Polymer Fun

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Fimo Techniques

Driving with Miss Daisy - An Update

Lots of people have been waiting for a Daisy Mae update.  We recently took a trip to North Carolina to visit family, and do a few other things I either can't or am waiting to talk about.  Don't you love intrigue?  Since Daisy's issues might be a little much for a kennel to appreciate - and that is IF there actually were a kennel available here we decided to take "the girls" with us.  Uh, Trudy and Daisy.  Trudy loves the car - she's an experienced traveler.  She loves, loves, loves her super huge padded bed and we throw it in the back of the SUV and she sleeps.  Daisy, oh crap, that's a dog of a different flavor. 

Trudy and Daisy behind my makeshift barrier in the car.  Ready for the trip!

 

We prepared well for this trip.  Since we were staying with the kids on the farm we went to the vet - we got super dooper tic and flea stuff (NC has more tics than Michigan) and in Daisy's case because she is still in "puppy mode" we decided that she was going to need more, just plain more.  Remember when I cancelled dog obedience when she splayed her legs and we found out about the major hip dysplasia?  Well, we still haven't had that course and she is a spaz when she's out of the yard.  I thought we'd be fine the other day and I let her out of the yard - yup, you guessed it - me, hubby, and several neighbors were out coaxing her back down the block and home again.  Thank goodness for a rural area and no traffic.  That was the incident that tilted me in the direction of an implanted electronic identity marker.  What if she got away and I couldn't catch her?

So, I bought a new harness - she had outgrown her other one and we're off to the vet for the super tic stuff, nails clipped, electronic identification, and to talk about our hip progress.   And, LOL, I had taken a video of her in the car.  Don't get me wrong - she loves the car.....but...  There is Trudy all curled up and happy and then there is Daisy trying to get into the front seat - jumping on Trudy, licking windows, nibbling my husbands ear (and getting air swatted - "Get back there &*%5#!!!.").  I video taped it for the vet.   At  the vets we get out of the car.  Trudy jumps down after she gets her leash on - and out flies the adorable spaz - I thought I had a grip on her - oh hell no - she had chewed through her harness and was FREE.  Out run the vet techs, we're hysterically calling her, and she is oblivious to the traffic (we are now on busy road and not in our neighborhood).  Trudy sensing the panic sits dutifully while we wrangle Daisy.  I am forever thankful that our Daisy is sublimely happy, good natured, and can seem to sense when I'm about to have a heartastroke and gives in to whatever it is that I need from her.  Into the vets we go and the techs give us a room immediately.  No waiting room for who they lovingly call "Crazy Daisy".  She well known there and well loved.

Trudy goes in the back for her spa treatment - cookies and nails.  And then they take Daisy - who strains at her leash - we also had on a collar besides the harness...she's excited to go with her friends while Mom and Dad talk to the vet.  In a few quick moments the vet is called to the back - I sense Ms. Daisy is being a slight handful and they'd like some "guy" arms to assist.  Ah, sweet youth.  Back comes our wonderful vet with our baby girl - who is pulling him all the way and we are cleared to go to NC.  He laughs at the video and decides that Daisy needs the equivalent of Xanax or Valium for her ride. Nothing that will knock her out.  She will be able to get out and pee and drink and so on but she will be sleepy and we are so down with it.  If we found someone to take care of her while we were gone they might not understand how bad that leg actually is (her current musculature hides it pretty darn well) and they might think encouraging her to chase the ball is a good idea (NOT!) - so it's this or stay home.   Staying home was not an option - we've put this trip off for a year to get to this point.  Drugs it is - but we decide not to give her the recommended dosage.  We know we can handle some of Daisy's enthusiasm for being in the car.  We just can't do two seven hour days of it.

Despite the drugs she decided she had to be touching her humans.  Okay, I removed the barrier and she went to sleep.

Off we go to NC on Daisy and Trudy's excellent adventure.  And boy was it.  The kids have three horses, seven cats, and a dog.  They also have 23 blissful acres so we decided we'd try and teach Daisy to come.  Uh, we've improved - but we are definitely not there yet. 


