In September I participated in a fantastic artists retreat in Lybster, Scotland at North Lands Glass. The group leaders, Jane Bruce and Kirstie Rea, were really wonderful, taking us to amazing places (cairns, old castles, a wind farm, coastal promontories, etc), leading great discussions, and suggesting interesting exercises. The other artists, who were from around the globe, shared their work and processes openly, and we all became new friends. And we had unusually fabulous weather too.

Now I’m trying to get back into my routine and make a little art too. I’m still working on finishing up my big generational hands project. Here are the individual ones that I have finally finished. The “Hand of Time” is gnarled and bent, asking the time, forgetting the time, wearing purple, becoming purple, always clasping a handkerchief. The “I can still play” hand is aged and gray, but still agile and strong, dreams of baseball, in another time.

When I returned from Penland, I brought home 4 molds of hands that I hoped to cast in my kiln. However, they were all too tall for my kilns. So last week I rented the big kiln at Carolina Stained Glass and cast all four. Now I’m cold working and cleaning them and figuring how I will present them. Over the past few weeks I have also finished a fun science themed commission I call, “Essence of Man” shown here.
In addition, I just finished a piece for the next exhibit called “Truth to Power” at Pleiades Gallery. It will be hung this week with a reception on Friday, August 21 from 6-9pm.

I’m back from two wonderful weeks at Penland School of Craft taking Richard Whiteley’s class on glass casting. It was a fantastic class, and I hope to make Penland classes an annual event. I was able to cast two hands in glass, and I brought back 4 more molds that I’m hoping to cast in glass soon. As Richard said, it’s all in the presentation, and I’ll be working on that for a while.
I also just finished a controlled flow piece I call “Canyon” that will go into a new UNC hospital in Hillsborough that will open in September. They decided to decorate the walls and spaces with art from local artists, which I really appreciate.

In addition, I will be joining Pleiades Gallery in Durham next week. I really look forward to becoming part of this artist group.

I’m preparing all my things to take to Penland next weekend. I’m hoping to make glass casts of 4 generations of hands, and I have made the wax models and just finished cleaning them up. I’ve also got the glass I want to use and cut pieces to size. This session at Penland will have all Aussie instructors. It’s going to be great fun.

I’m just getting the glass mobile unloaded from my two weekends of art fairs in Rockville, MD and Raleigh, NC. The weather was fantastic at both shows, and both were fun (a few of my works found new homes too). Now I’m looking forward to two weeks of glass casting bliss at Penland in June, and then I will be joining the wonderful Pleiades Gallery in downtown Durham at 5-Points beginning July 1. The artists and artworks there are amazing, and I’m very excited about exhibiting there and becoming part of it.

I will be exhibiting at the Rockville, MD art fair on May 2-3. My booth is #384 on Maryland Ave. in case you are there.
This is my first venue in that area, and I hope people there will like my science themed art glass.
I will also be doing Raleigh, NC “Artsplosure” on May 15-17. If you’re in the area, come take a look. I have a lot of work to show this year as I did very little exhibiting last year.

Did you know we had rationing during WWII. My mother saved everything including the Ration book, coupons and important newspaper clippings from WWII. Here is a powder print I recently finished with some of her memorabilia.

I’m back in the studio finally. Just finished the Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fair, NIEHS Craft Fair for employees, and an open studio in my garage/studio. A bit of clean up is in order. After 45 years at the NC State Fairgrounds, the CDC Fair will move to the Raleigh Convention Center for the first weekend of November in 2015. It’s going to be an exciting move. I look forward to participating. This weekend I have a date with my grand daughter to make Christmas ornaments.

I’ve created some new “star cell” vitrigraph murrini pieces, and I can’t wait to finish the frames. Due to “Life gets in the way of Art”, I won’t have these ready by the Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fair Thanksgiving weekend. But I wanted to show you the detail of one as it turned out really neat I think.

The fall rush is on to finish projects for the Carolina Designer Craftsmen Fair at Thanksgiving – only 6 weeks away. Thanks to the two wonderful weeks I spent at Penland in June, I’ve been using the fun and powerful technique of powder printing to create many pictures. Now I’m trying to come with a change to my booth to display them. Here’s one of my favorites that I just finished mounting. I call it, “The road less traveled.” It came from a photo I took of my favorite place in Australia, a rock outcrop at the beach near Crowley’s Point north of Sydney. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a tourist destination.