Ghost Town Glass

Fraser Valley Bead Show - in the Spring!!!

2009-11-11T23:51:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! I knew she had been working on a second show for a while, and Barrie Edwards just announced that there will be a Spring edition of the FVBS. I am thrilled to hear it, because it is always a very good show for us, as well as being more fun than any other show I have done. There is just something about being in a room with people who "get" you and your work, and addiction!

Info so far is that the dates will be March 19-21, 2010, with the venue info to come. That is a popular weekend for me, as there is also a class that weekend in Vancouver, and Artfest starts the following Wednesday. I am sure everything will fall into place, since it always does. Yay, Barrie!

Christmas is coming!

2009-11-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

Nooooooo!

Well, yes. I refuse to count the days but it is heading in that direction. When I was in the US all the Halloween stuff was on sale, the week before Halloween, and the Christmas stuff was coming out. Now I see that Christmas food is on the shelves and the newspapers are filling with fliers.

We are celebrating Christmas a bit early, since my brother is working Christmas Day and the next 3 days. I guess I better start thinking presents, since both my Mom and John have birthdays in December too.

Ghost Town Glass needs to get in gear, since our first show, the Christmas Fair at Comox Community Centre, is November 20-22. I think we are ready to go, and I have some copper bracelets to add and John has marbles among other things.

Two weeks after that, we have the Last Chance Faire in Courtenay on Dec 5-6. I am away in Victoria and then Vancouver as well in the next month, so the shows will sneak up fast. I am picking up a rolling mill in Vancouver, so I will definitely have some interesting pieces for the Last Chance! And I might get some resin pieces done too!

And she's back

2009-10-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Journalfest was a blast! It really stirred the creative juices and got me going. I once again have a pile of things wanting to be born! I am blogging about the experience at my main blog .

I did want to mention here that I did not cut myself. Hoewever, I did trip in the dark and since I was wearing my nightshirt (no comment), I have road rash on my calf and a bruised ankle. Nothing broken! Yay, Barrie, I drove through Coupeville but did not stop, just in case!

There was a definite overlap of glass/metal though at Journalfest, since my teachers Ty and Marcia Schultz are both lampworkers (well, they do everything! Including journals and props for locally shot shows - they live in Vancouver). And Tracy Moore, one of the people who runs Artfest/Journalfest, makes books out of metal. I am totally in love with his books! A perfect marriage in my opinion, of metal and paper and many other things.

Diana Plus, filled with Tracy's pictures taken with a Lomo Diana Plus camera

Self Portrait Journal by Tracy Moore

So many talented people, it was just fabulous.

And she's off!

2009-10-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

As in, leaving home, again.

After being home for a week, I am heading back to Vancouver for a brief stop in at Casa de Evan, my gracious brother, and then heading to Port Townsend WA for a week.

The initial plan was to go the way I normally do, via Victoria and the Coho, but John realized after we got home and the weather changed that he had left our coats in Evan's closet. So I will go via I-5, across Whidbey Island and the ferry. Not a hardship by any means! It is one of my favourite drives, so any excuse, since I have not been that way since we moved.

I am going to Port Townsend for Journalfest. It is definitely outside my comfort zone since I work in metal and glass and this is all paint and more paint and drawing and stuff I have little to no experience with. But creativity comes in many forms, so I am going to just have fun and see what comes up.

It is weird to be taking no jewelry making stuff. I am leaving it all behind and am going to get very messy, and probably not burn anything or cut off any body parts. Hmm, sounds tame for Danger Girl! Oh, well, I will be using scissors and there are definite paper cut risks so I will still be living on the edge!

I am in love

2009-10-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

The class I took at the FVBS was Resin with Mikel Lefler of Bijoux de Monde. I really liked her work at the show last year, so when I saw her class, I signed up immediately. I think the classes had been up a matter of minutes. I am serious about my stalking! I would highly recommend taking a class with Mikel if resin is of interest.

I figured resin might be stinky, and being sensitive to smells, was not sure how it would go. The epoxy resin we used was not smelly at all, although good ventilation is essential, as it is with lampwork and silversmithing. We started with doming resin, and I made the next two pieces:

Foil, glitter, small golden glass balls and a dried flower. I could have added more resin but was travelling home right after the class and the resin needs to be level for a good 12 hours so I did not want to push it.