The horses and "the girls" - introductions and carrots all the way around.

 

The fur babies had thee best time.  Daisy thinks cats are a great invention.  She became part of the clowder (a term I just learned from my friend Mallory) and carefully chased after a laser light with them every evening.  She took her turn and no cats were damaged in the games of laser tag.  I've never seen a dog that will chase a laser light - have you?  Daisy and seven cats cheerfully scooting across the front room trying to trap that light.

 

The horses were great fun - Daisy pounced at them until they'd get too close and she's duck back under the fence.  Trudy, well she took up grass chewing along side the oldest of the horses - Sienna (my DIL's therapy horse).  There is even a beautiful creek running through the property and in the heat Daisy decided that trotting up and down the stream and picking up rocks off the bottom was just divine.  She was soaked from stem to stern.  Trudy, she likes water but doesn't really appreciate a good soak without bubbles.  She waded in and found the only hole in the creek...she spent a few quick seconds in a dog paddle and then the "stink eye" commenced, as if we'd pushed her into the hole. 

 

And tug-o-war was a favorite pass time for the three dogs - as they'd trade identical toys they'd just de-stuffed.

Kianja playing tug with Trudy and Daisy

It was a great time for all concerned. 

 

As to the vets impression of her hip.  No, there has been no miracle but there has been incredible improvement.  She is not toe-stepping and she gives the leg and foot full unadulterated normal pressure.  We only have been using her scrips on an "as needed" basis and not frequently.  Since she had the exuberant outburst at the vets and pulled him no matter where she went with him he had a cautionary tale to tell us.  Our plan, take her into Michigan State University and have the hip replaced this fall.  His plan - "not so soon".  I was floored - completed taken off guard.  Jean Wells helped me think this through because my  head was truly wrapped around finishing this quest to make sure Daisy had her hip in place by this winter.  After all she's full size and wasn't that what we were waiting for?  Apparently not all of it.  I guess I should have known this - after having my own knees replaced.  It's not all that easy and requires down time.  In Daisy's case it is going to take 6 weeks on a leash - even with a backyard that is fenced.  Out on the leash even for bathroom duty.  She can not stress the limb in any way, shape, or form while the muscles are adapting to the new instrumentation.  Okay, or so we thought.  NO, says the vet.  Oh shoot me please runs through my head, as we have this bank account with her money in it from all of these generous people who want to help this puppy become and stay "normal".   I relay this to the vet - uh, we've saved and many many people have given of their hard earned money to make this a reality.  He rolls his eyes and says, and I can't quote it exactly because my ears were ringing from a sudden rise in my blood pressure and a panic attack at having my well laid plan disintegrate before my eyes, "She's not ready", he says. 

 

What?

 

And here comes his reasoning.  My reasoning being, "Why not, she's full grown now.  Isn't that what you told me?" "Yes, it is - but, look at her," he says. Uh, duh, what?  And here we go - - - "You can take her to MSU and ask the surgeon if she's now ready for surgery and he is going to say - absolutely - We've got a bad hip here - let's do it."  "Sharon, It's their job to 'cut and cure'.  It's what they do.  It's what all surgeons, human and animal do - but it's not the whole picture."  "Okay," say I, "then what is the whole picture to you - because this dog needs a hip or she's going to grind those bones to dust and get arthritis and be crippled and you said so."  See, I'm livid, panicked, and so many things are running amuck in my brain I'm pretty sure he senses I'm about to melt down...on him.  "That hasn't changed - but you've done what we asked - you carefully worked those back leg muscles into great shape.  She's off her meds, she's not in any chronic pain, she's not toe-stepping, limping or favoring that leg what-so-ever."  I'm like red in the face.  "Thanks, but, what does that have to do with the fact she's GOT to have this hip replaced."  "Well, she's not ready - I just took her in the back and we wrangled her for the implant and walked her and watched her."  "OK, so?..."  "She's a baby, and a spazzy baby - she pulls at a leash like a sled dog or a tractor in a tractor pull."  "OK, yeah?"  "Well, she can't do that - not in a harness or a collar - she's got to be emotionally old enough to just walk on leash because if she doesn't she will pull the hip right out of the joint on the first tug - and she can really tug....she LIKES to tug."  I'm like, really?  Come on now, really?

