After months of not blogging, I finally managed to change my password so that I could actually open Blogger again. (Can't believe how frequent these senior moments are coming on! It's just not fair!)
You'll be happy to know that I'm not complaining this time (no small accomplishment for me either). The Dade County Departments of Fire & Buildings have passed us, there are no major deadlines looming, and we've made great strides in rearranging the Studio to make room for everything that came down from our old lofts. We've even built up display racks to hold some of the art work. There's still not as much display space as before, but we're making headway.
I am noticing that I get tired sooner and can't move around as well as I used to. One of my friends told me to go get my purse, pull out my driver's license, and look at my date of birth so that I could remember just how old I really am! I was laughing for days at that. Another lesson learned...
I've been experimenting with some of the new Moretti rods. A few of the colors are not going to be reordered, but others have proven to be wonderful. My favorite is a black that goes metallic when torched. And it's not just one color, but ranges from pewter to bronze to old copper. Another is a green that is transparent at the core, encased with opalescent green ... with only one rod it makes a bead that looks like you've pulled stringers or made twisties of several shades or green. What a time saver! I'll start putting up pictures of some of my experiments here for all to see. A few have been disappointing so far, but may work well once I start combining them with other colors.
We've started another lampshade class today, and I'm thinking that it might be fun to post pictures of the progress as we go along. Depends, of course, if I can get permission since it won't be my work published. Believe me, you'd have to wait years for me to finish something! I can remember when Brian was alive and the Studio was small (long before we built up the retail business). I'd build the lampshades and leave the panels to Brian. It was so theraputic - you just get into "the zone". But now, between phone calls and customers, the interruptions are too distracting, and I tend to get just a little too bitchy. (Not good for business!) And, since I keep my evenings for torch work, there's no time for other glass work. I do have a 16" Tiffany "Poppies" lamp almost done - so sometime soon I'll post a picture of it on it's gorgeous bronze base.
Another month my go by before I get back to posting, but thanks for reading along. Remember, we're open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5pm, so please feel free to drop in for a visit.