More foil, tin foil and golden balls

Next we used Casting Resin. I made several pieces but apparently didn't keep one level enough and added too much colour to the other so it never set. This one has transparent colour, and glitter added. It is drillable but I will likely bezel set it.

I can see I need to add resin to my stable of techniques. I have a pile of ideas, and since I can make my own bezels and forms, the possibilities are endless!

Fraser Valley Bead Show

2009-10-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Since we moved from Port Moody, the David Street, Pitt River and Golden Ears bridges have been finished and are open. Previously, to get from Port Moody to Langley you had to go over the Port Mann, which was long due to a lot of traffic. Going to my mother's house in Pitt Meadows, we had to go over two bridges, and if the Pitt River bridge was swinging or it was rush hour, a 15 minute drive could take hours.

Now there is a second brdge from Coquitlam to Port Coquitlam, the Pitt River Bridge is large and ships can get under it and another crossing over the Fraser from Maple Ridge to Langley was built. It took us no time at all to get from Coquitlam to Langley. Sweet!

Packing the truck for the show

Golden Ears Bridge looking south

Mount Baker

All the struts have birds on them

Not having to deal with traffic was great! We got to the bead show and got set up.

John being John

The show was a lot of fun, as usual! We were with some great people, and it was nice to see some of the Pacific Pyros and other vendors I have not seen since last year. I was surprised at how many customers I recognized from last year, and the number of people who had either bought before and were coming back for more, or had seen our website and came looking. We sold a LOT of beads, as well as bead creatures and several marbles. I did a bit of shopping at other vendors, getting silver findings, gemstones, and some tools.

I also took a resin class, which I will add a post about once I have pictures of my pieces.
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Vancouver trip, day 1

2009-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Actually, it is day 2. We got to Vancouver yesterday, and went to Capilano Rock and Gem, Opus and Ikea. We had yummy sushi. It was a long but good day.

Today we wandered on Main Street, and headed down to Granville Island. We found a definite theme on our trip. Can you spot it?

This is the Cambie Street bridge. This intersection has been a mess for years, since they were putting in the Canada Line under the road and now the Olympic Village is nearby.

I tried to take a picture of the construction farther ahead, but my camera is baaaaad. We headed down to Granville Island so I could pick up art supplies at Opus.

The Opus store, full of great stuff!

Granville Bridge, Emily Carr

The market

Burrard Street Bridge

We then headed up to 4th, the Comic Shop, Chocolate Arts, and a variety of bookstores. We hung out with Evan and managed to stay up way too late in preparation for the show the next day!

Getting the glass together

2009-09-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

We are getting our stuff together for the Fraser Valley Bead Show, and I have been collecting all the various bead caches. I decided to just go by colour and sort it out later.

John has been busy making spacers, and I have been working on pmc and felted beads. I am not sure how many of the felt beads I will take, but that will just unfold as it does. I found a tray full of earring paris, so that saves some work..Nothing like forgetting things, so when you find them, you are happy!

The next step is going through the jewelry and sorting the beads into sets where approproate and labeling them and taking inventory. Groan! Well, I have a week to get it all done!

Sorting it out

2009-09-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, beginning to feel better.

Since the bead show is approaching fast, I need to find all the bead caches, like the one above, and merge them. There are about 10 throughout the house... At least...

He's been making spacers

And make some findings and beads. I am really looking forward to the show, and am taking a class in resin. Woohoo! Umm, John does not know he is looking after the booth alone for the final afternoon, but I am sure he will be fine. As long as I don't tell him how busy it gets...

Because it is impossible to take a picture in this house that does not have a dog in it!

Today I am off to put up show posters. They came out nice, Barrie!

What, again?

2009-09-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

All I need to feel like this a lot and I will blog every day! No, don't want that...

Still feeling icky but in a passive kind of way. I have not slept in 24 hours so I am sure that isn't helping. My body is working the last several days out, which is good.

I just realized that my linked gallery has none of my jewelry in it.. Hmm. I wonder where the complete one went?

