My Studio and Metal Clay adventures

Here is a photo of the desk and storage space in my studio (taken about a month ago). The pottery wheel is also in this same room as well as storage shelves. It may never look as neat and tidy ever again! This morning it is full of everything scattered everywhere (no photos allowed)! Also a photo of my new adventure in metal clays. In this photo above are the bronze clay pieces that I have molded and cut prior to firing in the kiln -- the final stage is sanding and drilling holes in the clay before it becomes solid brass and too hard to manipulate. I hope to blog more about the metal clay process soon...

Funny Thanksgiving Story

This is from a fellow jewelry artist on Etsy, she posted this hilarious story on the forum and I asked her if I could share it on my blog:

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From adorned7:

I have fond memories of Thanksgiving as a child. I came from a large warm-hearted and very loud Polish family who were all great cooks. Usually on Thanksgiving the men would sit in the living room, have a beer or two while the women were all in the kitchen cooking. On one particular Thanksgiving( I was about 10 years old) my Aunt Margie, who lived down the street and who was the loudest one in our family, invited all the women over for a hot toddy. My mom, grandma and I walked down the street to her house. My first revelation that the drink may have been a bit strong was when she set the pot holders on fire. Second clue was seeing my mother, grandma and aunt Marge skip down the road, arms linked and singing all the way back to our house. I though it was great! My third clue was seeing my Auntie mashing potatoes and when a clump would fly out and land on the table next to me she would just scoop it up with her hand and throw it back in the pot...lol! The night ended with my dear grandmother laying her head down next to her empty plate and falling asleep. That was the last time Aunt Marge served hot toddy's on Thanksgiving.

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Thank you adorned7 for sharing your funny story! Laughed so hard I cried. Laughter is good medicine.

Buffalo Sightings - Tall Grass Prairie

OK, you can tell I love all things Prairie because of the name, and this was an exciting outing. Tall Grass Prairie -- where buffalo are roaming much as they did hundreds of years ago. I took these photos on a very hot sunny day with my Nikon D60. The sun was not at a good angle but hey, you don't want to be running up to a 2,ooo lb buffalo to get to his other side!

From the website: The bison, or buffalo, once totaling around 30 million in number, were kings of the prairie. These magnificent animals can be up to six feet high at the shoulders and weigh a ton or more - so huge that early settlers thought it was the bison that had cleared the trees from the prairie. They roamed the range in herds of dozens to millions, never overgrazing, always moving, granting the land time to recover. Like fire, they were a mainstay within a delicately balanced ecosystem...

More information about Tall Grass Prairie Preserve CLICK HERE.

Brookside Artzz Show

This show we just did last weekend was HOT, and I don't mean 'rockin, but I mean literally sweltering! The Oklahoma heat index this summer has been brutal. If it's 92 degrees, it feels like 102 degrees. I was wiped out by the end of the day. Thank the Good Lord for a nice bagel shop nearby ('Old School Bagels') that has great ice tea (and bagels, too)!

Mimosa Tree (not the champagne drink...)

I've been wanting a Mimosa tree for years. You cannot find them at the landscape places -- my guess is that they are 'wild' in Oklahoma. A volunteer seedling came up in a crowded flower bed, so I decided to give it a premier spot and transplant. I've set up the patio umbrella to give it some shade from the still hot summer sun.

Here is the seedling I just planted:


I'll post updates if it is a successful transplant!

ooh la la.....sparkly.....

Someone stop me, please, I am so addicted now to making earrings.... ooooh so sparkly....

Grapes in the Hot Summer - a Nice Surprise

I've had this vine for awhile now, it started in a pot, then moved and transplanted several times. It went nuts this summer and really produced a lot of grapes -- the good old fashioned kind with actual grape seeds IN them.

Earring Bonanza

A whole bunch of new earrings soon to be listed for sale online. Freshwater pearls, natural turquoise stone, and Czech glass beads, handmade dichroic glass beads. Way cool. An earring bonanza!

Happy Birthday United States of America!

