Why I Don't Leave Town...

Catastrophe always seem to happen when I'm out of town.  Those "happenings" are part of the reason why my poor DH really hates it when I leave town.  This year's conferences were no exception. 



Ripples in a pond move outwards from a single

point, intersecting and moving the waters far

away.  Sometimes I feel as if I was the stone

starting the ripples.  Read why...

1 - Before leaving for Bead & Button Show, my car decided it needed $2000+ of work *head...desk...thunk*. 

2 - Before leaving for MCWC I needed a refill on a prescription.  That turned out to be impossible to achieve.  The doctor's office finally called me with an approval AFTER I was already at my conference.  Obviously THAT didn't actually happen until I returned a week later.  *head...desk...thunk* again...

3 - And on that note...this prescription used to be part of the $4 generic program at Wal-Mart, Target and other stores.  How much does it cost now?  $75/tube!  WTF???  My three tubes which should have set me back $12 set me back $225!  Ouch!  (It's a miracle med for me though and already, after only having it for two days, my hands are almost 100% healed with only two applications.  Goddess bless whoever invented this stuff.) 

4 - When I had called my DH on Saturday while I was attending the final day of the conference, he sounded pretty crabby (not that it's unusual, but...).  I later found out that we had 5-1/2 inches of rain in an hour early that morning, and that shrew burrow holes had caused a leak into my craft room and yet another flood.  Oy!  The water was restricted to his side of the room, so not as bad as we've sometimes had in the past (we've had waterfalls into that room in the past, flooding up four inches or more of water - very nasty), but it was still a pain, requiring wet/dry vac, fan set-up, and the dehumidifier running.  And then, of course, he had to get to work since he was covering my shift for me. 

5 - The heat!  -'Nuff said...

And now, Chickie is off on her vacation.  And my luck seems to have followed her to Montana because...

6 - Chickie phoned me yesterday and, while her Mom was visiting her Grandmother in her nursing home, the nursing home cat - apparently known to have "issues" with visitors - bit her mother.  Her mom has subsequently developed a raging infection to the bite and is hospitalized, where she will be for at least another day, perhaps two.  Since Chickie and her Dad were actually camping in Glacier National Park, unreachable by cell phone, etc., and a cousin had to drive up to the campground to get them.  They left everything set up in the hopes of returning in a day or so.  I'm not sure I would be quite so trusting...but that's just me. 

So...now you see why I am strongly discouraged from leaving town....guess I'll be here for a while - LOL. 

Conference Wrap-up

So, the final three days of the conference were spent at lectures and demonstrations.  The lovely and amazingly talented Carol Douglas demonstrated her miniature sculptures in copper clay, taking over at the last minute from Gordon Uyehara - still ill with pneumonia.  She was a trooper to step in like that, and her sculptures were absolutely amazing.  I attended lectures on cold connection techniques, making bezels for stones, applying gold to silver and other metals, photography techniques, and a lovely method for enameling that I can't wait to put into practice.  I was up at 6am and often didn't get to bed until midnight.  The candle was firmly burning at both ends, and it was well worth it. 



Christi is one-of-a-kind with a love for her art

that shines through.  Great fun!

I made a Ghoulie with Christi Friesen and ran into Maureen Carlson and Lisa Pavelka when I "crossed the boundary" and roamed through the Polymer Clay Retreat being offered in conjunction with the Metal Clay World Conference.  I am not a polymer clay artist - at all!  But Christi has been a friend for years.  I sat down to watch her work while my roomie was talking with Lisa Pavelka, and before I knew it she had pushed some clay into my hands and talked me through making a Ghoulie.  She even baked her for me and I picked my little critter up the next day.  I have to get some photos done within the next week and I'll add her to the list - she's actually quite funny and, since some of her clay is luminescent, she glows in the dark. 

This little critter is typical of Christi's work lately - fun,

little critters with a way of magically enthralling you.

Our breakfasts and lunches for the three days of the actual conference were included in our registration fee.  The food was very good, and one of the plusses were the raffle drawings.  Each of us received a raffle ticket when we checked in.  I was hoping to get the kiln that was being given away on the last day, but it went to a very good home.  I did win an assortment of glass clay, though.  What a highly appropriate gift for someone who works in glass!  I still need to read it through and find out how to use it, but then I'll get to play at no extra charge.  Yippee!  And speaking of play - I'd better get my chapter heads together for my Big Bang author or he won't love me any more !

