Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving World!
For those of you not from the US, Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. It's a holiday of family, food and excess. Oh, and football. I have no interest in football, but in my family I'm kinda the lone wolf, on that.
Thanksgiving for me, is about the family, and this Thanksgiving I have to work, so I won't be able to see my kids or my grandkids. I'm sad about that, but I have to pay the bills, sigh, no lottery winnings yet! ;)
I hope that everyone out there, in America or not, has a great day tomorrow.

Glue and Glass III

It's looking really good! I'm getting close to done. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to sell it or not. I have two more after this, and each one will be totally different from the other.
After I get done with the mannequin, I'll be doing the base, extending the sea theme of the legs to the volcanic ridges on the sea floor.

Glue and glass Part II

She's coming right along, here it is unlit.Here's lit up.
This project is looking better with each piece of glass that is attached. :)

The Process

I love to experiment, and this is the latest, finished. It's on the site, but here I can kinda get into it.
I've always been fascinated with the tenacity of life; how it takes hold and thrives in sometimes extremely hostile environments, like the microbes that live in volcanic vents, and the bacteria that live in the frozen Antarctic.
The green glass is surrounded by silver, and soldered onto the copper with a torch. The cilia of the microbes is embossed.
The thick mats of bacteria that occur in the optimal conditions, these are the streams of bronze and gold that move across the dark blue surface of the primal water.


One of the things that I really like about this blogging, is the ability to go in depth with the viewer. To give a bit of a window into my process.

Ran out of glue!!!

Off to Home Depot! I 'm out of glue and that means that all progress on Gaia came to a screeching halt.
Damn!
Not that that's a bad thing, though. I'm having a really bad day on the pain front. We've got a double whammy of storm fronts, and that just kills me. The worst part is, it makes art hard to do. Sometimes, it just makes art too hard to do.
So running out of glue wasn't totally bad. I won't stop when I'm on a roll, and I suffer for it the next day.
That's the thing about art.
I just have to do it. Whether or not it sells; whether or not it's beloved by all who see it, or hated on the spot, I just have to do it!
Sometimes the images get me up out of a sound sleep. They want to be known, and there is no sleeping until I've at least gotten a rudimentary sketch on paper.
There is no choice, they buzz in my head and turn on my brain until I get up and put them from my head to the paper. Then some of the urgency wears off and I can go to sleep.
Sometimes I curse the images when they do that.

Glass and glue

My latest project:
I got a light up mannequin off of Craig's List a few weeks ago. I also got a lot of stained glass scrap for really cheap off of CL.
I'm covering the mannequin in a mosaic of glass.
It's the sea at her legs, up the earth, then through the sky, and up to space.
It's my depiction of the Goddess Gaia.
Here are some details. I'll post more as it progresses. :)

Upcoming event!

I have an upcoming event to talk about!
The Portland Waterfront is having their evening on the waterfront, here's an excerpt from the website at http://www.portlandwaterfront.com/

Evenings on the Waterfront

PortlandWaterfront.com/EveningsAuthors + Artists + Wine + Hors d'oeuvres

Ring in the Holidays on Monday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m. with Portland Waterfront Living's Evenings on the Waterfront featuring internationally acclaimed performance poet, David Hill, and funnyman Greg Mandel ("The Edge" columnist for The Oregonian).

Here's some more, the best part as far as I'm concerned! *Grin*

Relax with a glass of wine and a tasty snack as local artists Ellie Winds, Sidonie Caron, Stuart Ellis, Colleen Williams and Phillips Menks discuss their works displayed throughout Freeman Motor Company's showroom filled with fine European motorcars.

See PortlandWaterfront.com/Evenings to RSVP and for event details, interactive map, valet parking, event flyer and program and sponsors. Did we mention the event is free?

Free food?!? And fabulous artwork to look at while eating it? How good can it get, I ask?

The opening was great, plenty of people, good music, good food and great wine! I can't imagine that this would be any different. If any readers can make it down, it's a pretty good time. :)

Playing Catch up

I've been unbelievable busy,
and that's a very good thing! I've been selling work, in this economy that makes me feel very privileged. There are better artists than myself who aren't making a penny at the moment.
I've had an incredible streak of sales! Yippee!

On to my work, now...
I've completed the piece that I started this blog with, and another piece, as well.
I'm really hooked on this technique.
Kudos to Linda Womak for giving me the basics to run with, vis a vis shellac and wax.
Thank you!
The name of this piece is "Dementia".