH on Dec. 2-4 for a holiday show at the Butler Museum of Art. I hope those of you that live nearby can stop by and say hello!

OK, I'll have to write about the mouse poop cookies tomorrow:)

It's a mystery

I just received the letter that my ornament was not selected to be hung on the Governor's tree. That's two years in a row I've been rejected. It sure does sting a little. Oh well, what else can I do but keep plugging along???

12 pound turkey

So we received a flyer from the local chocolate factory and they are selling a 12 pound solid milk chocolate turkey for a mere $75.00!! HOLY COW! Now that's the kind of turkey I want to serve on Thanksgiving!!

SOFA pictures

I took some pictures using my camera phone while I was at the SOFA show in Chicago. The art work was amazing! The Corning Museum of Glass had their traveling hot glass shop set up and I was able to watch people blow glass too! Here are a few of the delights.

Back from Indiana

I forgot to give you warning that I was going to be heading to Indiana last week to see my Grandmother. I made it back home last night. Grammie is doing remarkably well. Her health has stabilized for now and while she would rather be in her own home, she has been making the best of her life in the nursing home.

Her roommate is very nice and they keep each other on their toes. I baked them some cookies and took some chocolate covered pretzels from Malleys (a famous Cleveland chocolate company). Grammie and I would take off for a few hours in the afternoon and either go back to her home or out to visit my mom. Grammie was just happy to 'be away from that place'.

So, this weekend I'm off to the SOFA (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art) show in Chicago. I'm helping out at the ISGB (International Society of Glass Beadmakers) resource table during the show and also going to see one of my college roommates! It should be fun (although, I would rather stay home:)).

2005 Ornament

I've created and submitted a new ornament for the Treasures for the Tree Project (TFTP). The purpose of the TFTP is to showcase the works of current Ohio artists and craftspeople by decorating the Governor's Residence official holiday tree. Fifty ornaments are selected (10 per region of the state). My ornaments were selected four years in a row and then last year my snowman ornament was not selected (bummer). Below is the new ornament titled 'Mistletoe' and has over 30 beads wire wrapped onto a metal chain.

Creating a Bra from Scratch....

One of the gallery owners I have worked with in Cleveland sent out a call for entries last month. She asked that artists decorate bras with things like puffy paint, watercolors, or fabric and bring them into her gallery. She would put them on display and auction them off to raise money for breast cancer research. I thought this was a wonderful idea! She had some bras that she was giving to artists the bigger the better he he :).

Below you will see three images of the bra I created.

I wanted to construct a bra out of metal and beads and found a variety of types of copper to use in forming the structure. Using copper tubing and mesh I formed the metal around a female form and literally stitched the mesh, using copper wire, around the tubing in some instances. Because I couldn't bend the copper tubing into a tight spiral to form the bra cups, I switched to glass beads strung on copper wire, which brought the piece together in the end. I didn't start out thinking I would create a bra from scratch, but pieces of it just evolved and using my own bras as patterns helped!

The gallery owner loved the bra! She is going to let me know how the auction goes and hopes that I win the 'viewers choice' award!

Mouse in the House!

The other night I was making beads and kept thinking one of the cats was walking down around my feet, which was odd because they just typically leave me alone. When I would pause and look down I wouldn't see anything so I thought I was just losing my mind. THEN, I saw the little critter! It stopped and stared at me and then ran by. It was a very cute tiny mouse. One would think with two cats in the house we wouldn't have any mice.

So, I brought Gypsy (AKA BK for Bunny Killer) down to the basement with me and shut the door so she couldn't leave hoping that she could rid my studio of the rodent. She climbed up to the top of the steps and cried until I let her out. I couldn't even believe it!

I guess I'll have to go find a live trap so I can catch the little bugger and stick it outside (just so it can find it's way in again according to my husband:).

I'm not ignoring you!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I've been working on some brand new beads for a few juried shows that are coming up in 2006. One is a traveling show and the two others are publications. All of the deadlines are Oct. 1st so I've had to ignore some things, like this blog, in order to get those applications out. I'll post some images soon.

I'm going to be selling beads only at the upcoming Intergalactic Bead Show in Cleveland (Oct. 1 & 2nd at the Berea Co. Fairgrounds 10-5pm both days). Hope you'll come by and say hello. I don't have another show until December.

I am planning on going to see Grammie in October for a little bit. She has been living in an nursing home for several weeks now and has been getting stronger, but still dealing with lots of complications. We just can't seem to get ahead of the game. It's really frustrating for all of us.

My Brother's Photography

My brother just finished putting up a web site and I thought you might like to see some of his work. Steve has been a professional photographer in NYC since 1980 (with a few years spent living in Amsterdam). Follow this link
www.shphotography.com

Consider Donating to CERF

Like all of you we have been horrified by the devastation in the South. I would like to raise some awareness of a charity that is dedicated to helping artists called the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF). You can go to http://www.craftemergency.org/ for more information.

When a dear artist friend of my passed away in 2004 I asked that people make donations in her memory to CERF and knew it was what she would have wanted.

Won't you join me in donating to CERF to help the artists in the area??

Thank you!