Flame On

Another photo update of the things coming out of my kiln...

Beads! I had a soft glass day the other day. I like to do that every now and then, change things up a bit. It's a completely different animal, much more, shall we say, "responsive" than borosilicate. Perhaps one of these days I'll get into the habit of donating to Beads Of Courage.

Made some more of the ever-popular mustache pendants.

And also a tiny amphora vase, in keeping with my spontaneous tiny vessel fixation. This guy is just over an inch tall.

Pick Your Poison

A preview of the vials in varying degrees of tininess I've been making that will soon be coming to a Fine Specimen shop near you...

Action

I would like to share an adage I heard the other day that might possibly become my mantra:

Action is the foundation of all success.

I have had problems with motivation for quite a long time, back through high school and middle school, and I can't speak to elementary school but it always comes down to STARTING whatever needs to get done. Once I start on something, I usually work away at it until it is all or mostly complete. The problem is, I can dance around projects like no other by finding other things that need to be done, like cleaning the house or making a needlessly elaborate dinner.

So I'm going to start reminding myself that action is the foundation of all success. Because that's honestly one of my biggest hurdles.

New Fascination: Hourglasses

It took me a few attempts to get it right, but I finally ended up with this hourglass that I'm fairly happy with. It is about five inches tall, and it measures 3 and one quarter minutes.

The adorable small ones I had intended as my end product gave me such a hard time that I didn't complete a single one despite many, many attempts. I got them 95% of the way though! The very last step was where the problem was, which was quite frustrating.

Maybe someday I'll reach this level of awesomeness: Ikepod Hourglass by Mark Newson

I Heart Jellyfish

This week, in the spirit of Valentine's Day preparations, I've been making hearts. But hearts are sooo boring. Everyone makes hearts for Valentine's Day. What else would one make for such a holiday? There's simply nothing else. Hearts are THE symbol, and there's no getting around it. So, the challenge I am faced with is how to make it a little more interesting.

The first answer that came to my mind? Stick a jellyfish in there.

Who doesn't like a nice jellyfish, safely incapacitated in clear glass? They're cool, for pete's sake.

So anyway, January has been a month for recovering from the raging capitalist beast that is the Christmas season. That thing can wipe a girl out. While I have been taking my me-time however, there is a problem tugging at my sleeve. At some point, the question needs to be addressed: what is my direction? I have been caught up for a long time in a fear of starting down a career path - any career path at all - because I feel that I will become trapped doing something that is not the "right thing," and wasting my life. The uncomfortable truth that I need to face now is the opposite. The real waste of life is not doing anything with it for fear of commitment, and that is pretty much what I am doing right now.

Thus, I am currently in the process of writing a business plan. For Christmas, I received this handy dandy book:

I have been finding it helpful so far. The internet has also been helpful, and a few friends have offered to give me pointers along the way. Additionally, I will soon be instating regular business hours. Then will come taxes and ledgers and never any free time and carpal tunnel and a boatload of other stuff, but I think if I take things one step at a time I can probably avoid being overwhelmed.

In the meantime, here is a little heart charm that I actually think is pretty cute (you know, for being just a heart). Stay tuned to Fine Specimen, because it's fun to be festive! Oh, and happy 2013!