 

Oh excuse me but all I can think is WTF.  I'm telling you my head was wrapped around a plan - Take the trip to North Carolina - come back to an appointment at MSU and a surgery date.  My apple cart tipped over, they're rolling everywhere and I can't gather the buggers up fast enough to prevent them from being squished by the horses. 

 

So there we are.  Daisy's jumping around the room.  Trudy is calmly sitting between Brian's legs.  And I am struck dumb.  We get in the car and I keep mumbling, "Well, now what?"  Jean and I were in contact and she really helped to talk me through it a bit.  My apples were being squished at an alarming rate but Jean gave it some perspective for me.  Thank goodness.  The money is in the account - the hip will get done - maybe not until spring - maybe not in Michigan (probably, but maybe not).  It's like the army or state civil service - hurry up and wait. 

 

And how is Daisy?  Well, you just heard about her excellent trip.  Did she tug and pull at her leash at every single stop on the way to NC and back.  YUP!  We've got a lot of work to do.

 



A Fun Game for the Colorist in every Artist

 

Welcome to Blendoku! 

It's an application for your Android or Apple where you have to line up the color squares in a puzzle like pattern. 

This is more fun than I've had in a while with an App.  I got it for my Kindle - it was free.  I had color theory with David Barr in college and I thought the man was going to kill me.   He was working on a series of sculptures that had subtle coloring on them.  His thought process seemed to carry into the class and I have to say - I certainly learned how to mix color and how to tell subtle differences between shades of the same color.  This is one of his sculptures.  It's painted steel and approximately 15' X 15'.  The colors seem to change depending on the sun's direction, time of year, and so on - yet they are painted with some very subtle differences.  I guess the lessons stuck because I'm having a great time playing the app when I should be working on other things.

David Barr's Sunset Cube

Let me know what you think of the App

 



One "Happening" in the busy month

In Michigan there is a very strong group of beaders.  Actually, both beadmakers and beaders.  Bi-Annually the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild holds their bead show.  It's always fun and jam packed with beads you can buy.  And aside from the show the guild has an all volunteer group that is just fantastic to work with.  Just the nicest, most welcoming group you'd ever want to meet. 

Susan Lambert and I have participated in this show off and on for years.  We participate as "Glass and Such".  Mostly we do this because we are!  I bring the ceramics and we have some jewelry and occasionally we have a bargain bin for whatever is left from projects.  We haven't done the show in years.  Susan moved to NC and I've never had the stock to fill a booth on my own.  This year, with Susan working for the airline, she said, "Let's go for it."  Bless her heart in the best of ways since this was a long flight, and lots of work on her part.  Me - I got up at 3am to make the drive and work on my end but not like Susan had to.

Did I make a little money - yes!  Did I have a lot of fun after a busy month - YES! and it was priceless in it's value.  Our booth was by great old friends called "Fire Foxes Glass".  They are members of the Southeastern Michigan Beadmakers Guild - SMBG - or better known in the Bead and Button community as GLASS ACT.   Denise Billups-Walker, Joy Cichewicz and Kathleen Robinson-Young took me under their protective wing, as the member who moved north, a long time ago - and I love them dearly for it.  I was a fish out of city water up here forever.  I've shown with Glass Act at B&B for many years.  Those friends are grand - and fun - and best kind of friends you could ever want.  You know the kind, you pick up right where you left off when you last saw them.  And let's not forget Candy Orow and there are so many others.  Google the group and I'm sure you can find everyone.

Here are some photos from that show.  As soon as I can I will pump up my Etsy store with stock - some I had left here and some that was from the show and didn't find a home.  Beautiful pieces but not what the customer was looking for.

Cindy Orow, Joy Cichewicz, and Susan Lambert

Susan talking to a customer



Candy and Denise Billups-Walker talking to a friend

The "Glass and Such" booth at GLBG

 

More to come at a later date about my friends and their work and mine.

