Today is my day to post over at Vision and Verb.  Head on over to read the story that accompanies this photo, which is part of the series of images taken on my photo trek with Bob Towery.

It’s been a busy week and weekend working on glass.  I haven’t created anything new in about two years, I think.  Once I picked up my camera, with the goal to really learn it (and not just use it for taking photos of my glass for my website), I didn’t put it down.  I was admitedly a little rusty last weekend when I first started, at what used to be second nature, and I had to really think through the steps.  I actually forgot how to work my kiln, but once I heard the first click of the relays when it started up, I couldn’t help but smile.

Anyway, yesterday I spent a good portion of the day working on my wet tile saw.  I didn’t realize how much I missed my tile saw.  I love that thing!  Sheet glass (of the fusible variety) is 3 mm thick, or about an 1/8″.  It can easily be cut with a glass cutter and a pair of running pliers.  Anything much thicker than that gets a bit harder to cut, especially if it is an aperture pour (aka potmelt) like what I’m cutting in this photo – they pretty much require a tile saw to cut them.  Actually, this is an aperture pour that I put back in for a second firing with some strips on top.  This was cut into 1/4″ thick strips, which will  be turned on their sides, so the inside will be the top.  This is for project number two.  Project number one is still in the kiln, cooling off.

Today is my day to post at Vision and Verb.  Head on over and give me your opinion, if you would!

What do you get when you mix one pitcher of margaritas, chips and salsa, plus five women sitting ’round the table with no men in sight?  A whole bunch of  laughter, that’s what!  My friend called Saturday afternoon to organize a spur of the moment, women only, get together for a little later in the day.  I can’t even begin to tell you what all we talked about, but there was a lot of laughter going on…and something about naked laundry day…hmm. 

One thing that stands out in our conversation was how many women we know that are on a “journey of discovery”.  Women who are experiencing divorce after decades of marriage.  Women who are experiencing job loss for the first time.  Women who are experiencing strength and courage, hidden within themselves for amost 20 years, to change the path down which they started when they were just barely a teenager.  Women who are finding that they just might love their husbands after all.

We were sitting out on the deck with the night upon us, there was a chill in the air and the buzzing of mosquitos all around us, but we didn’t want to let the evening end, even though we said we needed to go home.  And then my friend’s husband came home – party over.  I think we can safely say, though, “a good time was had by all.”

The moon is obvious; you’re going to have to look for the stars in this photo – they are there! 

Last weekend I went around the backyard taking photos of bedding plants and trees, this past weekend I went around the inside of my home, as well as the front yard, looking for something interesting to shoot.  That’s why we had the stack of books a couple of days ago, dust and all.  Life as I witnessed and shot it - right, John?  (I’m going to remember that one.)  I like these decorative bottles – their shapes are interesting and filled with colorful things.  Unlike the books, I did manage to dust these bottles first before I shot them.

Another photo for Maya’s challenge at Springtree Road to post November photos in black and white – click here for more info and more fabulous photos.

Another favorite artist of the Bullseye Gallery, in addition to Giles Bettison, is Cobi Cockburn.  Both artists happen to be from Australia, as well as Richard Whiteley – also represented by Bullseye Gallery.  Those Aussies have some fantastic artists.  Cobi does a lot of cold working on her pieces, with a lot of wheel engraving to create texture.  It is a lot of work, but it makes for a beautiful piece of art.