Conference, Days 2 and 3

So after Robert Dancik's wonderful class on Monday, I continued my learning experience with a two-day class by Michael David Sturlin.  The class, entitled "Establishing Your Artistic Identity" pushed twenty of us into re-examining our designs, refining and minimizing them.  Did I establish my artistic identity by the end of the class?  No way.  But I did have an opportunity to explore some design elements in my own works.  This class will take me a while to internalize.  But I don't think it was correctly titled - I think it should have rather been titled "Refining Your Design Sense" or something similar to that.  It was a marvelous class, irregardless of the title, however. 

Michael David Sturlin

One good thing was working with 36 gauge foil in the class.  I really enjoyed the material and ended up purchasing some on Wednesday evening when my roomate Shruti and I took a quick trip north to the local Dick Blick Art Supply store.  I ended up with lots of wonderful art supplies - it's hard to beat a trip to an art supply store - and Shruti had no idea they had physical locations, she has only ordered from them on-line.  We left with much stuff and less cash - LOL.  Shruti was in 7th Heaven. 

Gordon Uyehara, artist extrordinary

The "Welcome" reception was held that evening with a wine bar and wandering hors d'ourve waiters.  I didn't get a lot to eat, but I did have an opportunity to meet up with several friends who had just arrived that day for the conference portion (the three prior days having actually been pre-conference classes).  One person who was missing was Gordon Uyehara who collapsed before teaching his class on Monday.  Apparently he had walking pneumonia and was quite ill.  He was in the hospital for most of Monday and confined to his hotel room for most of the remainder of the week.  If nothing else, he got enforced rest, but I'm sure that by the time he left to return to Hawaii yesterday, he was more than ready to leave. 

Home Again

So, I'm home again.  Can I leave and return to a place that has air conditioning...please????  I drove back in 96 degree and 81% humidity, and the prediction for the remainder of this week is daytime temps of 90 and above and nights in the mid-70's, with high humidity for the week as well.  Ick!!! 

The conference was outstanding.  I loved every minute of it.  I'll be paying this off for the rest of the year, and I will still consider it money well spent.  My first day was spent with Robert Dancik working with faux bone.  (He wants a pic of my finished piece, so look for that later in the week.)  Although I own the bone, purchased from him more than three years ago, I had never done anything with it.  Now I have a much better idea of what I can do with it and how to work with it.  It's a variety of polyvinylchloride, but not what your plumbing pipes are made from.  And it is great fun to play with and very fast to work with.  I have three sheets somewhere in my craft room (le sigh) and if I find them, I can play...

Robert is an outstanding teacher - everyone is met with positive comments and encouragement at all times.  Throughout the week, watching him greet many people, there was not a single person he met that did not receive a compliment - sincerely given.  Either the color of their clothes, the jewelry that they were wearing, their hairstyle, whatever - everyone received positive strokes.  Robert leaves positive feelings in his wake and is an excellent teacher with a long/strong background in public school teaching to fall back on.  A wonderful experience.  My roomie, Shruti, finally arrived about 10pm that night, long after our surprise birthday party for Katie Baum which was wonderful food, wonderful friends, and mega-dollars (well worth it, though).  More tomorrow...

Travel Time

My suitcases are out of the closet. They haven't been packed yet, but they will be tonight. I have all of the supplies I need for my classes and my roomate is at least in the US now, although it is possible that her luggage is still in India. Oh well, we'll make it work.

 I know my time will be very full so, although I'll have my laptop with me, I won't be posting on my blog or probably writing anything for the week. It's a week of art for me instead :-)

Too Much To Do, Too Little Time

So, I leave on Sunday for my conference.  I'll be gone for a week, attending classes, watching demonstrations, listening to lectures, and meeting socially with friends and future friends (because I am a perennial optimist).  However, I haven't even taken my suitcase out of the closet yet.  I have at least looked at the supply lists for my classes.  I have to make a hardware store trip this morning to pick up a few items that I don't have, but I already have most of it.  I'm torn about whether or not I want to bring any of my metal clay supplies.  It is a metal clay conference, and last year I won an award in the mystery bag contest.  But I haven't worked in the media for over a year - I've had other methods of art creation higher on my priority list this past year.  I do enjoy the media, but only as an adjunct to my enamel work, which...come to think of it...was why I started work with metal clay in the first place.  So, I'm torn, but I will have to make some decisions quite soon. 

"Walking the Dog" was what I came up with for the 2009

Mystery Bag Contest.  I won some faceted sunstones for

my award.  The Japanese judges found it highly amusing :-)

I'm rushing through this morning though.  I wanted to mail a package to my neice for her new baby, but it turns out that the address I have is questionable, so I'll have to wait for her to repond to my FB message with the correct addy, then I can do the shipping label and it will go out on Saturday morning or it may have to wait until I return.  I really hope that won't be the case, I would love for her to get the package and it would be one more thing off my agenda. 

