What's on the desk without pictures...

This isn't on my desk.. it's already sold but I'm really happy how it turned out.. it's 2 pieces of glass wrapped together with sterling wire. I might have to try more of these....

A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read. --Mark Twain

I love that quote! I love Mark Twain. Not only is he considered one of the great (if not THE great) American writers he's darn fun to quote.

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. --Mark Twain

I'm very pleased that this weekend I'll be in Mark Twain land (specifically Hannibal MO) for Tom Sawyer Days selling my jewelry. Among very kewl events like a fence painting contest and frog jumping races they have a 3 day art show at the park.

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. --Mark Twain

Currently it's forecasting rain for much of the weekend. Ugh. More rain.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. --Mark Twain

I of course choose to hope for the best, and NO RAIN. It could happen!!

I can live for two months on a good compliment. --Mark Twain

I sold something on Artfire! woot!! to a total stranger!! I love it. This is what sold...

Today not very productive in the studio. My desk is covered with an order of Aluminum rings for chainmail. Unfortunately they didn't label them. So I am trying to mark each package with it's size. Which of them is 16GA 1/4 ID vs. 16GA 7/32 ID? this is harder than it sounds. ID stands for Inside dimension, expressed as a part of an inch. So what I'm really comparing is is 8/32Th to 7/32Th. Suddenly I think I need bi-focals. UGH!

Times flies, regardless if you are having fun or not....

Yep, those really are old watch faces. They are not exactly matched, but very very close! I punched holes and added the copper wings and brass clock arrows. And one crystal in the middle just for bling!

I actually am having fun, but busy busy busy... working on commissions again ( not complaining!! really!! Let me know if you want something done!) and trying to get ready for my first DownTown Farmer's Market on Sat!! WOOT! now hopefully it won't rain, but I'll be there either way, so please stop by.. I'm on 3rd street south side, the new area for this year! And on Sunday I'll be at Snake Alley Art Fair in Burlington, IA. So busy Weekend!! but it's good fun, and I hope to see you at one or the other.

What's on the Desk 06/12/11

OK, not actually making much tonight, but boy I'm having fun!! I bought a couple of lots of mixed brass stampings, mostly raw. Now it's kind of dirty and raw brass often still has oily stuff on it from being made, so I'm now cleaning it. I got 2 pounds so it's going to take a few days to get it all cleaned up.. but I'm already getting all kinds of great ideas for future projects, and I can't wait to get started!!

Happy Birthday to the kittens!!

I guess I can't really call them kittens anymore, they turned 1 year old today. Happy Birthday to the funny monkeys Kya and Kass! And thank you to my buddy Tammy for trusting us to have 2 of the furry butts!

Early pic, probably between 1 and 2 weeks. They are in this pile somewhere! There were 5 kittens and 1 partial momma cat in this pic.. can you count them all?

Probably around 8 weeks old here, tiny!
Kass Today. Doesn't he look willing??
Kya today.... wow, what a look!

What's your favorite number?

I was listening to NPR at my "money" job which is something I do most every day. I didn't catch the website, but one of the guests is running a survey on what is your favorite number ( I just did a net search for it, and couldn't find an active site for it... go figure..) He is finding so far that about 10% of the population doesn't have one.

Now I've had a favorite number since I was 7, and it is 7. My birthday is the 7Th ( Of October, for those who wish to send me a gift..lol), it's a prime number, it looks kewl and that year was and is very special to me.

That was the first year I didn't spend a chunk of time in the hospital. I'm not going to go into details, but as a child I was very sick and nearly died more than once. I had my last hospital visit and episode right before I turned 7.

I can remember dancing around the house as a 7 year old playing with this pipe that was shaped like the number 7, singing a song I made up about how wonderful 7 is.

I don't sing and dance about 7 anymore but it's still my favorite number. I actually use it when making jewelry... when I string I often end up making repeat patterns based on that number.

In the necklace above, I have 7 pearls leading up from the pendant before the crystals. I doubt I did it on purpose, but there you go.

So what's your favorite number, and why?

Had such a good show in Omaha....

Despite the heat and humidity we had a fab show in Omaha ! Met lots of great folks, had some great bakery goods ( always a plus) and sold some kewl jewelry. The sterling and quartz crystal cuff above, which I made last week sold among other items.

I even bought some art... a copper tray from Copper Creations, Inc Artist Randy Patzer takes copper, hammers the hell out of it ( something I love myself) and heat colors the metal. He then uses a heavy resin to seal in the colors and make them food and drink safe. I bought some small metal trays both for me and for future presents for others. Some of the colors he gets is amazing!! I really need to try this with my torch , its yet another thing on my list of stuff I want to play with in the future. I'm going to put the tray in my studio, and I have no doubt it will inspire me!

Next show up is Saturday's Oskaloosa's Art on the Square. I've done this show before and it's always fun, and the folks that run it are super nice and supportive. So stop by if you are in the area! Tomorrow I will be in the studio making items to debut at this show.

What's on the Desk (from Tues.. yep running late!)

Using brass Filigree, I made a wrap for my handmade fused glass cab.. once I picked one that worked for me ...

It's actually hard to use filigree on my fused glass, as they are free form the size isn't standard -nor is the shape.. course that's why I love them!!

I wanted something that looked like a couple of butterflies just stopped by to investigate... the colors of the necklace are in the cab, which is hard to see in these pictures.

Here's another shot of the finished necklace.. which will be proudly displayed for sale at Countryside Art Fair this weekend.. if you are in the Omaha area stop by!