Field Trip for...MOM!

Tomorrow is the last day of the 2008-2009 school year for my kids, and since I've been such a great mom...making lunches, driving those who missed the bus to school, and chaperoning many field trips...I decided to take myself on a field trip today, to the Tacoma Art Museum. They've got a new exhibit I can't wait to see, Ornament as Art: Avant-Garde Jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt Collection. This is "the first major exhibit to explore contemporary jewelry as a global art form," according to the Museum's site. I'll report back with all the exciting discoveries I make.

The Colorado Project

This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me proud to be a flameworking artist - by and large, the art glass community is filled with caring people who want to make a positive impact on our world.

The 2009 event will take place on July 17 (Denver) & July 18 (Golden). If you're in the area, stop by and take a look - you won't be sorry! The glass artists involved will work together to create a large-scale collaborative project; event proceeds will benefit Learning Landscapes, a University of Colorado Denver program that partners with Denver Public Schools to transform run-down elementary school playgrounds into multi-use parks.

Lifted from The Colorado Project's website:
The core mission of The Colorado Project is to create an environment that will promote and build a culture among Colorado glass artists through philantrhopic projects and events. The Colorado Project is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization.

Goals of The Colorado Project:

• To build relationships between Colorado glassblowers through philanthropic events
• To create collaborative glass art installations
• To promote awareness of Colorado's glass art industry
• To raise money for local non-profit children's organizations
• To promote sponsors in our industry

My entry for the February Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge

I finally worked up the courage to enter the monthly challenge presented by the folks over at Art Bead Scene - my entry is this artcharm cluster pendant.

I created this artcharm cluster pendant with four of my handmade artcharms and three of my lampwork beads from my Fractal Swirl series. The four artcharms include a bead-embroidered felted wool bead artcharm, an altered puzzle piece artcharm, a collaged and wire-wrapped wooden bead charm, and an altered Scrabble tile with a tiny version of Klimt's "The Kiss" on one side, and wrapped with sterling silver wire, faceted pearls, and a big sparkly Czech fire polished crystal.

So what about you?

Fractal Swirl bead in cobalt blue

I'm finding myself struggling to maintain an optimistic outlook despite all the negative energy currently roiling about.

To have a little fun, I've decided that I will participate in the International Society of Glass Beadmakers (ISGB) Release-A-Bead Project. I'm going to take a few of my beads and release them into the world for unsuspecting (and highly deserving) people to find. I'm even thinking of sending a stash of beads to my brother, who travels frequently for his job - Matt can distribute my beads and be part of the fun too, even though he uses his torch for welding, not glass beadmaking. :)

What about you? How can you manifest even a small amount of positive energy? What fun things can you do to bring a smile to your face or someone else's? Leave your ideas in the comments section for a chance to win one of my Fractal Swirl beads; on February 27, 2009, a winner will be selected via a random drawing from all comments left regarding this post.

An Altered Door

I've been busy with a number of projects lately - finished up five (or was it six?) ArtCharm swaps with Amber Dawn's I.C.E. group (I.C.E. is short for International Charm Exchange), finally finished my Angel Tags and Snowflake ATCs for my Altered Art Swaps group, AND I, uh, altered, yeah, that's it, ALTERED, Emily's door.

Archer had attacked her door with some sort of blunt instrument, resulting in a number of holes...additionally, he'd scrawled colored markers on it, and used her address stamp a few times to make sure it was thoroughly tagged. Em's been unhappy with her door ever since, so I took some time last week to do a serious makeover on it. Here are the pictures, before and after.

The details: We spritzed and wiped down the door before we began. It was primered already. I used the cheapest wood glue I could find from the dollar store, and thinned it down with some water, about 50/50 water and glue. I used the kid's paintbrushes, 'cause I don't want glue gunking up MY brushes. We brushed the glue mix on the door, laid down the papers, then brushed more glue mix on top of them. I think I also did an extra coat of glue on top of everything once it was all down, to help protect it (but that was a week ago, so I can't remember for sure, LOL). I think Emily didn't know what to expect when I first suggested the idea of collaging her door, but she's delighted with the new look!

The strategy: I dug into my extensive stash of vintage foreign texts, handmade papers, ephemera, pictures, magazine clippings, vintage music, scrapbook paper, pages from a weekly calendar, wrapping paper, and selected a few little embellishments to dress up Emily's door and make it a little more presentable. We started on the "back" side of the door first, the side that Emily sees when she's in her room. Emily helped glue stuff down, as did Jerry. Archer's excited to start on his door - I've got a bag filled with papers and ephemera to use on his door. I pasted big text pages down first, then did doodles or small pictures on top. I also used mesh tape and joint compound to fill in the holes. We pressed the paper down, so it would conform to the door's molding detail. Enough talk, here are the pictures: