New Kiln Booty! Turtles, a Penguin, and more!

Not a lot of blogging recently (time constraints, plus I'm trying to figure out if blogging is truly dead or dying). Well, the heat is really preventing me from getting a lot done in the studio lately.  Despite that, I did manage to get out there in the wee morning hours recently, and here are my new critters.  Just hearts today, so nothing to photo yet, but these I am quite proud of. :)

Wednesday's Llama...

Happy Wednesday!  Today I'm basking in the completed status of a custom order.  This was a tough one, and I'm so glad my customer is happy with it, whew! Also, school is almost over for the semester, and I'm really going to be relieved after I take my final next week.  I can't believe it's almost done, my first term back after my last five-year absence from higher education... ;)

Well, this morning I wanted to share my favorite piece from the custom order, which turned out to be this llama pendant (accent beads are also in the shot):

I think he's just the cutest, and he's gotten some pretty good feedback from those who saw him prior to making the cross-country voyage via USPS, what do you think?

Along similar lines, I came across this alpaca-felted soap this morning, and wondered if anyone I know has actually used such a kind of soap?  If so, comment so I can know if it's a good gift jujee! :)
Have a great Wednesday!

First September Glass!

Birthday month, woohoo!  OK, so this is a very busy month at the Shepherd residence...
The highlights of this month's journey:

• School started for me again!  My latest foray back into college to finish my BS...  Apparently two Associate degrees don't equal one BS.. O_o  Go figure?
• The new position is finally open at work.  It's been a topic of discussion for over a year, and now it's almost interview time... Nervous about that, as I was on an interview panel a few times in the past year and know how nervous the applicants can be.  Wish me luck when the time comes, ok? :)
• My birthday is coming!  Paul and I love our birthdays, because we celebrate Birthday Week as a concentrated week of a few special meals, maybe a picnic or two, hike, botanic garden trip, etc.  My week = my choice, mwahahahaha!
• Preparation for the Holiday Season - oh yeah, you know we still make glass goodies? :)  I've made some cool new pieces recently shown below.  They are basically my last fit of freedom from last weekend before classes started on Tuesday.  The glass will have to take a backseat to these other more permanent things, but I will cling to some of it to ensure my own sanity. You know how it goes, no hobby, no hope ;)

Well those are the biggest items for me, but that's not to say Paul doesn't have his own task list to struggle with, but this is my blog, so... you know, mostly my stuff.  Below are the beads I made this weekend(and some last weekend I think) and the goodies I made as my last freedom session in the studio. :)

A young man (photographer, I think) asked us if we make anything that's "not cute", and after surveying all my trays and suggesting a few pieces that I thought might be less cute, it was determined that my style just includes "cute."  I'm happy with that, despite recalling being a young girl ages ago that wanted nothing to do with the word. ;)

My beads!!! I really still love beads, and I need to make more that I can use to make myself a bracelet or two.  The one with brownish swirl over black (see that nugget on the right at the end?) was very similar to a set I made for a friend's moving-away present last week too.  Things are changing, and not just the leaves. :)

Art for the Animals Auction: Bidding Ends June 21st!

As mentioned previously, we had the privilege of donating two pieces to this year's Art for the Animals auction at our local shelter.  We do this each year they have it, and are always glad when the pieces donated raise money to help fund their animal rescue and adoption efforts. :)

Here are the two pieces we sent in this year.  It's easy to bid on these or any of the other great art pieces donated if you want to support our Riverside County Dept. of Animal Services!  If you do, THANK YOU!!!

Black & White Spiral Turtle Necklace

Dragonfly Necklace

So whatever cause you choose to support, be it Beads of Courage, Breast Cancer Awareness, Alzheimer's Foundation, Feed the Poor, Humane Society, or even if you're undetermined, remember that a little support goes a long way.  Plus they always need volunteers at the animal shelters to help out with the critters, so check out volunteering locally if you've got the time to volunteer and haven't decided where yet.  A friend of mine encouraged her children for years by volunteering as a family, and her two children are now wonderful young adults that volunteer like it's second-nature. So look into it, you'll be glad you did! Have a great week! :) 

Sunday Show-Off: New Animals!

Last week it was symbols, this week it's all about the new animals popping out of our studio.  First up, we have my fabulous Thanksgiving Turkey, and he's my current favorite glass critter!

Thanksgiving Turkey Sculpture!

Now, my new monkey pendant!

Brown Monkey Pendant

 And lastly, my first panda pendant!

Panda Bear Pendant

Thanks for visiting this week to see my new animals!

Pet Adoption Center's Comedy Night: This Friday!

For any of you in the Riverside area that love pets, check this out: Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center's 13th Annual Comedy Night.

