Progress!

Well, Malcom came through and I was at his glass saw yesterday at 1 pm.  I love using these - they just cut right through like butter.  I do have to grind things smoothly before placing them into the kiln for a final melt, but I'm really happy with the results, and it was fun seeing Malcom again.  We figured out that I've known him for about 20 years now.  He's doing some wonderful things with custom lighting fixtures - very nice.  He also showed me his larger equipment that I'm welcome to rent time on - his large flat grinder...oh, the possibilities :-)  I now have the pieces scattered across the top of my clothes washer and I hope that tonight I can spend some time with my grinder and do the final shaping so that I can set the kiln to start cooking again.  If all works smoothly I will be able to start beading next week.  At least on some parts.  I still have drilling to do also, and that, potentially, can cause the entire thing to crack open, so it has to be done very carefully. 

This is NOT one of Malcom's lights, but it's very cool, isn't it?

I got my author assignment for the LOTR Big Bang and was contacted by him last night.  I think we'll be able to work very well together.  I've never done story illustration before in my life - I only have to produce a single picture, but who knows?  I need some clarification from the organizers on the deadlines, but once I receive those and do a bit more thinking about what I want to portray, I'll be ready to start work on this.  How fun!  Have a great Thursday!