The Groove Returns

I returned late yesterday from my creative journeys.  I went through Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota yesterday - six states in 15 hours of driving.  A long and absolutely wonderful day.  With the exception of the non-functional air conditioning, this was one of the BEST creative trips I have made in a long time.  Of course, those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook were able to get frequent updates, but for those who follow my blog, here is a capsulized synopsis. 

PMC Conference Logo

I started out at the PMC Conference at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  That was 2-1/2 days of fantastic interaction and networking with friends and fellow metal artists.  I focused on marketing and design this time - learned a great deal from Bruce Baker and Alison Lee - and I hope to incorporate a lot of their suggestions into this blog, my website, and my personal work.  I was on both the giving and receiving end of many hugs from many friends, spent more money than I had planned on, and generally explored many possibilities.  I did receive confirmation of many of my own artistic visions - generally I would consider the PMC Conference to have been successful for me. 

Deb Lozier enamels example - such stunning work and SO fun to do!

Then I went on to two days of torch-firing enamels under the guidance of Deb Lozier at Thompson Enamels in Kentucky.  The class was small, but very exciting.  The other students were amazingly diverse with experience ranging from 30+ years to almost no enamel work.  We all got to work playing with flame and glass, and the items that we ended up with were diverse and multi-dimensional.  I took lots of pictures and will try to start going through them tonight, hopefully getting some posted for all of you to look at soon.  Now, back to the grind...