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

More Route 66 Photos

Beautiful Blogger Award

I had a nice surprise and was awarded a "Beautiful Blogger Award" along with several other bloggers listed by Visual Journey Photo! Thanks so much and I enjoyed viewing all the photos on your blog, too!

Plum Dreams Coming True

Finally, five years of nurturing fruit trees and keeping them alive through heat waves, this year we get plums, lots of plums. They don't keep long, so I made jam! By choice, these babies have not had any chemicals sprayed, so they are not perfect and that's fine with me! Just like Joni Mitchel said in her song.... "give me spots on my apples, but give me the birds and the bees". These are Bruce plums, really tart.

Plum Jam Recipe:

6 cups chopped pitted plums
6 cups sugar
1 box sure jell

Wash pint size mason jars and lids in dishwasher sterlize (heat) mode.

Measure 6 cups chopped and pitted plums into 6-8 quart pan (heavy bottom stainless - non aluminum). Add 6 cups sugar and box of sure jell. Bring to rolling boil over high heat, stirring continually. Boil 1 minute, simmer for 5 minutes while continuing to stir. Remove from heat. Skim off foam. Fill sterilized pint size mason jars to 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe rims, cover tightly. Boil jars 5 minutes in large pan (tops covered with the boiling water). Remove and cool -- the tops will pop in after a few mintues.

Are you comfortable Dazy Dog?

Route 66 Blow Out - Sapulpa

We will have a booth at the upcoming ROUTE 66 BLOW OUT, June 5th 2010. Dichroic Fused Glass Jewelry, earrings, pendants, recycled wine party sets with wine bottle dishes and wine charm sets. Plus pottery and much more! See you there!

Backyard Fruit Trees

'Gala' apple tree.
'Methley' plum tree.
Nectarine 'Sweet Pearl'
'Bruce' Plum tree.

They actually have fruit this year! The last two years we have had a late freeze after the blossoms, but this year -- no late freeze. Hopefully they will make it all the way through the elements this year.

Brady Art Festival - Art and Soul of Tulsa

It will be a three-day art show/event taking place on Brady Street between Boulder and Boston, and Main Street between Brady and Cameron, May 14, 15, and 16. Brady is a part of the old brick town of Tulsa. Now we also have a new Baseball stadium located there - OneOK Field. More photos later...
This photo is from another show, but we will be setting up the tent. Much more to display this year, as we are building up inventory!

Crime Fighting Was Never so Good Looking...

I can here the Phil Collins music in my head now... Just watched Season One and had to post this.

Whew! It's a Lot of Work to Grow Your Own Food

Tilling, weeding, fertilizing, planting, watering, keeping pesky rabbits at bay, pesky bugs, pesky diseases, heat waves, pesky mosquitos (when you go out to harvest what you've been able to grow), and the list goes on. Why try a vegetable garden then? Because it feels good to harvest something from the earth right in your own yard, tastes better too. Also one can control what goes on the plant, like no chemical insecticides, etc. Even with apartment or condo living, a cherry tomato in a pot can be fun, or some lettuce plants maybe. It's work, but rewarding!

Sailors Sailing, Blossoms Blossoming, Spring has Sprung

Even though the winds were gusty to 25 or 30 mph - these sailors were ready to go sailing after waiting all winter.

Crabapple Tree and a Gala Apple tree (below) that I planted 5 years ago.
Sure hope I get to see some fruit this year.

Plum Blossom - First Signs of Spring

This is one of two plum trees in our backyard. I hope we do not have a late freeze this year -- last year it froze the blossoms and no fruit that year.

Working the Kiln for some New Earrings

I'm working to build up some inventory for an art festival in May - "Art and Soul of Tulsa" in the Brady Arts district by the Local Art Matters people (more details on that later).

On these earrings, I measure and carve the glass in equal sizes for each pair, then place a pure silver wire in between the two layers of glass. After it is fused then the ear wires attach to that loop. In this method there is no need for special glass epoxy. This is also a special glass that does not burn off the dichroic layer with the heat of the silver wire.