 

Have a great day!

 





 

 



ART PRIZE - What fun!

I KNOW, I know...I need to catch you up on where I've been and what is going on.  It's been a long and exciting month with lots of changes happening here on the home front.  I promise I will catch you up but not right now. 

There is a particular something that goes on in Michigan that is world known.  It's world known because of the amount of prize money that is involved in this competition, and large prize money usually brings in exceptional art.  It's big - enormous, actually.  It's kind of life changing big if you win.  But that's the crass side of me talking (the side that longs for free lottery money - LOL).  The art entered in Art Prize is just incredible on so many levels.  It's street art, it's high class painting, it's performance art, it's just such a myriad of possibilities that it's just beyond pigeon holing into a category.  And you most certainly can not beat a half a million in prizes.

Check out this art:  Entries for Art Prize

What I'm here to tell you about is this particular drawing.  I've seen a lot of Armin's drawing over the years.  In fact, I've seen a lot of drawings throughout my career.  Art shows, museums, books, and classes.  There is NO ONE who does this better than Armin.  Really!!! You simply can not believe what you are seeing.  It's like hyper reality at times.  It's all the things you see and then those things you fail to hone in on when you are looking - really looking. 

This year he entered an interesting piece.  It's called Gabriella.  Gabriella is the receptionist at the Midland Center for the Arts.   It's nice to run into the actual person in the drawing...and such an honor to have been drawn by Armin.  Armin is the Art Director and teaches drawing at the center.  Talk about a "die for" class - his classes fill to capacity every time he teaches.  And he teaches far and wide. 

This is Armin with the drawing...and the drawing itself.

 

Armin Mersmann (photos taken from the Art Prize site)

 

This is what Armin has to say about the work:

 

"Gabriella fascinated me as a bit of a conundrum a woman in the prime of her young age, poised, universally timeless and vulnerable. But it’s the complexity and rhythm of the hair that fascinated me, (I was not prepared for a possible 900 hours of drawing time) I do however think her story emanates from her eyes which reach deep in a more mysterious place. My work has been about nature taking back and this drawing is no exception it is the beginning of the process when all is right with the world yet the slow aging process has begun. Whether I’m drawing trees, or the human form I celebrate the circle of time and nature. I have been drawing the human face for forty years; in the last ten years I marvel at aging skin and the breadth of textures that give a hint of a life lived. My goal as a realist is to understand complexities and details; my interest is how the human eyes perceives not how a camera sees, I transform not just translate what I am observing When I complete the work, I develop an understanding of the subject that's both universal and deeply personal."

 

 

As a side note to all of this art and especially to this drawing.  This is the second one of Gabriella.  This past winter at the Winter Art Fair at the center Armin was there working on this drawing for the patrons who come to the fair.  It's a treat to see him work.  Some "patron" (and I use that very tongue in cheek) decided to have themselves a closer look while Armin was away from his drawing board.  What anyone can think is that they had a cup of coffee in their hand and as they bent over the table to get a closer look at work the coffee tipped with them and was spilled all over the drawing.  It was still dripping off of the board when he returned.  It ruined the work - I had not seen it - and did not get to the fair this year.  The first drawing had to be scrapped and it was my understanding it was pretty much along in the process.  So seeing that Armin has placed in the competition is especially poignant this year.   Not only does he deserve the recognition but after the original had to be scrapped and he had the courage to start all over....well, you know what I mean.  I hope he wins the top prize.

Big Beads

Big beads - Some times it's just fun to work big.  I've quite a few hollow mandrels from Jeri that I haven't used since my class with Jari.  LOL - yup, they're both spelled right.  Jeri Warhaftig makes the mandrels (and great beads) and Jari Sheese makes great beads with Jeri's mandrels. 

These beads are blown - they use reactive colors like turquoise, ivory, and others.  Way too much fun to play with.  Shards, twisties, and layers of reactive color. 

 

And just how big are those hollow beads? 