For those of you who aren't quite sure about fanfic, there is an excellent article in TIME by Lev Grossman that I recommend you read.  This is a community that I am heavily involved with, and it can be mysterious or laughable for people who are not really understanding of it.  The article expresses, concisely, what those of us involved with fanfic find appealing with it.  Lev says that they cut 1000 words from the original writing he submitted, but it is still a good read. 

Back to Work Again

I actually printed out the supply lists for my classes next week.  Now I just have to actually read them and pack accordingly.  I should also determine my route so that I can avoid most of the tolls on the Illimois roads - they really suck.  I am looking forward to the trip, though.  Not least of which will be to see my friend Shruti.  I don't have any charms made for charm exchange, and I don't have the time to do any either, so that's the way it goes. 

Yesterday I bought the Blu-Ray extended edition DVD's of Lord of the Rings.  Actually, my DH bought them because he will be writing me a check to pay for them.  EXPENSIVE!!!  But of course, with three hours of addtional "stuff" I had to get them.  Addict?  Moi?  I also noticed that I get digital download rights for a year with this, and I will certainly take advantage of that!  I also bought a couple of light-weight short-sleeved shirts for the shop because I only have a single one that's in wearable condition.  Wearable is highly recommended - LOL.  I also pre-ordered the DVD for Game of Thrones, another thing that DH is paying for.  I still don't know when it will be released, but I'll have it coming to me when it is.  With my Barnes & Noble membership discount and free shipping, the price was great! 

I wanted to get to Barnes & Noble yesterday to buy a copy of Empire.  The current issue has Gandalf and Bilbo on the cover and goes into some detail about the making of the Hobbit movie.  Unfortunately, my time simply didn't allow for the trip.  But I got a lot done yesterday.  I had a 40% off coupon for Dick Blick and ended up buying a bright red irredescent paint for use with air brush.  I have been wanting to do a lacquer-type finish on one of my boxes for more than a year.  So I'll sand one of them down and start playing.  I really enjoyed playing with the airbrush for my Big Bang picture which I will show all of you more towards the end of the month.  I want to play some more with the airbrush and explore some additional possibilities.  Fun! 

Heat and Scheduling

I'm running late and it's only 5:30 am.  That's A.M.!  Oy!  Today is my "studio day" although the only studio related things I'll be able to do today is photographing my Big Bang artwork to submit.  I still haven't finished the chapter heads, and that may not happen timely.  The clock is ticking. 

I have to go to my new accountant today and drop off our paperwork so that he can set up our account.  I'll have him file extensions for our 5500's to give us a bit more time to breathe and so that he can become familiar with our paperwork.  But I have a few questions, so I hope he can fit me into a 15 minute gap in his schedule today.  I'll be doing laundry, of course, and I should start packing for my conference that I leave for on Sunday morning.  There is Le Tour de France to watch and Iris' latest story to finish beta work on, and I have at least one story to post to my various archives.  I hope to grab some breakfast and I need Jim's check (paying me back for purchases and giving me a small amount for the conference expenses).  He can write it to me tonight and I'll still have time to deal with it, but not much later.  I have to go to the post office and the bank and.....whew!  I'm exhausted just reading through my schedule.  At least the heat broke (for a short time) with a rainstorm last night, so I finally got one decent night's sleep.  Finally!  Have a productive day.

Beauty and the Beast

No, I am not placing myself in the Beauty definition above.  I know myself all too well and I haven't qualified for "beauty", at least in body, for many years.  But the video I am linking to here...

http://vimeo.com/24253126

this qualifies as beauty.  In the extreme.  I think I could watch this 1000 times and never grow tired of it. 

This picture of beauty and the beast is by

staje on deviant art.  Wonderful work!



The beast, on the other hand, well that's fairly self-explanatory.  Apparently since we haven't had a great deal of time to discuss my trip to Milwaukee, I'm being "tricksy" again and hiding things again.  Then we decided to cook shish-k-bob for our dinner on the 4th, picked up the meat and a sesame-ginger marinade, and various veggies.  I was going to cut things up...but NO.  Apparently I would do it all wrong.  I also should have purchased a red pepper instead of the green one and the marinade that I chose was questionable.  Such drek!  I'm so tired of his believing that I never do anything right.  *sigh*  I'm just counting the days until I leave for MCWC at the end of the week, because I think I really need a break. 

