Cuz that’s what’s banging through my head right now … it would seem that my fever is back …
IT’ssz all good … Here I’ve been for the last three days, feeling the cowbell bang through me …Umm, not exactly the way I envisioned Mother’s Day Weekend 2013 … but – I’ll roll … I’ve been pre-authorized for more antibiotics!
And ending on a great note: I’m meeting with ‘The Girls’ again – my childhood friends. We’ve had some (slightly) impressive changes since we last got together … [Good Lord – we ARE some kind of version of “The Big Chill”] … so, we have lots to share. I’m so looking forward to seeing them – and the ROOTS they give me …
I did ‘good’ stuff for my DARN SANE this week. I’ve cooked well for the family. I’ve had some quiet time in the studio (studying techniques by D.Alcala, M.Dupille, P.McGrain … along with a few other ‘discovered’ processes to try …). A great learning week!
Contacted Fusion Headquarters (THE Guru’s behind the Flexi-glass technique), and now feel ready to play with that process again – with better outcomes (thank you, customer service!). Have ordered a ‘FEW’ things (- umm, Mother’s Day is JUST around the corner!) … so I’m excited about my next (studio) steps.
Here are my examples/learning to date: My first flexi-glass fuse (I decided to drop it on the way out of the kiln [?!?], so it has that nice [broken glass] ‘branch-design’ in the middle); second flexi-glass trial – I love me some fleur-de-lys; and an image of P.McGrain’s technique that I’m itching to try … AMAZING!
Have (mentally) worked around my ‘lil medical issue some … So, I have appointments to see my primary and a specialist coming up … The good news – it should mean some kind of weight loss, so I’m wrapping my head around that. And – I have a recipe for Frosting CRACK that is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G (… umm – [eventual] weight loss means I can eat like that!)!! Life is good – when you decide it should be …
I did not progress on my work-competencies … DOH! Yeah, OK – next week ….
Where have you been all my life? An amazing, wonderful, incredible coworker (whom I LOVE!) shared a frosting recipe this weekend (it ALMOST made up for all the craziness we endured on behalf of our patient population … 5AM take down of a male someone half my age … don’t get me started!). Anyway – I’m sharing it with you, cuz it’s just that HEAVENLY …
Umm – I really don’t want to hear that ya’ll have known about this magical food [a should-be dietary STAPLE] all of your lives. While you don’t have to call me Annie – let’s just say that my routine exposure to good food started when I began cooking. (Canned peas and creamed corn still give me nightmares!) To this day, I remind DH just how lucky he is that I’m a decent cook … Who knew way back then???
Anyway, after my early morning wake up for the DARN SANE meeting today yesterday, Frosting Crack is the perfect pick me up! And – the Fam gave it Two Thumbs (WAY) Up!
* Of course, if you’re a GREAT cook – you’ll do something fancy, like PIPE the frosting on, in a gorgeous flower-like arrangement … Just Sayin’
Had a bit more studio time … so I learned a bit about David Alcala’s glass tapestry (amazing!), and played with flexi-glass … had some troubles getting started (it’s NOT supposed to roll and wrinkle like that), but had more success with fine frit and mica:
And here’s my “object d’art” … basically because I wanted to get a kiln going – all four flexi-sheets (fine black, fine red, powder black and gold mica with some punched leaves) on clear base… the possibilities have some ideas spinning. We’ll see what the kiln does to it.
Just waiting for a few supplies before I try ‘glass tapestry’ … maybe someday I’ll be this good (David Alcala’s work – just beautiful!) …
Tried a couple of new recipes (compliments of pinterest) this week … wasn’t crazy about the homemade version of Chick-Fil-A (but they got better – the next day) and I’ve never cooked with peanut oil before – I like it; and strawberry cream cheese cobbler (DH loves strawberry) … they like it, so it’s a keeper.
Then, we took the kids to Iron Man 3 … good movie with good family time … so, a good week!
A long, stressful day … but a good day. Started early this morning as we flew pups off to their new homes. Got home just in time to watch their flights progress across the country … New extended family in NJ, MD, FL and MN. All the babies did well, and I’m happy and sad at the same time.
To fix my mood, I spent the evening in the studio. Here is DH’s frit envelope, now fired.
And, then I played with transferring images onto glass (with gum arabic) …. Here are my first and second attempts … not so hot, so I didn’t bother to finish them. (Lettering needs to be reversed … DOH!)
But I started to get the hang of it … a little, anyway. We won’t talk about how much (oil based) ink I have all over my hands … good thing I’m due for a manicure. I like the smudgy newspaper quality of the last one … AND – it’s a photograph-type image!!! Definitely more fine-tuning and skill-acquiring but … YAY!!!
Time to see what the kiln does with them …
Or could be – in my case. What to do? I’ve been in nursing for 23 years now. I’ve seen so much … TOO MUCH(!): Too much “fight when there is no chance”; too much hope – because “we have technology”; too much of “nature’s cruel twists”; (combined with) too much of “what were you thinking” stupidity. Through this, I truly believe in “Quality vs. Quantity”* … so much so, that I have half of my co-workers believing I’ve had a “NO CODE” tattoo on my chest for years now. I’d like to think that I’m more of a chunky James Dean/Marilyn Monroe … Live Free & Die Hard kind-of-soul (minus all the drugs and psych issues) … But, I also dislike pain – IMMENSELY. No really … I don’t like to hurt, long term. If ibuprofen can’t take care of it, then – Houston, we have a problem!
I have some new ‘parts’ trying to take up residence in here. I’ve been watching them. Currently, I seem to be watching them grow – taking up more space than is actually comfortable. Hmmm … What to do? Maybe they’re some peach fuzz ‘hairs gone wild’, or ducts/cysts on ‘ROIDs … they just need some time to ‘come to the surface and blow’. Yeah … OK … Gross! … But, I can get behind that thought.
Or maybe, I should get it checked out now – to avoid a “what were you thinking” kind-of-moment. But – THEY (the folks in the long white coats) are gonna want to smash, stab, excise ME … JUST to check it out. The safe answer is to cut shit off. Well now … that seems A BIT RASH, doesn’t it??? (But I know how THEY think! That’s what I’d do – if it wasn’t me …) Either way – all of it sounds like it involves PAIN.
Recently, DH caught wind of my … secrets. His take: ‘Do whatever keeps you going’ … What?!? Dude … I’ve seen human PETRI-DISHES kept alive by a ventilator. No … No, thank you!
Hmm – maybe sharing my space with some other stuff isn’t so bad after all. For now, anyway. Walking lop-sided gives me some pause. And I hate that thought, too! Don’t even get me started on female femininity, body image issues or any of that nuttiness! Fundamentally, it has nothing to do with quality … EXCEPT – maybe it does … in MY MIND. CRAP! Time to stick my head in the sand for bed … It’s a personal choice I need to wrap my head around, come to terms with … and decide. And – it’ll take weeks to get into my primary’s office, anyway …
The good news – my current ‘lil issue has me looking at patient comfort a bit more intently. (That’s always a good thing.)
A closing thought that pops into my head would be DH Lawrence’s Self Pity poem:
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
My ‘interpretation’: Quit the drama … and live the way you choose … WITH IBUPROFEN!
*Quality vs. Quantity: a personal choice, and one that – as an ER nurse, I fully respect each person’s decisions. For me, I choose quality … um, MY WAY!
Have you seen that THING?!? Egads … this weekend is gonna be tough! Yesss – it’s pretty in the sky over the farm, all innocent and peaceful looking. NO – I do NOT want to go to work this weekend!!! (It will still be too full come Saturday for my county … just sayin’!) Feeling kind’a bad for my ER coworkers right about now …
But, in the meantime, I’m ‘spring cleaning’ in the studio … while DH tries his hand at frit envelopes … 
Pretty – and note the very clean, and fairly uncluttered work table he’s sitting at!
My envelope from the last post fired with potential … here are the cabs I like:
And here are the two completed envelopes, side by side … for posterity… ??? It’s silly – how much I like these ‘lil things …
News from the den: The Neo pups are starting the process of moving on to their new homes … Here’s Brilla – giving me some cuddle time. Love my babies!
WWU: A study in contrasts. All I can say is this – I had the pleasure of caring for “Satan’s Bride” (NO amount of pillow fluffing was satisfactory) AND the stoic “Farmer’s Wife” [… Sure – I’m SICK, but I’m not dead yet – so, it must be okay (in other words – this patient is very difficult to gather pertinent information and verbally assess)] this weekend … Oh Vay! Where is the happy medium???
Studio News … I used some of my insomnia-time to scour the ‘net for bits and pieces of information regarding images-in-glass techniques to try … baby steps! And then I played for a bit. Here’s my ‘frit envelope’ from the last post, after firing. I like the possibilities … I don’t know if I’ll make cabs from this, I think I like it as a sun-catcher type thing:
But, then I decided to play with cab-visualization … it’s a very technical set-up! 
Anyway – I might just like these …???
So, now I have ‘frit envelope II’ in the kiln. Then, I made a few penguin ornaments and did next-level-grinding on the dichro cabs. All while listening to the ‘Pitch Perfect’ sound track on perpetual repeat (an effective DH deterrent … 
)… Happiness!
Spent some time reading glassist C.Morgan’s blog … besides loving her art, I appreciate her sense of humor. So, now … she has me intrigued with glass casting (absolutely love her statue ‘Shout’ – check it out!). Oh, soooo much to learn, supplies and equipment to gather … Uh Oh!
I also found a bit more on my [dream] goal of capturing images in glass (liquid light and Fuji emulsion film) … which means I have more research to do. Or, I could just start saving vacation days and money to attend a class on the west coast … Hmmm?!? Somehow I don’t think DH, the kids OR my pups will go for that …
Anyway – back to Morganica. She has a tute on her site that I played with tonight: Making frit ‘envelopes’ for cabs. Here’s my first attempt. Time to see what the kiln does for it:
And, I worked a bit on my latest batch of dichro cabs … I like these:
Meanwhile, DH is happy. He’s got a new project going, one that will let him use his new toy – the car hoist. He’s purchased a beat up ‘63 Monterey convertible to rebuild/repair. Personally, I think it’s hideously UGLY! If you want a boat – by a boat … But, whatever – he’s happy. (He just told me – the thing is 17 feet long … Good Lord!)
Another lesson learned – the hard way. Apparently one can ‘overcook’ PnP in one’s heat press. Dammitall! At least that’s what I think happened, as I decided to take the 15 dichro pieces through one-more-round in the heat press. Last night’s successes didn’t etch correctly today – the PnP mask didn’t protect the dichroic surface. (My only other thought is that Armour Etch on PnP doesn’t act the same as Etch-All … too harsh, maybe??? IDK, as I’ve only ever used Armour Etch …) Anyway, I lost several pieces, but had enough to load the kiln … Now to see what 1400 degrees does to them. Here are some of the pieces pre-firing … I’m excited and dreading the kiln opening tomorrow – uh, later today. (You can see a few over-etched pieces in the middle photo – but I’m hoping I can salvage with custom edging … fingers crossed!)
Clayton Hill Studio 