I am going to start another blog because I don't want the process bits in with the more business bits. A false dichotomy, but who cares.

I am going to do that now so I can talk about a couple of great things I am doing soon! John at least is being useful - he spent all day making beads. Yay John. Almost makes up for waiting 3 months before he called the fridge guy... :)

I need more colour!

2009-09-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is Barrie's poster, or looking at Teesha Moore's blog, but I need more colour in my life and in my work. I think this page is not very representative of my work in terms of colour though.

Anyway, just a passing thought, while trying to figure out how to fit everything I want out of my life right now into the very small amount of energy I have. Just the art side alone is too much! I am going to have to start a journal just to write everything down... I have never really had a problem with prioritizing, or so I thought, but I am at the crossroads of what feel like at least 10 directions to go in. Which, my well-educated brain says, leads to paralysis so get it out on paper and go from there.

And something I need to put here, so I don't forget, is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Insecurity about physical stuff makes building other things a lot harder. One of my past thesis ideas was about mental/emotion boundary issues and repeated physical boundary violations (blood tests, surgery, having to go over personal details ad naseum with specialists to whom you are a set of test results and numbers, not a whole). Turns out that would make a good PhD dissertation but I am not going there!
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Oh, the Jackson Pollack of it all

2009-09-20T19:22:00.001-07:00

For anyone who has followed my blog for any amount of time (and read it before I deleted the last 4 years of posts), you know that I have an interesting medical history. I get weird stuff - the kind of stuff doctors want to bring other doctors in to consult on. Nothing contagious, just hard to diagnose and well, weird (Ie Dupuytren's Contracture)

Since living in Comox, I have been in the ER six times. That is 6 times in under 3 years. I think I was in the ER three times in the ten years we were in Vancouver (2 suspected pulmonary emboli and a scratched cornea after cataract surgery). In Comox, once was a scratched cornea again, and the rest have all been food poisoning. Since I have Type 1 diabetes, once my electrolytes are out of whack, which happens with 12 plus hours of violent expulsion, I end up in the ER, with an IV, IV Gravol, and occasionally Demerol. I have more than my share of scopes, probes and other indignities that go along with undiagnosed GI issues. Results - nothing wrong.

On Friday, two things happened - I spent the day in the ER again and the guy came to fix our fridge. The ER trip went fairly well since I went in the afternoon, versus after midnight when it is busier, and the IV went in and came out relatively painlessly. No Demerol, which in hindsight, still feeling rotten 2 days later, might be an option I take next time.

It turns out that our fridge was not working anywhere near properly, and likely has not the entire time we have lived in Comox. It was installed in such a way to screw up the alignment, warp the structure and eventually not circulate air at all. We knew it was not keeping things cold enough and it needed to be fixed but had no idea it was so bad.

So is there a relationship with my spike in food poisoning events and the fridge? I hope so. Cuz this puking thing is getting old, and the ER folks are going to put me in the frequent flier/drug seeking file soon!

September plans

2009-09-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here we are halfway through the month already! I am slowly getting into fall, and transitioning to the indoor 3-day show model from weekly outdoor market model. It is pretty easy! Unfortunately, I went hyperthyroid again, so the last several weeks have been not very productive. Hopefully it is just too much medication.

I have also made some plans over my other career, as a counsellor, so that has been on my mind a lot.

Our goal for the next several weeks is getting enough product made for the Fraser Valley Bead Show. It is Oct 9-12 in Langley, and last year was a terrific show for us. It is always fun and I get to see my LMD people that I don't see due to the move to the Island.

John as usual is focusing on beads - sets, pairs, focals, spacers. I am trying to get him to make some marbles! I am unlikely to be able to get back on the torch soon due to the shakes, so I am making bead caps, toggles, charms, components and focals out of metal clay.
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Metal Clay Mania

2009-08-27T19:23:00.001-07:00

Last week and some of this week I have been making a lot of metal clay pieces. My plan was to have them done for the Fall Fair, but I got the flu and am just getting back on my feet. Here are some of the pieces.

A pile of fired ACS pieces. About 400 grams. I am getting low on raw clay and I need to make a pile of charms and beads caps and toggles for an order.