Scheduling and Time Frames

So I received my kit for the 2012 Beading For a Cure yesterday (to view the current 2011 auctions, follow the link).  This annual charity that I participate in has a variety of beads in the kit.  Each bead must be used at least one time in the project.  I've got an idea in my head for what I want to make, but I need to draw it out and spend a bit of time working it out.  My problem, as always, will be time, or rather the lack thereof. 

I want to continue writing, and since most of what I write is short that's probably not going to be a major problem.  But I also edit for two friends, and that cuts into my time also.  It's worth it, but it's time. 

I committed to produce artwork for at least one story in the Tolkien Big Bang.  I knew I would have the BFAC commitment also - I have done this challenge for years.  But I still need to fold everything into the 2 hours or so that I have in my nights and maybe an hour in the early mornings. 

And I have charms to make for the Metal Clay World conference, enamel work to finish, other beadwork projects sitting on my desk (currently there are four in process) and...and...and.  I need to design something for BFAC that will not be a time hog but will look excellent and meet the criteria of the challenge.  The designs are already shifting in my head, just by writing this down.  It'll come clear...

Gifts and Solstice

I love giving gifts to others - even virtual ones. I've been busy over the past two days giving virtual gifts to all of my Super Poke Pet friends. I've got almost 400 of them, so it takes a while. But it is one way of my celebrating Solstice with many people, and I think it's worth the extra time that it takes to brighten the lives of others. So, I am happily playing Solstice frog and depositing small plants to celebrate the next season of life. I plan to spend Solstice doing various errands and some photography that has to be finished ASAP. Maybe I'll have an opportunity to catch up on some other photography. And I can tell that every spare minute over the next few weeks will be spent with Photoshop, massaging my photos into something nice to look at and that will work well for screen viewing.
I started work, quite quickly, on my charms yesterday as well. I am thinking about making small tornado charms for the Metal Clay World charm swap. I have my new copper clay to use, and I want to enamel these as well. I've got three weeks to get these nailed. Why am I always tight on time......? Tick, tick...tempus fugit. - LOL. Well, I've always said that I create better under pressure....

Scrolls and Praise

I have determined that I do not draw scrolls well. Why, you might ask, do I care about drawing scrolls? Well, the embroidery on my cloak should have overlapping scrolls in the bottom corners and the collar tips, and climbing scrolls up the center front. I brought my french curves to Milwaukee with me and did a rather uninspired scroll on my test fabric to practice my ribbon roses. The roses turned out really well, even though I was in serious pain that day. But the scroll was boring. So I've pulled out design books to help me with this. It's rather amazing how much research I'm having to do to get this part accomplished (in between working out the charm design for Metal Clay World and doing the final wirework for my BFAC piece). All of these items have a July 15 deadline. Deadlines usually help me focus, I'm going to hope that I find a solution to my scroll problem soon because the clock is a'tickin'.

It's nice to get the occasional positive stroke. It's something that I don't get in my home life very frequently. I rely on friends and E-friends to give me the positive feedback that keeps me creating. I received a wonderful compliment from a dear friend in an Email this morning. It brought me close to tears - that anyone could think so kindly of my personal creativity to tell me directly. Thank you. You truly have no idea how much your short Email meant to me today. The wind is back in my sails for a few days.

Savings - A Perspective

The news broadcast today states that savings rates in the US are at a high unmatched since the 1980's - a five percent (5%) level. The same report stated that this rate needs to decrease to get the economic furnace fired up again. I am mystified. For most of my life I have heard the pundits despair that our savings rate was so low. We were usually compared (negatively) to Japan, where rates of savings were double-digit. But now, with this report, it seems that we are suddenly being told that savings is bad. I must disagree with that. I think savings is good - I just wish I had the money to be able to save some. I suspect I'm far from alone in that sentiment.

I have two major trips/conferences scheduled for this summer. I will be attending the Bead & Button Show in June, and Metal Clay World in July. My personal savings right now are approximately $200. That's not going to take me far with either of these conferences. So, I'm putting everything aside that I can. By the time June comes around, I'll probably have at least $300 more put aside just from putting aside all of my change and $1 bills each night. It's rather amazing how quickly that can add up. I spend larger bills sometimes specifically to get some smaller bills that I can stash away. That's my savings plan. It's pretty basic, but it seems to be working for me. And if I can save the money necessary to fund incidentals at the two conferences this summer in this manner, I'll be very happy to join this savings revolution.

New Friends - New Hope

In 2003 the economic troubles of the world were far, far away. In fact, it was an economic boom time for most of the US and the world. In the fall of that year, a happy and friendly red-haired face came through my door asking for employment. Even though I turned her down initially, she was back the next day, and she showed some tenacity and an inner spark that really intrigued me. I hired her, and Meghan became a part of our little family. Since that time, she has had an active life, and fell in love with a very attractive young man in southern Peru. She moved back to the US in the fall, last year, along with the wonderful news that she was pregnant. Last week she gave birth, and here is one of the pictures of her new cutie. Welcome to the world, Sebastian Ray. You're a total cutie and my heart is completely won over.

And, while thinking about the future, I'm also concentrating on my more immediate future - the two conferences that I am planning to attend this year. Bead & Button Show takes place in early June, and Metal Clay World takes place in July. I have my friend "Poo" (Pam) as my roomie again for Bead & Button Show. We've been rooming at these bead shows for more than 10 years now and have become firm friends. Our personal schedules work well with each other - for example, she's an evening shower person, I'm a morning shower person. And we're both married to guys named Jim; one more coincidence :-) I have a new roomie for Metal Clay World - Shruti lives near New Dehli in India. I met her last year at the PMC Conference in Indiana. I'm really looking forward to spending more time with her - she was very fun and is involved in many of the same types of artwork that I am - beading, enamelwork and metal clay. After these two conferences, I'll be totally broke for a while . But it will be worth it to travel and learn new things.

Economy - This so SUCKS!!!

My goal is to retire eventually and make things that I can sell in my "spare" time. But if this economy doesn't improve, that will be a total pipe dream. The crux is that if the Maya are to be believed (and their calendars were pretty darned accurate), the world (this 4th world according to the Hopi), will end within the next few years - 2012 is the year that the Maya give. I would really like to enjoy my next few years doing what I love and traveling. The economy is pretty much guaranteeing that won't happen. I've lost an incredible amount of my personal "play" money since the beginning of the year. I can afford going to Metal Clay World since I've already paid for most of it. But, for the first time the Bead & Button Show is a question mark. I haven't even made my hotel reservations yet, and I know I need to get going on those. This SO sucks!!!!

And, of course, my torch is acting up again. I was getting towards the bottom of a really lousy tank of propane, so when the torch tip sputtered out in the middle of a solder job again, I removed and tossed the tank. I went in search of some new tanks - Menards (like a Home Depot only smaller for those of you not from this area) was totally sold out. Not a tank around. I finally went to my favorite local hardware store and bought their last two tanks. Then, after I made sure that the fittings were fine, I disassembled and started soaking the torch tip. Seriously gunked up again!! So, I got no work done on jewelry, but at least I'll have a clean torch on Friday. And I got my large CZ/gemstone assortment from Gem Resources yesterday. Shirley simply rocks!!! So not all is bad - just enough to make me not happy :-((

Saturday!! and Happy Things

Saturday - one of my favorite days. Why?
1) Because I only work until 5pm instead of 6pm
2) Because I have pasta from Bascali's for dinner (happy, happy, happy)
3) Because I can start my day out watching Suzi Orman on CNBC (and yes, it's on at 4am!!!)
4) Because I can sleep in on Sunday morning.
I'm sure there are other reasons also, but these will do. At least do well enough to put a smile on my face.

Several happy things over the past few days.
1) I got my pre-conference registration done for Metal Clay World 2009. I got into Gordon Uyehara's class on BronzClay and Alan Revere's class for design. I'm always trying to do better with my artwork and these two classes will help to fine-tune things for me. Expensive, but worth it.
2) I purchased a new phone for the studio at the shop. I was missing too many phone calls and practically injuring myself running up the stairs to the showroom to be able to answer calls while I was working at the bench. Now, I just have to walk 10 paces away from the bench to get the calls answered. VERY HAPPY!!!
3) I realized how very lucky I am in my friends. I have been having some issues with depression lately. My friends have stepped up to the plate, Emailing me support that was SO important to help me pull through this most recent bout. They have also given me the courage to watch myself carefully and make sure that I don't fall back into the pit. Friends - they are absolutely the BEST medicine in the world!!! Thanks to ALL of you!!!
4) I finally got some photos of the shop after our newest remodel (which, unfortunately, is still going on). But it's starting to look good. I'll get some posted later on when I've had a chance to look at them carefully and decide which photos are good and which should be scrapped.
5) I colored my hair into an autumnal coloring (just for a short time). Although I don't like the shade, I know that red never stays in my hair for long. I expect within 2 weeks or so my hair will be back to blonde - maybe not the platinum that it gets in the summer sun, but blonde. So I'll enjoy this red for a while.