Happy Weekend

It is Saturday.  For most people that is the start of their weekend.  They will sleep in this morning, wake when they cats walk over them or their dogs ask to be let out.  Or maybe their children will turn on the TV in the other room and the volume will wake you up.  You'll have your morning coffee, think about what tasks you have mentally scheduled for the two days, and get dressed.  The chores of the weekend may include planting your garden, mowing your lawn, volunteering at a charity or soup kitchen, going to a concert, going on a bicycle ride...what about art?  Does art or craft play a part in your weekend plans?  Are you going to paint?  Do a mosaic?  Melt some glass?  Throw a pot?  Compose some music?  What are you planning to do that will help your creative side?  Here's an idea for you - build craft or art into your weekend plans.  Make sure that you indulge yourself by allowing your creative side to have some expression; not just throwing basketball with the kids, but thinking about those arcs that the ball makes and putting them onto your paper or computer screen later.  Set your kids down to practice their music and sit down with your own instrument, keyboard, or voice and work on a new composision.  Open the tempra paints for the kids and take the last easel for yourself - see who can express their views of summer better or in a specific time frame.  Then get the sprinkler out and run through the sprinkler - it will help get any paint overindulgence washed off.  Play this weekend. 

I'll be working today, but I'm already looking forward to my pasta for dinner and a relaxed evening and Sunday.  I haven't put the resist down on my silk yet because I've been too tired after a day at the shop to sit down.  I hope to get that done on Sunday.  Then I could paint the center tree on Sunday, set the paint on Monday and wash the resist out of the silk.  Then I could put the new resist onto the fabric on Tuesday and do the next painting on Wednesday.  It will be pushing things to stick to that schedule, but it would get me a bit closer to schedule.  So we'll see if I can get Step 1 done tomorrow.  Have a creative weekend. 

Gorgeous Glass

My time is limited, so I don't read a lot of blogs on a daily basis. But one that I do read is the Daily Muse . Today she showed some of the most incredible glass I've seen, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Take a look at these two pictures:

The squash are made by Molly Stone and the bowls are by Michael Cohn. Their studio, in San Francisco, is holding three open house weekends in October. I wish I was anywhere close to their location so that I could see some of these wonderful glass items in person.

There is something wonderful about glass. It is magical - what it will do to light when they play together. My life's art has been working with glass in a variety of forms. When I was very young, I did beading and mosaic work.

My mother was a talented artist who tried many media over the years, and everything she did, I also did. (And yes, she was a beauty when she was young.) She made a number of wonderful mosaic items. Most of those were sold when she died, but I still have a few of her smaller items. She also bead embroidered until very late in her life. She did stained glass work when I was in college. It was too bad that I was no longer living at home, I could have played with that media as well. But I love glass, and because of that love, I am pleased to have shown you the works above.

Have a wonderfully artistic and productive day. Love people, play with color, smile - A LOT.