Back in Boro

Here I am after making three borosilicate pendants after a hiatus of over a year. If you can't tell by my expression, clearly I am psyched. They aren't fantastic, but I'M BACK IN BORO! And I will continue to be until further notice. :)

A year ago yesterday, I graduated from Alfred University. I didn't hope, then, to still be in Rochester now, but through much effort things have not stagnated as much as I was afraid they would if I remained here for too long. Still... I'd prefer to be on my way sooner rather than later. I'm working two jobs now, and even still making barely enough to live on, let alone to sock away into a "Get The Heck Outta Here" fund.

BUT. Despite my recent lack of involvement in the world of glass art, I still have my toe in the water that is glassworking - Firstly, my friend Sandy let me set up my torch at her house (she's got two already, plus two annealers, so I've got a buddy to work with). I would like to return to flameworking borosilicate pendants sometime very soon, but for now we've just been cranking out beads to make into jewelry and sell. So far I've made 36 pairs of earrings for one particular event, which will be both my and Sandy's maiden voyage into the craft fair-type event circuit. I will post another update about this after the event concludes.

Secondly, I have a commission that is begging for my attention, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. I wouldn't want to mess it up on the first try, which is an issue because I've never just waltzed into a hot shop and produced exactly what I intended to produce (well, maybe vaguely with vessels a couple times, but never exactly!). Usually it takes me at least a few tries, if not a few visits to the hot shop. So. I think I just need to suck it up, plan exactly what steps I'm going to take (which won't be foolproof, since, for example, I'll need to use a garage - a place to keep glass warm while you work on something else, usually another component to the piece in the garage - and I've seen and had many experiences with things cracking in the garage), assemble a team, and go for it.

I'll post photos of both these things as they progress. But for now, it's Lilac Festival week in Rochester, so here are some pretty springy things.

Notice

Hello readers,

I wanted to let you know that the reason I have not been updating lately is because I recently moved, and we have not yet obtained an internet connection. Once I have internet again I will resume updating the blog.

Thanks,
Ruth

Productive Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! I've been having a super productive couple of days - Yesterday I mailed in my health insurance application, picked up the first of possibly many applications for a second job, and did a load of laundry, and today I went through all my clothes to see what was in good enough shape to take to a consignment shop, did two more loads of laundry that included my bed sheets, and cleaned up my closet a bit, in the process of which I found this awesome old trunk that I assume was my dad's when he was a kid because it had a bunch of "Boys Life" magazines and really old Tarzan books and books about outdoorsy stuff inside it:


I took all the stuff out of it and put it in bags (which still reside in my closet...) and it needed a good wipe down with a wet paper towel, so I did that and also put a bunch of incense sticks inside it in hopes of getting rid of the intensely musty odor that greets you when you open it up.

The funny thing is, I've been craving a trunk like this lately. Not that I would have bought one, because to be honest I really don't have room for one! But I was window shopping around Craigslist just to get some sort of satisfaction. I love old trunks!

I have to go to work in a little while, so I'm going to sign off now and see if I can't get anything else done before then.

Onward!

Unfortunately, I don't have anything super exciting to tell you in my first blog post of 2010. That's the reason I haven't updated since the last day of December - I was waiting until I had something at least moderately cool to gab about, but my artistic life as of 2010 is exceptionally dull so far. I am well aware that I have no one to blame but myself for my lack of action, but in the words of Oscar Wilde, "It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating." I know my job is only part time, but it sure seems to eat up a lot more of my day than the hours I get paid for...

Anyway, I suppose I could tell you about one of my Christmas gifts. One of my cousins got me this book for Christmas:


I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was upon receiving it. It is not typeset - it is written by hand, and it has tons of hand-drawn images and a sheer buttload of information ranging from the bare basics all the way up to reticello and mold-blowing. After you get through the 270 pages of the main part of the book, there are then sections on tool care, health and safety, a glossary (including the term "glass bug," haha), an index, a section for your own notes, a directory of sources, suppliers, organizations, schools and book dealers, and even a "scrapbook" section which features a bunch of quickie how-to drawings of things like dragon-stem goblets, piggy banks, and "good-for-life" homebrew bottles. Awesommmmme book... It has crossed my mind that this would have been a really good book to have had as a textbook back in college. Oh well, it's mine now! Bahaha. (Thanks Liz!) Onward!