Where: Riverside Convention Center (3443 Orange St.) in Historic Downtown Riverside, California
When: Friday, September 10, 2010 at 7:00pm
Tickets are $50 per person, and include entertainment and hors d'oeurves

There should be some great standup, a reception, and a silent auction of eclectic goodies donated from local businesses.  If you go, you'll have the opportunity to bid on a new turtle necklace and a fish necklace made by yours truly ;) Donations go towards helping the center's animals.  See link for more details!

Sunday Show-Off: September 5th, 2010

Happy Sunday!  It's a great day to catch up on house chores we neglected through the week, especially with two shows :)  I hope your Sunday is relaxing, as it's a nicer day out here than it was all week.  Well, today I wanted to share with you three of our latest glass art pieces to be listed, especially this first lovely implosion flower:

Blue Green Glass Implosion Flower Pendant

I love making sealife, and tentacles offer lots of variety on one piece...  So, here's our cutest octopus, this lovely bright yellow one:

Canary Yellow Glass Octopus Pendant

And of course just in time for the holidays, a treat for cat lovers:)

Black Cat Pendant

Hope you enjoy the day and have a great Labor Day tomorrow :)  See you later!

I Miss The Foxes :(

Well, we have a foxy visitor that would come nap in our yard from time to time, and he first appeared a year ago. The cats would usually tip us off to his arrival in the back yard, with them scrambling to the top of the cat furniture at the window to catch a glance. We love seeing the fox in the back yard, and his presence keeps away other animals. Last year he was solitary, although it seemed like he might have a girlfriend from time to time. We couldn't get any proof, as he has the requisite fear of man, and we want it to stay that way for his own safety.  Here's the glass fox I made last year after his inspiration:

This year he brought three pups/kits with him, and it was really exciting to see them playing together in the yard. They got a little raucous at night time, and they hunted pretty often, but they were very cute and did a GREAT job keeping the rodents in check. I couldn't confirm where they were living, but it was nice having them visiting and catching the rats and ground squirrels in the neighborhood.

See how cute they are?

 I didn't get a lot of great shots of the daddy fox, but the boys are almost identical, just smaller.  Here's one of them up near the top retaining wall:

See he's not that big compared to the wall blocks, but very healthy looking with a wonderful coat.  I know they were eating well because we saw their successful hunting, and they left "evidence" of healthy digestion in some piles in the back yard too!

Well, one of our neighbors called to let us know there was a fox in the back yard, and that was pretty much the beginning of the end.  The neighbor has a small Yorkie dog, very sweet but tiny, and I'm sure they called Animal Control and had the foxes relocated.  I don't blame them, as they were just doing what's best for their dog, but Paul and I sure miss the foxes.  The past few nights, a skunk has come traipsing around and the stink got in the house from the open windows, something that didn't happen when the foxes were around.  Also, a rat has taken bold residence near the peach tree, and has been nibbling several peaches to see if they're ripe. 

The foxes were good entertainment and good pest control.  They shall be missed.  I hope wherever they are, their family is safe and happy.

Lizard Completed!

Since I mentioned the little fella was inspiring me in a previous post, I feel compelled to share him with you in all his glass lizard-goodness.  Here's my new favorite, my Dark Blue & Teal Striped Lizard Pendant:

Blue & Teal Lizard Pendant

And from a different angle:

I know, the toes seem a bit gangly, but honestly I just wanted people to know right off that he's a lizard, and not a gecko like my previous lizard that had short stubby toes :)

As with my typical glass art animals, if folks know what it is right away, I have done my job :P

So for the early cat sculpture that was mistaken for a kangaroo... sorry about that little guy.  At least you're in good company with the bunny-chihuaha:

He gets mistaken for a chihuahua too often, so I must make new ones someday :)  

I'm working on some great new animal designs, ones you haven't seen in glass before (or at least I've never seen them!), so stay tuned...

A Visitor in the Studio: Fresh Inspiration!

Our studio is a delightful place for Paul and I, and now for lizards!  Just kidding, though we did just have a visitor briefly adorn the wall behind Paul's torch. 

It was a fun surprise that delighted and distracted me for several minutes, causing me to somewhat inconvenience Mr. Paul as he was working on a project.  He was a great sport about it though, and I got some nice photos to share with you :)

He crawled down the wall and surprised us at first, then climbed back down, then up again!  He had a hard time deciding what to do, but we were really just glad that he avoided crossing the wall in front of the flame.  Maybe his cute little feet felt the heat on the wall... He does have a really long tail, which I can only assume is his original tail.  I like this pose, and he may serve as good inspiration for my next lizard pendant...

You know you want more!  Here are some good shots of his cuteness on the wall behind the glass rods and with his tail wrapped around a glass tube on the bench...

See he's checking out our glass rods... I think he was eyeing the Momka's Lustrous Blue :)


 
One with the tube-wrap for good measure before the full studio shot:

I really like his tail, and hope that he keeps it safe from the neighborhood cats.  Here's a final shot of my messy bench's many jars of glass rods around Mr. Lizard.  Hope we'll have more visitors, because this was fun and refreshing!