Post firing, but before tumbling (above)
After tumbling and patina (below) About two inches wide, focal in a necklace with 4 other metal clay beads.

After firing, before tumbling. Inch and a half high.

The nice new metal clay table, covered in stuff, most of which
I have used in the last week and a half. I have putting away issues.

I am at the point that I need to file, drill, patina where required, polish and construct the pieces into jewelry. I figure there are 12 necklaces, 4 bracelets, 4 pair of earring and two toggles, plus charms in that pile.

Productive days

2009-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

The last while has been really productive. I have been making lots of pendants and several completed pieces. I have also been playing with rearranging things, and filling my sketch book.

I got all my pliers together, because I never seem to be able to find the one I want. I was surprised to see how many I had!

And I am trying to get all my silver in one spot. So here is a small amount that is going in the tumbler to get polished up. The flower rusted when I left it wet. It is supposedly Thai silver and I bought it from a major jewelry supplier. I need to research that I guess.

I have been making molds and playing with the molding compound on anything I can get my hands on. The full size Haley mold will be great, although I can't seem to get it off her and it is sorta hairy...

Beads are everywhere in our house, as evidenced by John's mp3 player. He changes the beads regularly but wears it under his shirt (24/7 it seems) so no one gets to see them!

I have a kiln full of silver clay to be fired tonight so hopefully there will be pictures soon!
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As the summer flies away

2009-08-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

This summer has been ridiculous. I have not made any jewelry in about a month. I have not been on the torch since, well, I think there was snow. Stock is so low that we have dropped the Pier Street Market in Campbell River. Things, they are a changing, soon! I will be so glad to see the end of August!

We have been having a heat wave here in the usually pleasant Comox Valley, like the rest of the Pacific Northwest. Thankfully, it has abated and we are back to manageable. For me, who melts pretty quickly (I am made of sugar, you know), the heat has been energy sapping to say the least.

Anyway, ART. I spent this weekend, other than Saturday when I was at the CVCM being the Manager, at the Filberg Festival. My friend Jane Perala had a booth, so on Friday I helped her out. This was a very good experience for someone who may apply someday. Luckily her booth was in shade, and had a nice steady breeze, so we did not cook. Her lovely pieces flew off the table, which was not too much of a surprise because she does fabulous work.

I went back Sunday with my mom to wander, then headed down to Nautical Days to hang out with Erin Lee, of SavonLee, and Nico and Naomi teWinkel of Art in mulBerryland. There was not much shade in Marina Park! There were also a lot of glassworkers, which was a bit of a surprise.

Talking to vendors at all three markets over the weekend, a theme came out. Not a surprising one - sales are down. Even at the Filberg, which is a BIG deal. People who had been vendors before said there sales were down at least 40% over last year. Same product, same price. I heard closer to 60% from other venues. Ouch.

"They" say the Canadian economy is on the way back up, and maybe that will spur things a bit. Hopefully by Christmas, people will be feeling and being more flush. I only signed up for one show in November, and I think I am glad that this is a bit of a building year for us.

I guess we better get building. Or at least making beads - Fraser Valley Bead Show is coming!!!

July - is summer here?

2009-07-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here we go - it is supposed to be summer now, and hopefully that is true. The last couple of weeks have had some interesting days. The CVCM was rained out a weekend ago, and this last weekend the Comox Valley had a long and drawn out thunder and lightening storm. It has been overcast and wet all week, but THEY promise that it will be 27 by Saturday.

The markets have been going well, but I have to say that the economy is definitely having an impact on spending. It is funny how different the two markets and customers at each are, given that the Valley and Campbell River are about a half hour apart.

Here are some pictures from the Pier Street market we do on Sundays in Campbell River.

John doing a great job paying attention to the booth

John being majestic, with a shot of our neighbors,
Nico and Naomi teWinkel from mulBerryLand.

The Art in mulBerryLand booth. It was great to be beside them, and
I hope we are beside them for the rest of the summer!

A close up of the dynamic duo, and Naomi's gorgeous art.

And a Ghost Town Glass post would not be complete without at least one dog picture! This is Mia, my Mom's new housemate. She is a 12 week old Shih Tsu/Maltese/Lhasa Apso cross. She is a total cutie pie, with lots of personality packed into a 5 pound body!

