Road trip for supplys!

Knowing I have several big art shows coming up and looking at my dwindling supply's I knew it was time to restock and their is no better place than Von's for a girl to get her fill of gems and supply's. So, Monday I headed south to Lafayette, IN to the best gem and bead store around.  There seems to be no direct way to get to Lafayette and it's close to a 3 hr drive down country back roads.  So I packed up my bag with water, snacks and a my camera.  You never know what a girl will find! 

Basil Thai

By the time I got there, it was lunch time and I headed straight to Basil Thai for lunch!  Oh how I love Thai food and theirs is just terrific.  I had the spicy green curry pork with rice, heavenly.  With my tummy full it was time to hit Von's and begin my treasure hunt for gems. 
It is absolutely mind blowing the amount of gems they have.  From floor to ceiling, literally Von's Beads has it all.  With it old store charm and high ceilings I spent hours searching for just the right gems.  There is something around every corner to be discovered.  With the help of John the store owner and Jerry who has to be the nicest guy around I found more than I had hoped for.

Aquamarines

The selection of Aquamarines & Apatite was incredible and I couldn't resist picking several strands of these yummy colors in shades of soft summer blues.  I can't wait to put these to use later this week.  They are calling me a I write.

Kyanite!  Not Kryptonite!!!

 Then I found these interesting strands of Kyanite!  Such a mysterious stone and they are true blue in color and have a slight marbling, well these just had to come home with me.  All the way home I kept designing in my head how to use them. 




Then there were tourmaline's, rainforest jasper, labradorite, citrine, crysophrase, and rubies all calling me to come home.  Oh my!!!!  I'm stocked up for the rest of the year and can't wait to start working with these beauties!
  

 

Kayaking with my best buddy!

Living on this wonderful lake allows me to indulge in one of my favorite things - kayaking!  To paddle out on the quiet water in the morning and just be still quiets my soul beyond measure and when those times are shared and spent with family that's even better

  My oldest grandson, Chris, and I love to kayak but he's living in Korea right now and I miss those times out on the water with him.  Their dog Kay missed the flight to Korea (a really long story) so Kay has been living with us the last year and half and I have fallen in love with her.  She is my new best buddy.  SO, I thought it was time to take her out and go kayaking since Chris wasn't here to go with me.  I wasn't sure how she would react or if she would even stay in the kayak with me.  She hopped right in, and off we went. 

She did really well except for keeping her fanny sitting when a dragonfly or duck came by, but we'll have to work on that.  Sorry you weren't here to enjoy the ride Chris but Kay will have to due till you come back home.  Miss you lots! 

Griffith Art in the Park - Griffith IN

Last weekend’s show was a scorcher & the pack up was brutal!!!!  

This was our second time attending the Griffith Art Show.  I love the park where they hold this art show with its big old trees and meandering pathways.  My booth just happened to be conveniently situated between the hospitality pavilion and the toities – can’t get any better than that, unless there is a way to control the weather!  Oh, my gosh was it hot.   Sunday the heat index was well over 100 with temps in the high 90’s but we were fortunate to have a slight breeze that kept us all from melting.

Unfortunately, attendance was way down at the show this year but there is always a silver lining in every grey cloud as it gave us time to talk to the neighboring artist in our area.  We had the best booth neighbors right next to us. Ken and I had a great time getting to know Kathy and John from JFK Glass Works.  Can’t wait to see them again next year.

And last but certainly not least - I was more than surprised when I was awarded 1^st place in Jewelry this year!  I did not see that coming with all of the fine jewelry artists that this event has.  What an honor to receive this award out of the large array of jewelry artists at the show.   Now, I can start saving for a new artist tent that we really need.

A big thank you to all my loyal customers, old & new who braved the heat and came out to this event!  See you next year!!!!

STORM HITS BIRCH LAKE

 WOW!   What a storm and what a big mess!

Our peaceful Monday morning was quickly shattered and fractured as winds of 80 mph hit the lake and surrounding area with such a vengeance that trees were scattered all over the place.  In a matter of a couple of minutes the storm came and went leaving a mangled mess of trees and we were so blessed that no one was hurt.

Our road was blocked in both directions with downed trees and tree limbs and several neighbors including my son worked for hours cutting trees to open up the road. 

We were extremely lucky and had no damage to our house but our neighbors all around us were not as fortunate.  I have lived here for years and can't remember a time when a storm hit so fast or with such force.

The picture on the left is the house next to ours, they lost the most beautiful old pine tree you will ever see.  It had to be over a 100 years old cause it was huge when I was a little girl and well, we all know that I'm no spring chicken any more.  The patio furniture on the deck two doors down from us was mangled and broken yet the flower pots remained untouched and more amazing was the fact that their windows hadn't shattered.  They also lost a pine tree.  

Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot of work done in my studio today. 

New Earrings

 Earrings, Earrings, Earrings 

I can't stop making them!!!

Over the last two weeks I've been trying to get my inventory of earrings built up. 

I've had so much fun creating these new designs and now I can't seem to quit 

making them. 

These new designs are made of bronze and I just love the multitude of colors that  formed on them in the kiln.   

Pictured are just a few of the new designs that I finished last week. 

Wish I could post them all but this is just the tip of the iceberg and a taste of whats to come.

Silver earrings will be coming soon once I get caught up with all the new fired pieces I made over the last few days. 

My work station is calling me as I write.

 

Incredible Colors

Today’s load of bronze had the most incredible colors!   Turquoise, purple, greens, rust oh my.  It’s amazing and baffling at the same time to achieve such a great mix of colors in one firing.  If I could achieve these colors each firing I would be so excited.   I'm still using the first batch of carbon that I bought when bronze clay was introduced several years ago.  Seems the  longer I use it the better the colors get and its not breaking down  either.  

I can’t wait to put these new pieces together.