 

 

We're talking about 1.25 to 1.5 inches round.

 

Will I be doing more of these?  Of course.  They're nice and light and very strong and I've always liked blowing the beads in nice shaped rounds.  These are about to be tumble etched.  It gives them this nice satin finish.

 

 

 

Funny...just way too funny.

Swallow now if you're drinking something - if you love Art History - and how us women have always been portrayed this is going to tickle your funny bone pretty good.

CLICK HERE

Newest Ceramic Pieces

Here is the first load from the kiln.  Well, the first full load.  I've a tiny kiln I'm using so my loads aren't that big.  But, it's a good start.  Lots of jewelry components.  Hopefully they will be well received at the bead show and on Etsy. 


My first peak inside the kiln - looked promising!  And, ah - whoo hoo -

I did an under glaze of bright yellow on the inside of the bowl for my  lampwork hearts and I love it.  Happened just like I wanted.  I'm still a little stymied about the outside color but rather than detract from the hearts I went with a pearl glaze which will show the red clay through it when it's re-fired.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Leaves from the polymer stamps I made for the clay.

And here we go - not to shabby for the first glaze.  Holiday beads and earring components.
 I'm going to put Santa's or elves with the  "Believe" pieces.

 

One plate glazed and more to paint and get ready for the show.  Maybe I should try some of the "cold glazing" that others are doing and paint a few of them.  I just don't have may paints compared to glazes. It's going to take a whole lot more stock just to fill one jewelry tray with ceramic parts.  Whew!

 

 

Glazing takes forever

Here are the first earring components out of the kiln.  It was my experiments.  Two sets are going back in for redo's and the rest are tied together in sets and in a tray already.  These are sets for the bead show.  All the proceeds from that and lampwork are still going to Daisy's hip fund.  We are currently sitting at about $3200. and getting ready.  So far - so good.  I tried the Facebook lampwork group the other day but didn't sell the set I made.  No worry - it will sell at the bead show I'm sure.  To be honest I haven't done but that one listing on the Facebook page.  I'd rather spend the time making things and wait until another time to do more listing.  Efficient is the name of the game at the moment.  I'd rather build up inventory for a big push. 

Gosh glazing is slow.  I guess I could do what others are calling - cold glazing.  LOL - makes me laugh.  They've "painted" ceramic pieces as long as I can remember.  My Mom made the greatest Christmas trees with those little lights.  I love to put mine out every holiday.  So I guess I could "cold glaze" a few and do the antique thing and some paste glazes and stuff.  I might try a few soon and we will see how they go.  It's probably not any faster.  Is there any kind of art that is fast? 

Where to put my hearts...

I signed up with my friend Susan for a fall bead show.  That's what the calamity of work is about - all those bits and pieces.  I think I told you this.  Anyhoo, so I'm making these hearts on a hanging wire.  Love them - they are smallish and could even be used for earrings, uh, if there is a matched set in the batch.  Although my favorite use for them is at the end of a stack of beads.  The last drop, the dangle - the finish.  TAHDAH!  Take a bow.

So I have all these little hearts and I'm working on more but I wanted something to put them in at the show.  I guess I could just go to the dollar store and get a little something.  That might actually be the prudent thing to do.  Hah, prudent - nope, not working for me - yet - instead I did a pinch pot bowl.  I tried really hard not to make it too big.  This isn't a huge bead show and although hearts are my thing they aren't everyone's so I didn't want to have to make like a hundred of these hearts so the bowl looks full.  LOL, and then sell three.  Oh Gosh, I hope I can sell more than three.  So far there are 24 of then and that's not enough to fill the bowl.  What if I only sell one?

Need to stop that before I hyperventilate or freak out or something.

This is my little bowl - it's still pretty rough.  And I've added little ball feet to the bottom.  I'm thinking a bright yellow interior and maybe some hearts on the outside but I might leave them the natural color of the bowl and paint around them.  But, it needs to be a simple design - it's smallish and I'd like people to notice the hearts and not the bowl.  Maybe that dollar store bowl wouldn't be all that bad - NOT!