She has not met Haley or Annie yet, but that is coming soon. She screams when she is scared or unhappy, so I am taking earplugs!

The Summer Market Season

2009-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

The longest day of the year has come and gone. It is hard to believe that we are already heading back to darker days!

The markets we have been doing have been going well. So far the weather has been nice. Simms Park, where we have the Comox Valley Community Market, has been just beautiful. The grass is very nice to be on and there is a lovely breeze off the river. A picture from the end of a market day (yeah, I was lying on the grass, about all I can do by that time of day):

We changed around the display again. It is interesting to see how different configurations work or don't. This is what it looks like right now:

Well, part of it anyway. We have been getting great feedback and making sales, so that seems to be working!

I made a set that I did not expect to sell at the markets - I priced it higher than any other necklaces so I would have it as a centre piece. The first markets it got a lot of attention, but once people saw the price, they moved on to less expensive pieces. Yay!

Then on the second day of the CVCM, after running around doing manager chores, I came back to the booth and it was gone. Someone bought it. Without flinching at the price at all. Sigh. Now I have to make something else! Good thing I just got in a huge order of supplies!

The master at work.

2009-06-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I went out to the studio to ask John something, and found him making a border collie. The light seemed good, so I took a video. I also took some stills. Warning - the sound on the video is just noise from the fan, oxygen concentrator and the torch, and it is LOUD. So turn down your sound or mute it.

Sorry for any jerks but I was shaky (that makes beadmaking fun, I can tell you) and trying not to let him know I was there, because I was afraid he might drop the bead or hurt himself!

It gives those people who have not seen a torch in use a sense of what we do anyway. At the end of the video he is putting the white tip on the dog's tail. I will do another one closer for more detail at some point. As you can see, he puntied up to the nose (the rod of black glass is attached so he can hold it - called a punty - he will melt that off at the end, hold the dog with tweezers and firepolish the nose to remove any marks). Apparently it was on mandrel at first, but came off.

Close up of above, so you can see the creature a bit better.

As you can see, the bench is full of stuff. I will be very glad to divide into two torches, since I tend to sit down and decide what I need while holding hot glass and a mandrel. We don't use the same tools, so the stuff I need is never out. And I never remember that ahead of time.

I will post a picture of the finished puppy when it is out of the kiln.

Divine Ms Karen and her eyeball fetish

2009-05-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

I met Karen last year and knew right away that we would be friends. She makes very cool art, and several of her dolls and pictures grace my house. Oh, and skull flowers! She makes "Dark Art" and sells both locally and online at Studio Eclectica

She requested that John make her an eyeball, which he did. Since then, she has gathered a pile of them, although not as many as she wants. He can be hard to motivate some times! She posted this picture on her Facebook, and I got her permission to post it here.

It is a great way to display eyeballs, and I know that she wants even more!

The glass rack

2009-05-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

I got a question about our glass rack, so here is a picture of it:

John built the frame and the slots are downspout cut in 1 foot lengths. It works quite well. The top section is Effetre, and the middle section is Vetrofond, Lauscha, CIM, that other 104 I can't remember and the silver glass. The bottom is just piling room!

A bunch of DH old colours and testers. I have some Psyche and old Terra somewhere too.

The kiln is a Skutt GM 10F with the bead door. It is really easy to use. Glass and PMC go in it, although not at the same time!

Lost her marbles...

2009-05-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Annie is a strange little dog. We already knew this, but there is a new angle to it. She has always picked things up, as most dogs do. I have taken seed beads, mangled head pins and various beads out of her mouth. I was really wondering if I was leaving that much on the ground, when we realized that when we were away, she was climbing up on my table and removing things.

However, she has moved on to marbles. She loves them. They are a good size for her, and she just protects them and holds them in her mouth. She has become quite proprietorial about it.

Now Haley has started. I was taking pictures and dropped a marble and next thing you know, the Airedale has taken it and didn't want to give it back. I took it away but she still wants it.

We have strange dogs.

Some of the pictures I took:

Non-Airedale goobered marbles

What happens when you swallow bubble gum..